DESPITE RECORD, REDBLACKS STAYING CALM
With no desperation, his voice never wavering, quarterback Trevor Harris talked about what’s at stake for the Ottawa Redblacks Thursday night at home against the Edmonton Eskimos.
“We’re very close to turning the corner,” said Harris. “You look at the record and you probably think, ‘Oh man, fractured lockerroom, bickering, coaches yelling at each other, team falling apart … that’s not the case. Most of the panicking is going on outside of the locker- room. We’re busting our butts. We’re going to get these wins. We need to get that springboard win, why not (Thursday)?
“It comes down to us being more aggressive, bucking up and saying, ‘We’re going to freaking make the play.’ It’s go time, it’s nut-cutting time, jobs are on the line, games are on the line. We have to make sure that’s our mindset moving forward.”
But turning it around is going to be a tough task for the Redblacks, who have just a win and a tie to show for the first seven games of their CFL regular season. Their opponents are undefeated at 6-0.
The last time they met, last November in the East Final, Mother Nature was delivering its first winter storm — TD Place was snow-covered — with the Redblacks earning their way to the Grey Cup with a 35-23 victory.
That was then and this is now for Redblacks coach Rick Campbell, who said: “It’s all about this year. We played a tough game out in Edmonton that came down to the wire (a 23-21 loss July 14), that’s kind of been our m.o. this year. You can think of multiple games of theirs where they’ve won on the last series of the game; you can look at us and say we’ve lost on the last series of the game. We’re close, we need to find a way to get over the hump.”
The good news is the East Division is up for grabs. The firstplace Toronto Argonauts have three wins, while Montreal has two and Hamilton is winless. If the Redblacks can get any kind of momentum, they could still win the division. Remember, a year ago the Redblacks were just 8-9-1 during the regular season.
“The East Division, no one’s taking the bull by the horns,” said Campbell. “It’s wide open right now. We know there are good teams in the division, but no one’s really found a groove yet. There’s a whole bunch of football left to be played and there’s a lot to be played for — this isn’t about playing about pride or any of that stuff.”
It would be one thing if the Redblacks were getting thumped week after week, but they’ve lost their five games by a total of 13 points.
Said Campbell: “The thing that’s hard about losing close games is you can throw on the film and 90 or 95 per cent of it, you say, ‘This is good, this is winning football.’ Then in the fourth quarter, either we don’t stop someone or we don’t stay on the field and get a first down and it dictates our whole mood and confidence. That’s the hardest part. I try to be open and honest with our guys, I’ve seen some teams with our record that I would say aren’t a very good football team. I don’t think we fall in that category. We also don’t fall in the category of a good football team because good teams find a way to win games. We have a lot of the makings here and we’re going to press on.”
Along with being a coach, Campbell has to be head cheerleader and a psychologist — whatever’s necessary to find a winning formula.
“Our expectations are high, we love the fans and we love the city,” he said. “When you sign up to play this game, part of it is you get to experience great things like winning the Grey Cup and people patting you on the back. The other thing is you have to be willing to experience the other side of it — there’s going to be pain, misery and difficulty. It teaches you a lot of life lessons.”
There will be some changes in Ottawa’s lineup. Cornerback Corey Tindal switches field sides, while Imoan Claiborne returns to the lineup at cornerback, with Jonathan Rose in a backup role. Antoine Pruneau moves back to safety with Adrian James getting his first start at strong side linebacker. With Arnaud GasconNadon out, Teidrick Smith gets his first start at defensive end. On the offensive line, Jake Silas is out, with Jason Lauzon-Seguin returning to the lineup (Matt Albright is also listed on the roster). William Powell goes to the one-game injured list, with Mossis Madu Jr. starting at running back.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of guys who can play,” said Campbell. “We tell them from the very beginning it’s going to take all of us to get it done. We’ve seen some stuff from some guys where we want to see them out there in action.”
FAMILIAR FACES
There are 11 former Redblacks players, as well as former offensive coordinator Jason Mass and assistant GM Brock Sunderland now with Edmonton. Eskimos on the active roster who spent time in Ottawa: OL Colin Kelly, FB Pascal Lochard, LB Kevin Jackson, DBs Brandyn Thompson and Forrest Hightower and QB Danny O’Brien. Former Carleton Ravens star receiver Nate Behar is also in the lineup. On the injured list is RB Travon Van. On the practice roster: WR Scott Macdonell, RB Marion Grice, DL Mike Moore and DL Kalonji Kashama.