Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Jason Maas runs up field as Montreal Alouettes Anwar Stewart chases during first quarter CFL action in Montreal Saturday June 19, 2004. (CP PHOTO/Andre Pichette)

MONTREAL -- My personal theory is that Ricky Ray underestimated the time it would take to drive from New York and was listening to the start of the game on radio as he drove up the hill to McGill and ... And turned around.

Jason Maas' first start replacing the departed Ray was so shabby, would the man he was replacing really want to be there?

The idea was that Ray was going to drive here and receive his Grey Cup ring in a small ceremony with his teammates before or after the game.

He no-showed.

So, more importantly, did Maas.

Maas fumbled for a touchdown and was intercepted for another in the first quarter and looked anything but the guy who was going to make a seamless transition to the position and make you forget about the quarterback who left to join the New York Jets.

"We couldn't come back from those two turnovers,'' said coach Tom Higgins.

"That was a dynamic and dominant defence that came after us and Jason struggled, at best.''

It was 22-2 at the half and the Montreal Alouettes went on to win the Grey Cup rematch 33-9 to complete a shocking eastern sweep of the first four games of the season against Western opposition.

What would you have given for odds on that?

REPEAT OPENING-GAME STINKER

The Eskimos talked a good game going in. But they most certainly didn't play one, in a repeat opening-game stinker against the Als who won last year's Grey Cup Rematch 34-16 in Commonwealth Stadium. In no way did they resemble a team which won the Grey Cup last November. They were woeful.

"We're just going to have to regroup and hope our second game is a lot better,'' said Higgins, who went all the way with Maas and said he's starting Saturday against the B.C. Lions at home.

"I let him go,'' he said. "The only way he's going to get back to the level of play he showed us a couple of years ago is to play.

"Whether he's rusty or not, he's got to get his confidence. I didn't want to get into a yo-yo situation taking him out.''

The Eskimos weren't asking of Maas - for starters in his return as starter - to win games. All they wanted was for him not to lose them.

He lost this one. Lost it early.

On the second play from scrimmage, Maas was hit from behind by Kelly Malveaux, coughed it up and watched Kevin Johnson run it into the end zone from 34 yards out.

A time count penalty, a fumble he recovered himself, another hit which was ruled an incompleted pass rather than a fumble and a few more interceptions were involved in Maas' first quarter. Then, on his own seven- yard line, he threw a perfect pass in the numbers to Anwar Stewart, who took it into the end zone.

"Those were just two huge turnovers,'' said Higgins. "On the first one he held on way too long. You have 2.3 seconds max and he held on way longer than that.''

Obviously the Eskimos are going to miss Ray, who completed 348 of 515 passes for 4,640 yards for 35 touchdowns against only 13 interceptions last year to record the second- highest (.67.6) pass completion percentage of all time.

But there was no quick hook for Maas. With the exception of running 16 yards to take the ball to the one-yard line and calling his own number to take it in, he was only able to engineer one touchdown.

His numbers, if you can ignore the 14 points he provided for Montreal and the points he wasn't able to generate for Edmonton, ended up looking half-decent. He completed 19 of 38 passes for 165 yards.

"Maybe if you take out those two early turnovers for touchdowns it would have been a different game,'' said Maas.

"That first one was a bad read on my part. That was just me. Their defence confused me on that one. That look was the first look in the game.

"Our defence played so well to keep us in the game so long. But I dug us too big a hole at the start.''

Maas said there's no ignoring the obvious.

"I'm definitely not there. I'm sure it would have been easier if I'd played during the last two years,'' he said of the time Ray took over and took the team to back-to-back Grey Cups.

"It's an excuse, but it didn't help me to play a team like Montreal in the first game.

"Maybe it takes a game like that to get it out of my system.

"I'm just happy they decided to keep me in there while I struggled and fought my way through things. I'm glad they afforded me that opportunity. Hopefully next week against B.C. I'll erase that memory quick.''

OTHER PEOPLE TO POINT FINGERS AT

There were other people to point fingers at other than Maas. Obviously his protection wasn't perfect.

But Maas said you can't blame them because Montreal was sending an extra man on almost every play.

And the Eskimos, who made a big deal about starting the season with the same kind of discipline as they showed at the end of last year, took 17 penalties for 125 yards.

Those included a major facemask foul by Donny Brady, a helmet-removal violation by Mike Pringle and a unnecessary roughness call on Rahim Abdullah as part of a pushing incident that sent referee Glen Johnson to the turf doubled over in pain.

"Some of those things have to be looked at,'' said Higgins.

But what he most hoped wouldn't happen in this game happened.

Jason Maas didn't do anything to convince anybody that life after Ricky Ray was going to be a mere speed bump.

That was a big bump in the night here last night.