Chris Hofley/Ottawa REDBLACKS
If there has been one consistent trend for the 2018 season it has been inconsistency.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS are the poster boys for this trend. Ottawa hasn’t won more than two games in a row, nor lost two games in a row this season as they’ve at times sprinted, other times stumbled to a 6-5 start to the season.
A few weeks ago the REDBLACKS looked like they were taking a stranglehold on the division. After Week 10, Ottawa was sitting at a 6-3 record, while Hamilton was 3-5. Montreal and Toronto were behind them.
Fast forward to this week and the Tiger-Cats are an identical 6-5 record thanks to a three-game win streak and threatening to overtake Ottawa because of a two-game losing streak.
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More troubling for the REDBLACKS is how they’ve lost and who they’ve lost too.
First, it was a loss to the East Division basement dwellers from Montreal, and then it was the West Division’s worst team, BC, who beat Ottawa.
Combined points from the REDBLACKS in those two games?
Twenty-five.
A drastic difference from the team that scored 44 points, on the road, in Winnipeg.
So, who are these guys?
Ottawa put up nearly 600 yards on offence during one week and as little as 150 in another.
Head Coach Rick Campbell wears a hat, so it’s hard to tell just how much hair he has left because he must be pulling some out.
He has a team with Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer and William Powell on offence. There should be no reason the team struggles to score and put up yards on offence.
So is the inconsistency due to the quarterback?
Harris knows he needs to improve. The offence under his watch has only one touchdown drive and he hasn’t completed a pass over 20 yards in the last two games.
Not one.
Another concern is Harris’ touchdown to interception ratio. Since Week 4, Harris has thrown more interceptions than he has touchdowns.
Think about the previous two seasons. He had thrown 46 touchdowns to just 15 interceptions. He has 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions this season. In the last eight games, he’s thrown seven interceptions to just six touchdowns.
But you can’t put it all on Trevor Harris. Harris has struggled at times, and other times been a world beater.
The team definitely needs more from him, but also the offensive line as well.
Ottawa has given up 24 sacks this season, which puts them near the bottom of the CFL. An increase in pressure on Harris has led to a predictable drop in second down conversions and turnovers. Harris has just one TD pass, compared to four interceptions during the two-game losing streak.
Now, Ottawa has to try to turn it around in Saskatchewan.
The Roughriders just so happen to have the defence that leads the league in sacks, and is second in forced turnovers.
Don’t forget, the Riders defence has been nearly as effective at scoring touchdowns as the Riders own offence. Eight defensive touchdowns this season has them three short of the CFL record of 11.
The focus of the inconsistency for Ottawa is on the offensive side of the ball because that’s where the inconsistency lies.
Ottawa’s defence shouldn’t be scrutinized to the extent of the offence.
I believe defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe has been one of the biggest off-season acquisitions, player or coach.
Thorpe comes over from Montreal and his reputation of coaching up a solid defence has held true. They are in the top half of the league in many defensive categories and the ups and downs have been nowhere near what we’ve seen out of the offensive side of the ball.
On Saturday, it’ll feel like playoff weather in Saskatchewan with the temperature at kickoff sitting around 10 degrees with the possibility of rain.
Not that it’s the urgency of ‘do or die’ as it is in the playoffs, the Ottawa REDBLACKS need their statement game as soon as possible and a win at Mosaic Stadium against the red-hot Riders would be exactly that.
And they’re heading into a stretch that is very consistent. Six games against current playoff teams. They better figure it out soon.
