Redblacks picking up pieces after blowout
Moton Hopkins says there’s no mystery behind why the Ottawa Redblacks lost to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday night.
“It’s just one of those things where we made a lot of mistakes and we put them in good positions and they capitalized on it,” the Redblacks defensive tackle said Sunday before boarding a flight back to Ottawa. “We just have to go back and finish those things. Ball security was a huge factor and then just execution.”
Some fans might favour executions following that 48- 3 debacle at McMahon Stadium, or at least significant changes, but the Redblacks expressed confidence that the current band of brothers could cure what ailed them.
“They’re all fixable things,” Hopkins added, “so we just have to get back on the field, let that one go and get back to work.”
That work week begins Wednesday following two days off to ponder the defeat that dropped the Redblacks ( 4- 3) into third in the Canadian Football League’s East Division behind the 5- 2 Hamilton Tiger- Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, the latter their next opponents on Sunday in the Ontario capital.
NOT SO SPECIAL TEAMS
With Anthony Alix ( hamstring) sidelined, backup QB Thomas DeMarco punted regularly in a game for the first time since he was a high- school senior in 2006- 07.
DeMarco averaged 41.3 yards on 11 kicks, reasonable under the circumstances, but some of those boots lacked the hang time required for the cover team to get into position. Calgary’s Tim Brown produced 95 yards on eight returns, not including a 70- yarder that would have been a touchdown if not for a penalty.
Calgary’s Rob Maver pinned Ottawa deep more than once and averaged 45.6 yards, plus three kicks were fumbled by Redblacks returners Brandon McDonald ( two) and Jovon Johnson ( one), the latest candidates trying to replace injured Chris Williams.
The Stampeders recovered those bobbles at the Redblacks’ 37-, 17- and 6- yard lines, and converted them all into touchdowns.
Even when they retained possession, McDonald and Johnson never threatened to break one for significant yardage. They combined for 44 yards on eight returns.
A former CFL special- teams player of the year, Williams has missed two games with an unspecified lower- body ailment. If he can walk, though, the Redblacks should put him back on the roster.
“I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play,” head coach Rick Campbell said Sunday.
Here’s an off- the- wall idea: Does anybody have a number for Jamill Smith? Released during training camp, last year’s puntreturn specialist was nobody’s game- breaker, but he caught everything and didn’t fumble.
On five kickoff returns, tailbacks Jeremiah Johnson and Chevon Walker managed 94 yards.
“We need to improve blocking for our returners and we need to field the ball,” Campbell said. “We’re going to make sure that we do that.”
WHAT’S THE RUSH?
Saturday’s contest marked the fourth time this season the Redblacks rushed for 46 yards or less. Walker had seven carries for 11 yards and Jeremiah Johnson was 3 for 10.
They also passed for just 179, and all three quarterbacks were sacked at least once. Henry Burris hit the turf three times and was pressured repeatedly during the first half.
The only other running backs in camp are rookies Travon Van and Kienan LaFrance, who are on the practice roster and one- game injured list ( hamstring), respectively.
Up front, the Redblacks have used the same five starters all season, but maybe it’s time to give first- overall draft pick Alex Mateas a start somewhere in the interior.
THE ROAD TO VIRTUALLY NOWHERE
In 25 regular- season games over two seasons, the Redblacks have won six: five at home and one at Montreal against an Alouettes team that lost two quarterbacks to injury.
They’ve been particularly inept west of the Saskatchewan- Alberta border: minus- 66 point differential in two defeats at Calgary; minus- 45 in losses at Edmonton; minus- 38 in last year’s trip to Vancouver, where they play Sept. 13.
“We have to solve that crime in order for us to win the way we want to win and become a winner in this league,” Burris said, using a suitable metaphor to sum up those sins. “We have to learn how to win on the road. There’s another opportunity for us next week to go to Toronto and hopefully right that ship.”
NO REST FOR DEFENCE
The Stampeders had a huge field- position advantage Saturday, beginning drives on average at their 50- yard line; even that didn’t account for the prime positions they inherited after three fumble recoveries and an interception.