No need to find a scapegoat for Redblacks loss to Argos
There’s still lots of chatter about the trick play that didn’t work and the mistakes — the miscues included a botched convert attempt and a costly fumble by quarterback Trevor Harris.
Fact is, the Ottawa Redblacks don’t need to look for scapegoats after falling 26-25 to the Toronto Argos Saturday night at TD Place. First off, they were only a couple of feet wide right from a gamewinning 59-yard field goal by Brett Maher.
True, though, that Ottawa needs to be better and not slide into an abyss like they did a year ago, bailed out by the ineptitude of the teams around them, plus a lateseason surge of their own.
Secondly, Ottawa was in control Saturday, leading 12-1 at halftime.
“It’s not offence, it’s not defence, it’s not special teams – it’s us as a team, we have to get better,” said linebacker Taylor Reed. “It’s definitely frustrating. (Toronto) is well coached, we had them down 11, that’s not enough. It’s the CFL, man – even a 20- or 25-point lead can go to nothing real quick. One play, one touchdown and they’re right back in the game.”
Redblacks coach Rick Campbell defended the trick play, which the Redblacks tried to pull off midway through the fourth quarter, trailing 23-19. After Harris was sacked, Ottawa was facing a second-and-20 situation. Harris tossed the ball to Brad Sinopoli, who tried a variation of a rugby play, trying to tap the ball ahead a few yards with his foot and pounce on it. It was considered a punt and as long as he’s behind the line of scrimmage when he does it, if he recovers, it’s Ottawa ball – doesn’t matter how far it travels.
“The idea’s good, but we didn’t get it done and I’ll take the responsibility for that,” Campbell said.
“We didn’t just draw it up and say, ‘Let’s try this.’ We’ve practised it several times and we’ve actually been successful every time we’ve done it. That’s just a deal where their (defensive) players are 15 yards off (the ball) and we can use a CFL rule that helps us where you can quick kick it and recover it for a first down. We just didn’t execute it,” said Harris.
When Ottawa made mistakes, they were big ones. Early in the fourth quarter, on the Ottawa 32-yard line, Harris was in shotgun formation and the snap, which may have been a bit early, sailed to his left and bounced off his hands to the turf. He got his hands on it and couldn’t hang on. The ball was fumbled a couple of more times into the end zone, where Toronto’s Rico Murray pounced on it.
“We just had a miscommunication,” said Harris. “It’s frustrating. We all made our mistakes tonight. There’s no way you can point the finger at one thing or one person. I’m frustrated far beyond what any fan would be frustrated right now. We’re going to come back and fight hard next week.”
Said Campbell: “When we give them a free touchdown on a fumble – that’s letting people off the hook.”
“It’s one of those games where you feel like you beat yourself a bit,” said Ottawa receiver Greg Ellingson, who had 10 catches for 170 yards. “Two turnovers on our side of the field gave them quick setups for scores.”
When asked about the performance of Harris, who completed 30-of-43 passes for 370 yards, the coach said: “Like all of us – coaches and players – there’s some good and some bad. I know I sure like having him on our team, he’s a fighter.”
After a tie and loss against the Calgary Stampeders, the loss to Toronto gives Ottawa just one point in three games.
“We have the makings to be a pretty good team – we’re not firing on all cylinders – we’ve played three games so far and the total point difference is five,” said Campbell. “We have to be the guys who can win the close games because that’s what it’s about in this league. This came down to a field goal that was wide by a couple of feet. I like our spirit, we have fight. There’s a lot of football left to be played. We’ll have to reload. We make a couple of different plays and this is a whole different conversation.”
“It’s the same crap that happened last year,” said running back Mossis Madu Jr., who had 14 carries for 51 yards with a touchdown catch. “We go out there and play great, we look good and then we take our foot off the pedal. I don’t know what it is, but we have to get it fixed. We can’t make any excuses, we had this game and we let it go.”
Next up is a nasty scheduling quirk where the Redblacks play three games in 11 days. It starts Friday in Edmonton.
“We have a tough stretch, we have to put this game behind us,” said Reed. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, the schedule is what it is. We have to fight through the adversity and find a way to win.”