Ottawa aims to reverse fortunes against powerhouse Stamps
OTTAWA — Damaso Munoz professed ignorance of the details of the Ottawa Redblacks’ last game in the home of the Calgary Stampeders.
“Forty-eight to three? Oh … oooh … wow,” the linebacker said. “I totally forgot about that one.”
Purging memories of that blowout loss 13 months ago might have been the best way to handle it, but the process might be helped by roster churn since then, with 18 of 44 Redblacks players who appeared in that game having departed one way or another.
Overall, though, the Redblacks have not only that nightmarish performance to atone for, but also the more recent memory of allowing the Stampeders to escape from TD Place Stadium with a 26-26 overtime tie on July 8, when chances to put the visitors away weren’t converted.
That was the last time the Stampeders didn’t win. Eight consecutive victories since then have hiked their record to 9-1-1, tops in the Canadian Football League’s West Division and overall standings.
“We came out of that (July 8) game saying we left some plays out there on the field,” Munoz said after practice Wednesday. “I think definitely that the guys know we can beat Calgary. It’s not undoable.
“That game, that tie, shows that, when we play Redblacks ball and we make sound decisions and good plays, nobody really can play with us. I think that, if we keep that confidence, we’ll be fine.”
Besides that 41 per cent roster turnover, the Redblacks have also adopted new travel plans: Flying to Calgary on Thursday evening, rather than just one day before Saturday’s contest. That partly reflects the limited availability of flights with capacity for an extra-large travelling party containing several extra-large pro football players, but it also recognizes the fact that Saturday’s kickoff will be at 3 p.m.
Besides, the Redblacks made similar arrangements for their season-opening trip to Edmonton, where they defeated the Eskimos 45-37 in overtime on June 25, a marked improvement from last year’s 46-17 loss.
“We had some good talks early this week about what we need to do to compete at the highest level in this league,” said head coach Rick Campbell, whose Redblacks (5-4-1) lead the East Division despite losing four of their past six games.