OTTAWA – It’s never an easy task moving on from a game in which your football team had been leading for practically the entire game, only to have the wheels fall off and lose in quite literally the final seconds of the match.
It’s tough, but that’s football, and that’s very much the case for the Ottawa REDBLACKS after they left BMO Field in Toronto with their third tick in the loss column.
“Very disappointing, tough one to get over, but obviously there’s still a lot of football still to be played,” REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell told the media following practice on Tuesday.
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The REDBLACKS are eager to get back on the field to correct their woes from a week ago versus the Argos. This time, a struggling Als team sits in their way. (Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca)
The REDBLACKS will be eagerly awaiting their matchup this week when the Montreal Alouettes come to the nation’s capital. This comes a week after Johnny Manziel made his highly anticipated CFL debut, only to have the Hamilton Tiger-Cats tarnish the evening with a 50-11 victory as Manziel threw four interceptions in the first half before being replaced by Vernon Adams Jr. late in the second half.
“We need to make sure we keep moving on and move forward because we’ve got another Eastern Division opponent coming up,” Campbell stated.
It writes the script for what has the potential to be a redemption story for the REDBLACKS, as they seek to maintain their position at the top of the East Division standings.
In their meeting with the Argos, a topic of concern turned to the REDBLACKS secondary as they allowed McLeod Bethel-Thompson to throw for over 300 yards in his first CFL start after being in the league for three years.
The Argos quarterback completed 25 of his 37 pass attempts, throwing for four touchdowns including the eventual game-winner to Armanti Edwards.
On Monday, the REDBLACKS have released international defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy.
The move was a bit shocking as Purifoy was considered one of the top defensive back free agents this past off-season prior to Ottawa signing him.
“It’s not something we just do blindly, or without a lot of thought going into it, so we think we’ve got a good group of DB’s around here,” Campbell said in support of his secondary crew. “We’ve got our guys from last year, plus we signed some guys this year, so starting the season we had an excess of good players. We’re just trying to keep working and find the sweet spot.”
That sweet spot might just come against the Als in Week 9. The Alouettes sit at the bottom of the East Division standings with a 1-6 record.
Although Johnny Manziel showed brief glimpses of the mobility that led him to win the Heisman Trophy his freshman year at Texas A&M, his four interceptions and overall performance against the Ticats perhaps showed that he’s still a few weeks removed from truly having a firm grasp on the Alouettes playbook.
Also, a frustrated Ottawa defence might just turn out to be a bull that sees red when it comes time to face Manziel and the Als on Saturday night.
With files from OttawaRedblacks.com
