Redblacks to sit several starters against Argos
Ottawa opts to rest key players rather than risk injuries ahead of Nov. 18 East final
Trevor Harris won’t play. Neither will Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer, William Powell or SirVincent Rogers. It’s expected nearly half of the 24 regular starters for the Ottawa Redblacks will sit out Friday night’s regular-season finale against the visiting Toronto Argonauts.
Having clinched first place in the CFL’s East Division, securing a first-round bye in the playoffs and an automatic spot in the Nov. 18 East final against the winner of next weekend’s semifinal between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and B.C. Lions, the Redblacks are opting to rest many key players rather than risk injuries at a time when many of them are already dinged up.
With Harris out, the Redblacks will play Dominique Davis at quarterback in the first half and Danny Collins in the second.
“We’ll take an opportunity to rest some guys who have been playing all year,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said Tuesday. “Two things. … One, it’s to get some guys some rest. We’ve been doing this three of the past four years and we’re just trying to learn from experience and be smart about it. The other thing, we’re going to see some guys who are pretty good football players, guys who deserve a chance to get a good look.”
No doubt, the decision will spark criticism. Those not playing this weekend will go three weeks between games, having last played in Hamilton on Saturday — in Powell’s case, it was a week before that — and skeptics will say that’s too long between contests to stay sharp.
“We talked about it today,” Campbell said. “I think it’s 19 days from now we have a playoff game. We break it up into three parts so this doesn’t drag out. We’re going to do everything we can to beat Toronto with the guys we’re playing with. … We’ll focus in on that this week. Next week, we’ll be practising, having Redblacks versus Redblacks practices. Then, the week after that will be to get ready for whoever we play in the East final.”
Harris will finish the season with 5,116 yards passing. He’s been very good in recent weeks. If he played Friday, he would have had a chance to chase down the Edmonton Eskimos’ Mike Reilly (5,242) and the Ticats’ Jeremiah Masoli (5,209) to become CFL leader in passing yards.
“It’ll definitely be helpful for me. I’ve been playing through some stuff lately,” Harris said. “Obviously it’s a bittersweet feeling. You’d rather be playing. But you have to support the guys, and hopefully we’ll get a win Friday.
Harris doesn’t believe the rested players will lose momentum or rhythm.
“There’s always the threat of that, but really, over the past 10, 11 weeks, we’ve been playing pretty well,” he said. “It’s one of those things. As the year goes along, you develop that chemistry.”
Asked about reaction when he was told he would sit out this game, Harris joked: “I told Jamie (Elizondo, Redblacks offensive co-ordinator) I was going to fight him. He said, ‘We want to do what’s best for us. At this point in time, the best thing for the team is for you to heal up, rest up and be ready to go for the 18th.’ My job this week is to be the best quarterback I can be, support Dom and Danny and the guys who are going to be out there playing.”
Asked about his recent strong play, plus bouncing the TigerCats in two straight games, Harris said: “I’ve always felt like we were building to something great here this season. We have to come in on the 18th, flying fast, and be as good as we’ve been all year.
“When you’re in games 11, 12, 13, 14, it’s hard to look ahead, but we’re at the point now where it’s like, ‘Hey, there is light at the end of the tunnel.’ We’ve been through the ups and downs, everything we want to accomplish is directly in front of us. We’ve set the table nicely, but that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t follow through.”
Big picture for Willy P: Assuming Andrew Harris plays for Winnipeg against the Eskimos on Saturday, Powell will lose the CFL rushing title. He goes into the final weekend of regular-season play with a seven-yard edge. “I always want to be on the field, but you have to realize it’s a bigger picture and we want bigger things,” Powell said. Asked if he had been surprised that he wasn’t in the lineup against the Ticats, Powell responded, “I was. It wasn’t easy for me to sit out, but I had to take a step back. They wanted me to come in with fresh legs in the playoffs.” Asked about the numbers he put up over the course of 16 games, he added he was “happy about the year, but we still have bigger goals in mind, so hopefully I can be even more happy.”
So much for simulation: The CFL Simulation offers up odds each week. Just two weeks ago, the Simulation said the Redblacks had just a 5.68-per-cent chance of winning the East (Hamilton was at 94.32 per cent), but they clinched top spot last Saturday. At the same time, Ottawa was given a 2.08-per-cent chance of winning the Grey Cup, with the Ticats at 35.69 per cent. In the most recent Simulation, released Tuesday, the Redblacks were listed as having an 82.12 per cent chance of appearing in the Grey Cup and a 25.06 chance of winning the league title for the second time in three years. “I tried to tell you,” Harris said. “We’ve always had the belief in the locker-room. The Simulation doesn’t account for the preparation, momentum, injuries and all those sorts of things. We’ve played well and we’re starting to become the team we can be.”
Spencer a top performer: Spencer was named one of the CFL’s Shaw Top Performers for Week 20. He caught four passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five punt returns for a combined 130 yards. Overall this season, Spencer has 81 receptions for 1,007 yards and seven touchdowns. Other Top Performers were Winnipeg QB Matt Nichols, who passed for 358 yards and two touchdowns against the Calgary Stampeders, and Montreal defensive end John Bowman, who in a win over the Argonauts recorded two tackles, a quarterback sack and two fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown.