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We no longer will state the obvious about the Alouettes. Everybody realizes this is a bad team that will miss the Canadian Football League playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Instead, we never realized four words uttered three weeks ago by general manager Kavis Reed could have such a profound effect. When head coach Jacques Chapdelaine and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe were fired on Sept. 13, Reed stated Montreal’s defence was “good, but not elite” under Thorpe.

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Since then, the Als have lost three straight under interim head coach Reed — the latest, Calgary’s 59-11 evisceration Friday night at McMahon Stadium. Montreal has been outscored 121-41 in that span, probably meaning Reed’s next in line to receive his termination notice at season’s end.

“I’ll leave that to you guys to talk about,” he said following the latest debacle. “That’s not in my vision, in my thought process. The thought process is getting this team to play better. That’s what I’m focused on. I’ll leave all that noise for you guys to deal with.”