The offence now better at putting its ‘foot on the gas’
Ottawa offence ‘putting foot on the gas’ heading into second half of CFL schedule
On the surface, Friday night’s home game against the Montreal Alouettes looks like a mismatch. The Ottawa Redblacks, with six wins in the bank at the midway point of the CFL season, should hammer a team that’s won just two of 10 starts.
It’s also a team they have beaten twice already this season. But that’s not the way the Redblacks are approaching this contest, nor should they.
The Alouettes (2-8-0) are coming off a tidy 25-22 win over the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argos. The well-rested Redblacks (6-3-0) are coming off a bye week.
“You just go out and play football,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said Thursday. “You’ve seen, by the way Montreal has played the past few weeks, that they’re a good team. I know they think they can win, but we’re not worried about that. We think we can win, too.”
“If you take pride in whatever it is you do, most people do as professional athletes, you have to respect our opponent,” said linebacker Kyries Hebert, a former Alouette who returns to the lineup from the six-game injured list. “Nobody wants to lose three times to the same team. They’re going to come out and fight their hardest battle.”
The Redblacks have been gaining momentum on offence. In the past three games, they have scored 44, 24 and 41 points. Unfortunately, those 41 points weren’t enough in a 42-41 loss to the Argos at the beginning of this month.
But while they took that loss to heart, they also took out their frustration on the Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in their last two starts.
“The biggest thing that jumps out at me is our guys are getting a feel for putting the foot on the gas a bit better,” Redblacks offensive co-ordinator Jaime Elizondo said. “When there’s blood in the ocean, sharks can smell that from a mile away. We talk about, when there’s blood in the water, go eat. I thought they did that in the Winnipeg game (44-21 win).
“I thought our players did a really good job of not only executing the plan, but not flinching, persevering and putting the foot on the gas.”
That killer instinct is something that’s often been lacking in the past couple of seasons.
“We’re not there yet, by any stretch of the imagination,” Elizondo said. “We have work in front of us. I think everybody on the offensive side of the ball understands that.
“The Toronto game was a bit of an anomaly. So many things happened to fall in place for those guys. It just happened to be a perfect storm. I know it sounds like the old adage, but the game isn’t over ’til it’s over. We let that one get away. We learned from it. It was good to see we took that lesson and applied it in the Winnipeg game.”
One key to the Redblacks’ success on offence has been quarterback Trevor Harris’s ability to look beyond primary pass catchers Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli and Diontae Spencers and spread the ball out to several receivers.
“When you game plan and prepare things for players, you want everybody to feel like they’re getting the ball,” Elizondo said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go that way. The fact we’re spreading the ball around is helpful. Sometimes it’s the flow of the game. I remember last year, one game I felt like, ‘Man, we don’t have a lot of stuff for Greg.’ He ended up getting 200-plus yards in that game. Anytime you can disperse the ball to six or seven receivers, that’s going to help your offence.”
The emergence of receiver R.J. Harris has also been a boost for the offence. In the past five games, he has 20 catches for 290 yards.
“I can’t say enough good things about (Harris),” Elizondo said. “The biggest thing that jumps out is that he’s a very detailed guy. In the passing game, where precision is required, when you tell him you need 14 yards on a route, he gets 14 yards. His precision, his route running, his work ethic have all been fantastic. He’s been a great addition, I’m really excited about him. And the best part is, he’s improving every day.”
The team’s other Harris — Trevor, the quarterback — is the heartbeat of the offence. He has silenced critics by passing for 361, 487 and 381 yards respectively in the past three games.
“Trevor’s getting in a comfortable spot,” Elizondo said. “He’s seeing the game well, he’s getting the ball out of his hands faster. That’s also a tribute to the O -line protecting and the receivers getting open. He’s in a good spot.
“Our focus right now is not where we’re at, but we’re going to come out every day and try to be a bit better — run the route a little better, throw the ball a bit better, call the play a bit better. There’s still a lot of improvement we have to make for us to be considered a good team.”
IN AND OUT: Redblacks specialteamer Dan West has been placed on the six-game injured list, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s too banged up. “Hopefully, he’s back soon,” Campbell said. “I’m hoping he’s back next week. With the six-game list, you can pull guys off. It’s strictly trying to save salary-cap money. It’s not a medical decision, it’s just a smart management decision.” ... Talking about returning to the lineup, Hebert said he was “excited to play. We could be playing against the Chicago Bears and I’d have same level of excitement. It’s been a long time since I played healthy. I’m feeling a lot better. I’m ready to kick ass and take names.” Campbell called Hebert “just an enthusiastic guy. He hustles around, plays the game hard and leads through his effort and passion for the game. That can be infectious.” … Mikael Charland, George Uko and Anthony Gosselin will be on the active roster for the Redblacks on Friday.
THE END AROUND: After missing a field goal in Week 1, Ottawa’s Lewis Ward has made 24 in a row, the longest streak ever by a CFL rookie, including seven in a row from 40 or more yards.