The Montreal Alouettes have been dominant to open the season, owning a two-game lead in the East Division after just two weeks.

But head coach Jason Maas thinks there is still room for improvement.

Maas joined The Morning Show on TSN690 on Wednesday to discuss what he's liked about the team's start, the progress of quarterback Davis Alexander and more.

"I think anytime you look at a season, starting out there's going to be things you're doing well and things that you need to improve upon," Maas said.

Montreal crushed the Ottawa Redblacks 39-18 in Ottawa on Friday, improving their point differential to a league-best +39 through two games. Every other team in the East Division is off to an 0-2 start to open the year.

The Alouettes were thoroughly dominant over Ottawa, winning the yardage battle (438 for Montreal vs. 235 for Ottawa), second-down conversion battle (63.6 per cent vs. 40.9 per cent) and turnover battle (one turnover vs. three).

Maas thinks there's still work to be done ahead of Week 3's matchup against the Edmonton Elks, though.

"I think we could improve just about every facet of our game." Maas said. "We're still young in the season, working on things, but overall very pleased with the start, very pleased with the preparation guys are putting in. The effort is tremendous and we're making plays, but we can clean up some small detail things that can make us more efficient and a better football team."

One of the major storylines of the season for Montreal is how quarterback Davis Alexander will adjust to being given leadership of the offence.

Alexander, 26, made five starts for Montreal a season ago in his third season with the team.

Top quarterback Cody Fajardo, who earned Grey Cup MVP honours after leading Montreal to an upset title in 2023, was sent to the Edmonton Elks in a deal in December that brought McLeod Bethel-Thompson to Montreal. Bethel-Thompson will back up Alexander, who is getting his first shot as a lead this season after throwing for 1,347 yards and six touchdowns last season.

Maas said he is encouraged by the early returns.

"[Alexander] is playing, in my opinion, good football, he's making good decisions," said Maas. "He's been able to make plays, whether it's with his feet or with his arm, he's taking what the defence is giving him but also being aggressive when an opportunity is there."

Alexander has 549 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions to open the season. He threw for 344 yards against the Redblacks a week ago.

"I'm really enjoying watching him, and there's growth. Every time he comes to the sideline, looks at the iPads, there's good conversations going on what he's seeing, how we see it on the sidelines," Maas said. 

"He's doing a good job understanding each week what we're trying to accomplish and he's seeing the field well and then distributing the ball. I think last week we had seven-plus guys catch the ball, which means he's dialing it up based on what the defence is doing. It's tremendous to watch a young quarterback growing in the offence."

Edmonton (0-1) opened the season with a blowout 31-14 loss to the BC Lions in Week 1, and are coming off a bye week in Week 2.

The challenge of playing an opponent in their home stadium with an extra week of rest and preparation due to a bye week is one that Maas is wary of and is hoping his team is prepared to handle.

"We give guys time off here because we want to be physically ready to play each week," said Maas. "It's the mental thing that has to... we have one less day to prepare our guys, so they have to do more off-field studying to make up for that. They get the same amount of days off, it's just instead of a practice, it's a game, so they should be ready physically, it's just mentally, being able to absorb the information so they can play fast, that's the challenge."

"We're going up against two teams in a row on the road that are both coming off bye weeks, so they should be physically prepared and we want our guys to match that physicality," said Maas. 

You can watch the Alouettes take on the Elks LIVE on TSN1/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App, with coverage on Thursday starting at 9p.m. ET / 6p.m. PT.

"I think we take great pride and effort on the field and off the field," Maas added. "We talk about that quite a bit - it's not just showing up to the field and being in the meetings, it's what you're doing in the dark hours when noone's watching is how you're going to be prepared and I think our guys do a great job of that on short weeks."