REDBLACKS FACE UP TO SIX WEEKS WITHOUT HARRIS
For GM Marcel Desjardins and the Ottawa Redblacks, there’s plenty of frustration and there’s also a period of two to six weeks without starting quarterback Trevor Harris.
But on the heels of a 26-22 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, a game in which the Redblacks displayed a surprising lack of intensity in the first half when they trailed 23-7, there’s no time to feel sorry for themselves. Up next is a Sunday afternoon date with the Alouettes in Montreal.
Harris has a second-degree sprain in his right (throwing) shoulder and will be put on the six-game injured list (he can return from that list early).
“He’s going to be out at least a couple of weeks, could be three, four, five, it depends how he responds,” Desjardins said on Tuesday. “We have to take it week by week. It’s basically his AC joint; we’ll see how it responds to treatment. At some point, he’ll have to determine how much pain he can bear in the process of throwing.”
Is there a danger of him hurting the shoulder and making it worse when he returns?
“He wouldn’t come back until it’s deemed to be at the point where he can’t make it worse other than the pain aspect,” Desjardins said. “Sure it’s frustrating, but it’s happened to other teams; it’s happened to us in the past. We just have to deal with it — it is what it is. You can’t live in the past, you have to look forward and prepare for the next game.”
And for those who might ask, Henry Burris, who was added to the Wall of Honour at the TD Place stadium Saturday, is not an option.
“We’ll bring somebody else in just from a depth perspective in case there’s another issue,” Desjardins said. “But to say somebody’s going to come in, get right on the roster and help us right away, that’s not the case.”
Drew Tate, who completed eight of 13 passes in relief against the Ticats, played eight seasons for the Calgary Stampeders, mostly as a backup, before joining the Redblacks. Ryan Lindley, who started games in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, is also an option.
“(Tate’s) started games in this league. He’s proven he can lead a team; he did a decent job in the second half (Saturday). He’s done a lot of good things,” Desjardins said.
The offensive schemes will be tweaked a bit to take advantage of Tate’s mobility.
“He has the ability to move around a bit and create things with his feet,” Desjardins said. “It’s not like we’re throwing somebody in there who’s never been in this league. He throws a nice, catchable ball. He’s a smart quarterback.
“He’s been around long enough to know this offence well. We do have a lot of weapons he can use so it’s not entirely up to him to do everything. It’s always a bit of an adjustment, but we’ll have a full week of practice for this game. The more they practise together, the more familiar they’ll be with one another and I think they’ll just evolve as the season goes along.”
The Redblacks have a 4-7-1 record with six games left — Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan twice, B.C. and Hamilton. With Montreal and Toronto stumbling, as crazy it sounds, Hamilton — which won its first game of the season on Labour Day — is also in the mix for a playoff spot.
Ottawa, which came into Saturday’s game on a roll, with three straight wins, will have to be a lot better than what it showed Saturday. Asked what he thought about his team’s effort versus the Ticats, Desjardins replied: “I can’t say that on audio or video. It was very difficult to watch. We just didn’t come out of the gate with any urgency in any facet of our game. We tried to adjust in the second half and did a lot of good things, but it was too little, too late.
“It’s on everybody. You can’t point the fingers at any one person or any one group; it’s on everybody to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
Don’t look for big changes with outsiders — including recent NFL cuts — coming in to save the day. Cornerback Mitchell White, one of the Redblacks’ best defenders a year ago, was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in August. He signed with Toronto on Sunday.
“He reached out, but we feel the group we have back there is good,” Desjardins said. “Without going into any offers or anything like that, financially it wouldn’t have been the right thing for us to do.”
So what you see is basically what you get as the Redblacks push toward the finish line and hope to win their second straight Grey Cup.
“I have full confidence in the sense I know we have the people here to get it done,” Desjardins said. “When you look back at the last game and you see the first half, you start to question a few things. But at the end of the day, if we can get ourselves back on the page we were on prior to that game, I think we have a very good chance of moving forward in the right direction.”