Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca
OTTAWA – It’s been consistently referred to as a “grind out win” by REDBLACKS’ quarterback Trevor Harris.
The REDBLACKS squeaked out a win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a game that failed to see a touchdown until the final minutes of the game, in which it was Hamilton finding pay-dirt, not Ottawa.
Somehow, someway, Ottawa managed to be able to lean solely on the leg of rookie kicker Lewis Ward, as he sailed seven of his seven field goal attempts through the winding winds at Tim Hortons Field, and through the uprights, for the 21 points that the REDBLACKS would need in order to seal the win.
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Although Ottawa is coming off of a game where they struggled to gain new sets of downs as they pushed the ball into the offensive zone, Trevor Harris does recognize the positives in their performance.
“There’s two games in a row where we haven’t turned the ball over,” Harris said Monday following practice. “We’ve moved the ball, we’ve converted second downs.”
Nonetheless, the REDBLACKS do understand they’ll be needing to address their inability to cap off drives, especially when it comes to competing with the higher scoring offences in the league.
“We’ve got to finish drives. It’s vital if we’re going to be an elite offence, which is what I believe we are.”
The REDBLACKS’ game against the Ticats kicked off a series of three East Division matchups.
In the East, it appears that all of the teams are facing their struggles when it comes to piecing together drives and finding consistency in putting points up on the board.
“The bad news is we’re not playing out best football. The good news is we’re not playing our best football and we can still win games,” REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell said while addressing the media following practice on Monday.
With Week 8’s matchup against the Toronto Argonauts, and then the Montreal Alouettes the following week, Ottawa has the opportunity to create some cushion between themselves and the rest of the division when it comes to where they rack up in the standings.
It was announced earlier in the week that Marc Trestman, the Argonauts head coach, has elected to go with McLeod Bethel-Thompson as their starting quarterback for Thursday’s meeting with the REDBLACKS, replacing James Franklin as the Argos signal-caller.
Bethel-Thompson hasn’t seen any regular season action this season.
“We know somewhat about him because he’s a 30-year old guy, so he’s been around football for a while and he’s been through some teams.”
The former Sacramento State quarterback passed for 212 yards in the preseason, completing 14 of his 20 pass attempts. He also threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions, both of which came against the REDBLACKS in their meeting prior to the regular season.
“I don’t think they’re going to radically change their scheme,” Campbell said.
Marc Trestman has earned a knack for maintaining and sticking to a very specific style of quarterback when it comes to operating his offensive set.
“I think he’s going to be a drop-back quarterback, so I don’t think it’s going to offer any wildly different challenges.”
Ottawa makes the trip to Toronto for Thursday Night Football against the Argonauts at 7:00 p.m. ET at BMO Field. The REDBLACKS are currently at the top of the East Division standings with a 4-2 record, while the Argos have a 1-5 record.
