Brett Holmes/CFL.ca
The journey of the 2023 Ottawa REDBLACKS has been nothing if not memorable.
Be it through choice, injury, or otherwise, the depth chart has flipped and flopped several times over. And nowhere has this been more evident than at quarterback.
From Nick Arbuckle starting the season for the injured Jeremiah Masoli, to Tyrie Adams breaking the home losing streak, to Masoli’s short lived return, and then the emergence of Dustin Crum as unexpected saviour, the turbulence for Ottawa at their most important position has defined the first half of their season.
The one element of Ottawa’s offensive attack which has helped smooth the rocky waters of multiple quarterback transitions has been the running game. I know the ground game holds less importance to many in the three down game, rightfully so based on the analytical breakdown of how CFL games are won, but nothing has forced air into the REDBLACKS lungs more this season than a steady running attack.
Specifically, the quarterback running game with Crum.
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As I prepared for Ottawa’s latest close finish in Saskatchewan on Sunday, I found a plethora of stats that blew my mind regarding Crum and his running prowess leading up to the Week 9’s East vs. West showdown.
The REDBLACKS quarterback is on pace for more than 1,000 yards this season, which isn’t all that surprising when you realize his 8.9 yards per carry leads all CFL players. Crum has more rushes of 10-yards or more (12) than any player in the league and his three rushes of 20-yards or more had him entering the week with Argos back AJ Ouellette and Elks running back Kevin Brown for the most explosive rushes on the season.
Pro Football Focus has Crum leading the CFL at 5.6 yards after contact per rush, driving home the point an opposing head coach told me earlier this season that “Crum doesn’t run to slide, he runs to score.”
Leading into Week 9, Crum had ten more quarterback escape runs – non-called rushes – than second place Taylor Cornelius of the Edmonton Elks. His ability to see the gap, take off, and utilize his legs has been essential to Ottawa’s success as a whole.
For young quarterbacks attempting to stand the test of time week in and week out though, the challenge is to persevere through personalized defensive game plans and the inevitable injuries, especially those that come with a never say die running style like Crum’s.
Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce told me last week that Crum’s legs have been an asset, but can’t be relied on as his saving grace at all times as it creates a false positive, which can’t be confused for pure success.
Dyce is savvy. He understands what a false positive looks like and knows the passing game needs to continue its expansion in order to help Ottawa climb north in the East Division standings.
Here lies the natural tension of Ottawa’s August.
After a game against the Riders where Crum was held – and at times held himself through hesitancy – to just four carries and 21 yards, the REDBLACKS now face a fierce Argos front, followed by an improving Montreal attack in back-to-back divisional games against the top two teams they hope to track down before the end of October.
In order to do that, Ottawa has to find a way to either protect Crum better, have him make quicker decisions with the football, or just lean completely into the quarterback running game in a full throttle recognition of the unique talent they stumbled into after Arbuckle, Adams, and Masoli went down.
After calling five of the REDBLACKS first eight games, seeing the way they thrive off Crum’s legs and the way he opens up other running lanes for backs and horizontal receiver runs, I think it’s time to go counter culture and let the young stallion ride.
The greatest argument against this of course is the way it would risk Ottawa seeing their knight in shining armour go down, zapping all momentum built from the Crumbacks of July. Dyce this week admitted, “our goal is to keep Dustin on the field so we can continue his development.”
It’s a risk-reward approach that could yield big gains or fail dramatically but after watching Ottawa in Saskatchewan Sunday it’s obvious teams are learning more, and applying that information better on how to tame the REDBLACKS.
Things can’t stay the same for offensive coordinator Khari Jones, so the question becomes where does Ottawa go from here?
