CFL Insights: REDBLACKS receivers approaching historic new heights
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — If the Ottawa REDBLACKS don’t have the CFL’s most productive offence, they definitely have the most explosive.
The offence led by Offensive Coordinator Jaime Elizondo and quarterback Trevor Harris averages only two yards per game fewer than the league-leading Edmonton Eskimos, sitting second in the league with 413.1 yards every time out on the field.
When it comes to explosiveness, however, you could almost say there’s no contest.
The REDBLACKS lead the CFL in offensive plays of 30-plus yards with 43, and it starts with the 37 picked up by their receivers.
Yes, the Ottawa REDBLACKS once again boast the CFL’s most dynamic group of pass-catchers, as their top four receivers are on track to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight season:
Despite losing six of their last nine games, the REDBLACKS’ passing attack is second to none. Elizondo’s unit averages 354.8 yards per game through the air — 18.6 more yards per game than Jason Maas’ Eskimos — while Harris is the CFL’s top-ranked quarterback with an efficiency rating of 119.5.
Yet as good as Harris has been, where would he be without those catching the ball?
While Ottawa’s 4,612 passing yards rank second in the CFL, 2,260 of those yards — a whopping 49 per cent — have come after the catch (45 per cent if you look at those exclusively playing the receiver position). The next closest team is Edmonton with 43.34 per cent of all receiving yards coming after the catch.
It means, in an offence geared towards getting the ball out quickly and finding receivers in space, the REDBLACKS’ receivers are doing an impeccable job of making defenders miss and picking up extra yards after the catch.
Chris Williams ranks third in the CFL with 1,206 receiving yards and a 16.3 yards per catch average, among the league’s elite. His 13 plays of 30 or more yards rank number one in the CFL, with only Duron Carter in close range at 11.
Williams, Ellingson, Jackson and Sinopoli are on pace to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season, which would put them in uncharted CFL waters. Only one time in league history has a team had four 1,000-yard receivers in back to back seasons (Montreal, 2004 and 2005) but never have the same four receivers done it twice in a row.
When Williams opted to join Ellingson, Sinopoli and Jackson as marquee free agent signings last year, this kind of production from the four could hardly even be dreamed.
