REDBLACKS ARE BETTER SINCE BEING STOMPED BY STAMPS
Ottawa lost both regular-season battles between the CFL’s divisional champs
Awful.
That’s the only way to describe the Ottawa Redblacks’ offence in their two games against the Calgary Stampeders this season.
“They took it to us,” quarterback Trevor Harris said moments after the team’s charter touched down in Edmonton Tuesday night — five days before facing those same Stamps in the Grey Cup game at Commonwealth Stadium.
Harris completed just 44.4 per cent of his passes (13 of 29) for 135 yards in the 24-14 loss at McMahon Stadium on June 28. He also threw an interception, which is somewhat out of character. But it wasn’t just him. Other than William Powell (13 carries for 123 yards) and Greg Ellington (six catches, 97 yards), everybody else had a game to forget.
“I’ll give them credit,” coach Rick Campbell said. “We played them in Calgary and couldn’t score from the one-yard line and if we did, we were up in the fourth quarter, so that game might have been a little closer than you think.
“They had our number in Ottawa ... I give them full credit.”
The 27-3 loss at TD Place on June 12 was embarrassing.
Harris connected on 14 of 22 passes, but the completions covered just 93 yards. He also threw two more interceptions and was pulled.
It didn’t help. On the night, the Redblacks had just 169 yards of total offence and a full 15 minutes less on the time-of-possession chart.
Really, the only good thing about the games for Ottawa is that they came during a twoweek span four months ago.
“We’re a lot different,” said Brad Sinopoli. “That seems like an eternity from now. Just throughout a season you grow as a team, you learn to win in situations that are tough situations. We’ve been in a couple of tough situations in the end, we had a couple of pressure games against Hamilton.
“You try to peak at the right moment and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re different. We’ve shown a lot of different things throughout the season and we’re going to have some different things for them this week as well.”
Said Harris: “I think we’re just completely a different team in terms of our mindset. They way we believe in each other, the growth that we’ve had. Our offence is better in terms of figuring out what we’re good at and what we like to do.
“But that doesn’t mean this is going to be some easy thing. Their defence is the top defence in the league for a reason and we look forward to the challenge.”
They need to be better with that challenge than they were four months ago or it’s going to be a very disappointing Grey Cup game for the people of Ottawa.
FAMILIAR TURF: It was pointed out to Campbell that he was wearing the exact same shirt and scarf he had on when he arrived in Toronto for Grey Cup week in 2016. “You’ve got a good eye,” he told the reporter, Le Droit’s Marty Comtois, who then asked if it was a lucky charm. “I didn’t actually think about it. I wanted to rock the plaid and bring some red and black to Edmonton.” ... Campbell played down the fact he’s now chasing a championship in Edmonton, where his dad, the legendary coach Hugh Campbell, guided the Eskimos to a whole bunch of them. “To be really honest with you, I have a great appreciation for Edmonton,” said Campbell. “I love this place. I grew up a good chunk of my life here, so I’m very appreciative of the city of Edmonton. But in all honesty, to be focused on what I need to do, I’m just thinking about trying to get the Redblacks a win on Sunday.” ... The weather is supposed to be very nice in Edmonton, at least until the weekend ... Three championships games for a five-year-old team. Nobody would have ever guessed this, especially in Ottawa, where football fans suffered so much for so long. “Says they’re doing things right,” Sinopoli said of his organization. “Each team is different each year. Every situation is different. But they do a good job bringing in good players, good people. That’s why they have the consistency they do.” ... Said Campbell: “The only thing I was thinking about in 2015, it was only our second year of existence. We were pretty excited as a franchise to have done that. Now I think we just view ourselves as any other team in this league. We’re just trying to fight to get here. We know how hard it is to get here and we’re very grateful for the opportunity. We want to make the most of it by preparing the best we can.” ... The pressure is on Campbell to match his last two Grey Cups — or at least the answers he gave at the coach’s news conference to the traditional question (we miss ya, Shaky Hunt) about his stance on players having sex during Grey Cup week. EXTRA POINTS: Harris was asked if he slept on the long flight from Ottawa. “No sleep,” he said. How about since his record-setting performance in Sunday’s Eastern Final? “Yeah I actually fell asleep (Monday) night at nine and I hear I missed the game of the century,” he said of the Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams NFL shootout. “I’m a little disappointed, but I think getting some rest was a little more important.” ... I’ve been watching and waiting for gas prices to dip below a buck a litre. Finally, I see it has happened. It is 99.9 cents per litre in Edmonton, where that should always be the case in honour of The Great One. As he was leaving his first Grey Cup scrum as a starting quarterback, Harris expressed relief that it was a quick one. “I was nervous,” he said. I don’t think he was joking ... I also think the Stampeders will be looking for payback from the 2016 game they believe they should have won. Antoine Pruneau doesn’t believe that will be a factor. “They’re a different team, we’re a different team,” he said. “There’s no edge because of what happened two years ago.” ... Do the Redblacks consider themselves the underdogs? “You know what?” said Sinopoli. “We’re not worried about all that stuff. That’s up to all you guys to determine, who’s the underdog and who’s the favourite. We’re just preparing to win a football game. That’s how we approach it.”