‘I could care less’: Jason Maas fires back at Brady Oliveira over East Final ‘pressure’ comments

Montreal Alouettes

Though sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably, pressure and tension are two very different concepts. Thankfully, the combatants in the East Final have provided a helpful illustration of the difference.

Pressure is what Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira believes the Alouettes are under this week. Tension is the feeling in the room when Montreal head coach Jason Maas was asked about it.

“I could care less what Brady (said). I honestly could care less what they think,” Maas told reporters on Friday, kicking off a trademark rant. “Nine point (favourites), whatever I’ve heard — nine is a good number for us. That’s what we’re grinding for. We’ve been grinding for that all year.”

As the fiery 50-year-0ld bench boss emphatically alluded to, the Alouettes’ “Grind for Nine” team motto — which references the club’s quest to win a ninth Grey Cup — matches up almost perfectly with the point spread for Saturday’s playoff clash. Montreal is favoured by 8.5 points as of Friday afternoon, a much wider margin than is typically seen in the postseason.

It was that disparity which prompted Oliveira to weigh in on Wednesday, telling local media that the odds being stacked against Winnipeg was actually a distinct advantage.

“Honestly, I absolutely love that we are viewed as underdogs. No one has us picked to win the game,” he said. “I think it’s perfect. I want everyone to pick the Als.”

“Us being the underdogs, there’s no pressure at all. We can go out there and literally just play free, and have belief that we’re out there and we’re going to upset them. For them, on the other hand, I’m not in their building, I don’t know what they’re doing, but they have everything to play for.”

The market would suggest that bettors required no additional encouragement to put their hard-earned cash on the defending East Division champs. The Alouettes have been the CFL’s most dominant team from wire-to-wire, wrapping up first-place early thanks to award-winning campaigns from quarterback Davis Alexander and receiver Tyson Philpot. There will be a sold-out home crowd at Percival Molson Stadium to cheer them on this weekend, all with expectations of a return to the Grey Cup.

If that equates to more pressure, Maas believes his team long ago accepted it.

“There’s not one guy that’s been practicing the last two weeks, knowing full well we’re playing in this game, who didn’t feel like if we put the work in ourselves and did what we’re capable of doing, played to our standards, that we fear anybody. Our expectation is to go out and win,” he said.

“We have to play extremely well to do that. We know it’s going to be a dogfight. I could care less what other people think should be done, or that, ‘Hey, good, all the pressure is on you.’ Good, put it on us. We put it on ourselves all year. We want to play a certain way every single day. We talk about coming into our building every day, respect time, respect each other, connect with one another, compete like hell, and go out and play, and expect to win by doing that. That expectation will never leave this building.”

Winnipeg’s underdog reputation is equally well-earned. The fading dynasty limped into the postseason as the crossover team, needing a comeback victory over the B.C. Lions’ B-team to qualify. After pulling off a late upset over the Toronto Argonauts last week, they are butting up against a historical brick wall, as no crossover team has ever reached the CFL title game.

With low external expectations and no precedent for the achievement, success this week would be nothing but gravy.

“We literally have no pressure,” Oliveira said. “We’re gonna go in there and play our game, play our style, and literally play loose and free. It’s gonna be perfect.”

The question is whether that is really better than the alternative. Oliveira and the Bombers certainly speak from experience, having faltered as Grey Cup favourites for three consecutive years, including against Montreal in 2023. However, the Alouettes seem quite comfortable in that role for now.

“Pressure is a privilege. I think everyone in this building has invited that,” Tyson Philpot said. “To be honest, all those headlines and stuff, that’s for you guys to talk about. That’s for the media. We worry about our organization, what’s on the inside of this building, and how hard we work. We’ll put all the cards in. If they’re playing with house money, we’ll play with all of it.”

“I think we’ve been the favourite in every single game all year, besides one in B.C. If that’s what pressure is, we will take on pressure,” echoed Davis Alexander.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a template for the Bombers to achieve the improbable. Winnipeg shocked the Alouettes with a 44-28 victory in Week 13, a game in which Oliveira rushed for 106 yards and helped to control the ball for 37:50. Montreal has made no secret of the fact that they were motivated by that result, exacting revenge in a 37-10 beatdown five weeks later.

Oliveira was held to just 44 yards on the ground in that contest, something that Maas is keen to see his team repeat.

“Control the line of scrimmage, but 12 hats need to get to the ball, and you need to make him pay the price for carrying it every single inch. That’s what we plan on doing,” he said. “He’s a great back. I mean, geez, another 1,000-yard season and then some. He’s an M.O.C. candidate every single year. He’s an M.O.P. candidate every single year he’s played up here. He is tough, and their O-line is great. It’s going to be a challenge, but again, 12 hats to the ball, play team defence, and that’s what we’re excited about doing. Physicality and bring it on every play.”

If the Alouettes can take care of those details, there will be no need to worry about who was favoured or by how much.

“Honestly, could care less. We have a focus on process here, and we’ve been driven by that all year, and that is not going to change because we’re playing at home in this playoff game,” Maas insisted. “We’re just excited to go out there and play and compete. That’s what we’re built on. That’s what we’re driven by. The expectation is the win.”

The Montreal Alouettes (14-4) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-9) for the East Final at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Saturday, November 7, with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET. The teams met twice during the regular season, with both teams winning at home.

The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and TSN 690 (English) or 99.5 Montreal (French) in Montreal.