Tate gets nod to start as quarterback against Als
He’ll be throwing ball until Harris recovers from bruised shoulder
Ottawa Redblacks coach Rick Campbell delivered some good news early Monday morning on TSN 1200.
Turns out quarterback Trevor Harris has a bruised shoulder, it’s not separated. Not only is it not a season-ending injury, Harris, who was injured when he was thrown to the turf in Ottawa’s 26-22 loss to Hamilton on Saturday, could be back soon. Until then, Campbell confirmed, Drew Tate will be the team’s starting quarterback.
“I think it’s going to be a matter of weeks,” Campbell said in the radio interview. “It’s not a devastating injury, but it’s going to be how fast his body reacts. I don’t think anybody knows the answer to that right away. When you’re dealing with your right shoulder, your throwing shoulder, it’s different for a quarterback. There are some other positions where a guy might be able to come back really fast. Maybe Trevor comes back sooner than you think.”
In the meantime, the 32-yearold Tate, a backup for much of his eight years with the Calgary Stampeders, steps in.
“That’s why we got him in the off-season,” said Campbell. “He’s started in this league, he’s been around. He’s a guy I know we can win with. He has a knack when he gets his opportunity, he tends to rise to the occasion. He has a good touch on the deep balls, he’s able to scramble around a bit and get away from pressure. The beat goes on. It’s too bad about Trevor, but Trevor will be back at some point and for now we go with Drew.”
During the interview, Campbell was asked to compare Tate to Harris.
“Something that’s really good about Drew is the touch on his passes and the ability to improvise a bit,” said Campbell. “When I was in Calgary as the D co-ordinator, he was our starting quarterback — he does some good things. He’ll get better as he’s the full-time guy in practice and getting all the reps — it’ll make him more comfortable with what’s going on.” Is Ryan Lindley an option? “Yeah, I think we could play Ryan,” said Campbell. “He’s doing a good job, especially for his first year in the league. But Drew’s the right guy right now, he’s the guy.”
The Redblacks next play the Alouettes in Montreal on Sunday. Ottawa, which came into the matchup with Hamilton riding a three-game winning streak (including a 32-4 win over the Als Aug. 31), looked oddly unprepared and uninspired at times Saturday.
“It’s a very disappointing loss, but we can’t go in the tank over losing a game,” Campbell told TSN 1200. “Two teams in the East are making the playoffs, we have as good a shot at this as anybody.”
When asked about the opening play of the game, if it was a bad play call — a double reverse where Joshua Stangby was supposed to throw the ball, but was taken down for a 10-yard loss, Campbell said: “It’s always wrong when it doesn’t work. If we second guess, if you end up playing or calling the game to not have failure, you get very conservative. In the Grey Cup game, we did a couple of those plays. When they work, it’s great. Obviously it was disappointing that it didn’t work. But at the same time, I want our players and coaches to play to win.
“We snuck a guy out of the backfield (who was going to receive a pass from Stangby). It had worked in practice. If one play in the game that wasn’t even a turnover, if you’re saying you can’t overcome that, we have to be more resilient than that.”
The coach also defended the team’s offensive line, which gave up four sacks to the Ticats, and kicker Brett Maher, who missed two field goals, including one from 25 yards out. Both went for singles, but the four missed points proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.
“I think our O-line is very capable, they’re as good as anybody else’s in the league,” said Campbell. “I know our O-line wishes they had played better. I think (Maher’s) pretty good, he’s disappointed that he missed two kicks. But he’s been a good weapon for us this year and we’re sticking with him.”
The Redblacks still sit in first place in the CFL East Division, with four wins, seven losses and a tie. The Argos are a point behind with a game in hand.
“Good teams move on, whether they win or lose,” said Campbell. “It’s another big game again in Montreal. You learn from what happened, but keep going because there’s a lot to play for.”