Courtesy Montreal Gazette:

Marc Trestman isn’t exactly new to this coaching gig. After a quarter-century in the NFL and U.S. college ranks, he knows some difficult decisions will be made before the Alouettes declare their roster today.

“This is the toughest time for a coach,” Montreal’s head coach said after his team’s 19-16 CFL exhibition game loss at Winnipeg Thursday night.

“All I know is that everyone who played tonight should be able to play in this league.

“They all showed up,” Trestman added. “There’s not one guy on the bubble who shouldn’t be under consideration to make this team.” The Als failed to win one of their two exhibitions, having tied Toronto last week. And that matters not one bit. Trestman knows a team’s composition is a work in progress. It’s like attempting to solve a jigsaw puzzle. The team he starts with at Hamilton in Thursday’s season opener could be drastically different from the one that ends the schedule, Halloween night at Edmonton.

Trestman undoubtedly saw things that impressed him against the Blue Bombers, starting with the play of rookie quarterback Adrian McPherson. McPherson directed the Als on their two scoring drives and passed for 173 yards in the second half. He also made things happen with his feet.

Although starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo, playing for the first time since Oct. 20, couldn’t get Montreal into the end zone - not even from the Bombers’ 7-yard line on three attempts - Trestman didn’t sound concerned. Calvillo completed nine of 16 passes for 85 yards before being replaced by Marcus Brady in the second quarter. Calvillo was intercepted once.

“I expect A.C. to go down the field and score,” Trestman said. “I thought A.C., at times, was very sharp. He got the ball (quickly) out of his hands. Overall, I thought he was sharp in the pocket.” Defensively, the Als intercepted Kevin Glenn twice in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on the turnovers. Glenn was playing for the first time since fracturing his arm last November in the East Division final. Like Calvillo, he’ll improve with time.

“Defensively, we hit people and were highly physical,” Trestman said. “We were very physical against one of the most physical teams in the league.” However, the Als weren’t as disciplined against Winnipeg as they were against the Argonauts. Montreal was penalized 17 times for 85 yards on Thursday, including 10 infractions for 40 yards in the first half alone.

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