REDBLACKS ‘IN SASKATCHEWAN MODE’
One week into the Canadian Football League season and while the Ottawa Redblacks are (tongue in cheek) firmly entrenched in first place in the East Division, there are still a lot of moving parts going into Thursday’s opener at home against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
While the other three East Division teams all lost in Week 1, the Redblacks had a bye, giving some of their wounded players a chance to get healthier. And while that helped, there are still a few “ifs” going into Thursday — especially on the offensive line.
Nolan MacMillan wasn’t as actively involved in Sunday’s practice, with Mark Korte getting plenty of reps. Either way, it looks like the Redblacks are favouring starting four Canadian offensive linemen, with or without MacMillan, who coach Rick Campbell says has a “50-50 chance” of playing against the Riders.
Getting it right on the offensive line is important against a superb Saskatchewan front seven, who will be looking to put all kinds of pressure on quarterback Trevor Harris.
“It’s always a priority for us — to protect the quarterback,” said Campbell. “They have a lot of good players, but so do we. We have to mix it up; you don’t want to turn it into just dropping back to pass where you have to pass protect all the time.
“We need to make sure we need to change up the looks — run the ball, play action, all that stuff and keep them off balance.”
The Redblacks, who were leaning toward starting two Canadian receivers, may go in another direction and start four Americans alongside national pass catcher Brad Sinopoli.
Noel Thomas Jr. looks like he could be the extra American.
There’s also a chance the Redblacks start two Canadians on defence — Antoine Pruneau will be in at safety, while Michael Klassen has been getting a lot of starting reps at defensive tackle.
“We’re really going to make an emphasis on rotating (on the defensive line),” Campbell said. “There will be guys listed as starters, a lot of times those guys will get equal reps.
“We anticipate using all the guys on the roster and keeping them fresh.”
Sunday was Day 1 of preparation for the Riders, who are coming off a 27-19 win over the Toronto Argos.
“We’re fully in Saskatchewan mode,” Campbell said. “You definitely shift gears. We’re game-planning for somebody, studying for them. They’re good. With (Saskatchewan) you want to limit the momentum-changing plays. They have some really good athletes.”
While Harris may not be 100 per cent as he recovers from knee/ankle injuries suffered in Ottawa’s first pre-season game against Montreal 2½ weeks ago, he said he’s “good enough.”
WHAT’S UP WITH CONNOR?:
Defensive lineman Connor Williams may not return to the field as a Redblack — at least, the team isn’t counting on it happening in the early part of the 2018 season.
A concussion has kept Williams, who’s on the team’s sixgame injured list, on the sidelines for the past year.
Said GM Marcel Desjardins: “Right now, we don’t see any likelihood that he’ll be available to us anytime soon. I’ve told him to tell me once he knows what he wants to do. He’s nowhere near being able to give me that answer.”
WHY SHELTON OVER DUNCAN?:
One player who could work into the mix in the return game is R.J. Shelton, who was competing for a job with another newcomer, Kieren Duncan, in training camp. Both looked great. So why Shelton over Duncan?
“Some of it played out to not only their return skills, but how they played on offence,” said Redblacks special teams coordinator Bob Dyce. “We have limited roster space, so when you put all the factors in, we just decided that R.J.’s combined returning and receiving skills might have been a little ahead of Kieren. Our whole philosophy is think first down, then touchdown. We want to make sure we get positive yards as we go. (R.J.’s) great at getting the ball north-south, then looking for the opportunity to break it. He catches the ball well and makes good decisions and that’s what you’re really looking for in a returner.”