REDBLACKS OF 2014 WERE BAD; ’19 TEAM IN SOME WAYS WORSE
As an original Ottawa Redblack, Nolan MacMillan has taken his share of lumps on the football field, especially in his rookie season — 2014 — when his team won just twice in 18 tries.
The Redblacks were on the wrong end of 38-14, 38-17 and 32-7 whippings that season. But in many ways, it was expected of them. They were a rag-tag mix of rejects from other teams, a good free-agent signing in quarterback Henry Burris and some excellent draft choices in MacMillan (taken ninth overall in 2013) and Antoine Pruneau (a 2014 first-rounder). So when talk shifts to a comparison of that 2014 team that won just two games and the 2019 team, which has won just three times in 13 games, it’s an uncomfortable conversation.
In some ways — and there are still five games remaining for this season’s Redblacks to step it up — the 2019 team has been worse. They’ve been on the wrong end of lopsided scores way too often.
“That (2014) was my first year in the league, so I didn’t have anything to compare it against,” MacMillan said. “But I would say in the city and across the league, the expectations weren’t really there for us to do much. Obviously inside our own doors, we were never intending to lose. We’ve established ourselves as a really competitive team, so this year’s results are definitely disappointing.
“There’s a lot of parity in the CFL; you’re going to have to win some close games. At the end of the season, nobody really cares how many points you won by, they just count your wins and losses. Obviously you want to win every game. It’s tough. It’s disappointing when you lose a close game, but it’s also disappointing when you get beat pretty bad.”
Funnily enough, the Redblacks have a chance to take some heat off themselves and put some heat on their opponent Saturday. The Redblacks, who have lost six straight, play the Trevor Harris-less Edmonton Eskimos, who have lost their past four. The last time the teams met — a month and a half ago in Edmonton — the Redblacks lost 16-12, but were probably the better team. Something has to give Saturday, right? And the Eskimos won’t have Harris, the former Redblacks QB, who was placed on the six-game injured list Friday.
An Ottawa win puts the Redblacks within two games of the Eskimos, who would potentially cross over from the West Division and take the East’s third seed. But if Ottawa was to somehow end up with the same record as Edmonton, the Redblacks will win the tiebreaker and sneak into the playoffs.
“If we win this game, we’ll at least force Edmonton to have to work down the stretch to make the playoffs,” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said. “They’re the only team we really can catch to try and get a playoff spot. To get to play that team is helpful.”
Remote playoff chances aside, here’s the disturbing part: Five times the Redblacks have lost by 14 points or more at home. Add another three times it’s happened on the road.
It’s not what anybody expected from a team that went into the season with plenty of continuity on defence — and while there were question marks on the other side of the ball, it was expected both Dominique Davis and Jonathon Jennings would be able to help generate offence. It just hasn’t worked out that way.
With just 222 points scored, the Redblacks are by far the worst team in the league. In fact, they’re last in the CFL in a bunch of categories, including net offence (304.5), first downs (225), average time of possession per game (23:13), two-and-outs (88) and interceptions thrown (23). Somehow, the Eskimos rank first in time of possession (32:27), net offence (402.5 yards per game) and offence allowed (286.5) — yet, they’re still having a tough time on the scoreboard.
In a horrifying 40-7 loss to B.C. last Saturday, the boo-birds let the Redblacks have it; fans began filing out of TD Place at halftime.
“We haven’t delivered the wins and we’ve gotten embarrassed at home a couple of times,” MacMillan said. “If that’s how (the fans) feel, I’m not going to tell them how to act. It’s frustrating coming out here and feeling like we have a chance to compete and have it slip away. I think overall there are no real easy answers, especially this far into the season.
“We haven’t gotten the results we’ve wanted, we’re nowhere close to where we would want to be. But everybody here is still taking it seriously. We’re trying to get better. Nobody’s given up. I find that encouraging; I like the way we practised this week and I’m excited to go out and play. I think everybody’s looking forward to getting back out onto the field.”
While the defence kept the Redblacks in many games in the first part of the season, they’ve slipped in recent weeks.
“We just need to get our feet back under us, be the defence we know we need to be,” defensive back Corey Tindal said. “No matter the situation, don’t give up points. That’s something we stood on last year — not letting people get into the end zone — it’s something we have to get back.
“We’ll try to finish the season strong. We have to go out and have the attitude, ‘We’re here to win this game.’ Fight from beginning to end. Edmonton has good players, but they’re down right now, we’re down right now. We have to be the better team Saturday.”