Redblacks' defence will have hands full
While an inexperienced offensive line got even more inexperienced, with Nolan MacMillan on the injured list for at least one game, the Ottawa Redblacks could be relying even more on a ball hawking defence tonight against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
With MacMillan resting a calf injury, American rookie Juwann Bushell-Beatty steps into the lineup. Two others Redblacks offensive line starters — Jakub Szott and Tyler Catalina — are also rookies, while Na’Ty Rodgers has just 11 regular-season games under his belt. The Redblacks allowed five sacks in a Game 1 win over Edmonton; it could be tough to improve on that against a very tough Saskatchewan defence.
That would put the pressure back on Ottawa’s defence, which passed its first test of the 2021 CFL season, stymying Trevor Harris and the Edmonton Elks two weeks ago.
The Roughriders have put 63 points on the scoreboard in two games, both wins. So how do you stop a unit that has loads of talent on the offensive side of the ball?
“It’s a huge challenge,” said Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Mike Benevides. “A good friend of mine, Jason Maas, is their (offensive) co-ordinator and he does a fantastic job. Right now, that team is as good as anybody in the league in all phases. From an offensive perspective, they’re scoring more points than anybody else.”
Against the Elks, the Redblacks had three interceptions, all timely, with Randall Evans snagging one and Abdul Kanneh two, the second one going for a 102-yard touchdown.
The take-aways proved to be the difference. While Ottawa’s offence struggled mightily, they at least didn’t cough up the ball. Through a horrible 2019 season — the last time the CFL played a season — the Redblacks were a minus-17 in turnover differential. The early plus-3 is looking good. And if the Redblacks want longterm success, they’re going to need to keep that number on the plus side.
“That’s what we’ve been preaching, that’s how you win football games — the No. 1 stat really is points against and take-aways and if you win that, you’ve got a chance,” said Benevides. “We spent so much time on that. The whole year we were off, that was a huge emphasis for us as a staff living in that Zoom world. The players made great plays, they did an outstanding job. The chemistry that’s been built (between coaches) over that downtime, those three assistants — (defensive backs coach) Greg (Knox), (defensive line coach) Carey (Bailey) and (linebackers coach) Pat (Bourgon) are doing a fantastic job with those kids.”