Coaching costs Redblacks (& a dozen other thoughts on losing to Saskatchewan)

By
Santino Filoso
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Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders

For the second week in a row, the Ottawa Redblacks lost a game they should’ve won, this time falling to the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 26-24 at Mosaic Stadium.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

1) The quarterback’s main job is to distribute the ball to teammates and over the past two games, Dustin Crum has failed to do so. On paper, the numbers from Regina look decent — 16-of-20 for 174 yards and no turnovers — but in reality, Crum failed to settle into any kind of rhythm.

The rookie quarterback is still struggling to stretch the field as he completed only one of the three long passes he attempted. This is hardly a new trend as the 24-year-old has completed just two-of-eight pass attempts over 20 yards in his last three games.

Perhaps some of the blame lies with play-calling but Crum often holds onto the ball for too long and winds up shuffling around the pocket until he’s sacked. Either he isn’t making the right reads, or he’s not trusting himself to pull the trigger. But at a certain point, Crum needs to give his receivers a chance to make a play.

Taking a two-yard check-down on second-and-18 might not lose you the game, but it also won’t win you many, either. A week after throwing for 148 yards, Crum mustered 174 on Sunday. In the CFL, that’s simply not enough.

As the Redblacks seek to get their offence back on track, they’ll need more from their rookie pivot.

2) Khari Jones’ offence has now gone two full games without scoring a touchdown. Against Saskatchewan, Ottawa put up 222 yards of offence and averaged 2.7 yards per second down play, which resulted in them converting just 5-of-23 second down opportunities. They also went zero-for-three in the red zone.

Worst of all, just like last week, the offence failed to do much when gifted turnovers by their defence, turning two fumble recoveries and a turnover on downs into three field goals.

On one hand, Jones can’t be faulted for his quarterback hanging onto the ball for too long. On the other, where is the creativity? When the Redblacks moved the pocket around and incorporated play-action, the passing game was effective. But Crum was only rolled out once in the first quarter and then not again until late in the fourth.

With the offensive line struggling, why not call more screens? Where were the quick slants to offset Saskatchewan’s pressure packages? Although the team needs to be smart about the hits Crum takes, why not work in more run/pass options?

Right now Ottawa’s offence frequently finds itself in second and longs that it can’t convert, so something must be done to drastically improve first down production.

3) Let’s talk about two big decisions made by head coach by Bob Dyce. The first was a  sequence of plays on Saskatchewan’s 24 yard line with 6:44 left in the game. Trailing 23-21 and facing 2nd and 2, on second down the Redblacks chose to fake the quarterback sneak with Tyrrell Pigrome and throw a fade to Jaelon Acklin. It wound up incomplete and on the ensuing third down, instead of kicking the go-ahead field goal, Ottawa ran a sneak which came up short and resulted in a turnover on downs.

Although things didn’t turn out well for the Redblacks, the decision making process was solid even if the result was less than ideal. Fans are quick to forgive an aggressive coach who comes up short – especially a fanbase like R-Nation that is starving for wins and excitement.

It’s hard to reconcile that decision with the one that ultimately cost Ottawa the game – kicking a field goal from Saskatchewan’s 1 yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game.

The word cowardly is being thrown out by some in the peanut gallery, but since Dyce doesn’t strike me as a man afraid of much, I’ll use the words ultra-conservative and poorly thought out instead.

Strategically, the decision doesn’t add up. Yes, kicking the field goal temporarily put Ottawa ahead, but with that much time left and considering that Saskatchewan was averaging eight yards per pass and 27.5 yards per kickoff return, a one point lead with that much time was never going to be enough.

Going for it on 3rd and 1 was the right call because even if the Redblacks did come up short, they very likely get the ball back. If the defence held, Saskatchewan is faced with a choice of conceding a game-tying safety and punting, or punting from their end zone and praying they keep Ottawa out of field goal range. And if Ottawa had just punched it in, they would’ve won.

Throwing strategy aside, Dyce needed to go for it in that situation because you cannot preach being a physical, tough team that imposes their will on people while also being unwilling to call a play to win the game from the opponents’ 1-yard line.

Not to mention Dyce himself has said more than once in recent weeks that his team needed to find ways to turn field goals into touchdowns. That’s about a good as opportunity as one could ever hope for.

In a post-game interview that won’t go over well with R-Nation, Dyce showed no regret in his decision to kick a field goal, saying instead what he regretted was where he had Richie Leone aim the kickoff.

4) Running back Devonte Williams was given plenty of touches but struggled to find open space, turning 12 carries into 33 rushing yards and three catches into 15 receiving yards.

Canadian back Jackson Bennett fared somewhat better as he averaged 6.2 yards per carry, though he only had his number called five times. After being used as a power back in short yardage situations in recent weeks, Ante Milanovic-Litre was not given any carries.

5) In his return to Regina, Shaq Evans led all Ottawa receivers with four catches for 38 yards. Jaelon Acklin’s slow start to the season continued as his five targets turned into three catches for 56 yards. Those totals would have been higher if not for a pair of deep drops.

Nobody else in the Redblacks’ receiving corps managed more than two catches as Justin Hardy snagged two passes for 21 yards, Nate Behar caught two for seven yards, and Marco Dubois and Siaosi Mariner made one grab each for 24 and 13 yards, respectively.

6) The Redblacks’ offensive line was thrown into chaos when starting right tackle Zack Pelehos was scratched due to illness at the last minute. This meant that right guard Jacob Ruby kicked out to tackle, while Hunter Steward started at guard.

Playing tackle means being more isolated and, given that it’s not Ruby’s normal position, the mixed results were expected. He played well at times and struggled at others, such as on the possession following Bryce Carter’s fumble recovery on which he allowed a sack and then took a false start penalty on back to back plays.

The offensive line allowed another six sacks, though half of those can be laid at the feet of Crum, who did his line no favours by being indecisive in the pocket and failing to throw the ball away. The team has given up 24 sacks in Crum’s four starts, so something has to give.

If Pelehos isn’t ready to return by next week, it will be interesting to see if first overall 2023 CFL Draft pick Dontae Bull is given an opportunity. The six-foot-seven, 327-pound blocker has been practicing for weeks but has yet to make the game day roster.

7) Yet again, Barron Miles’ defence did a lot of things right. As has come to be expected, they shut down Saskatchewan’s rushing attack, limiting them to just three yards per carry. They also generated four turnovers (three fumbles and one turnover on downs) and put points on the board by scoring a touchdown.

Despite blitzing relentlessly, the unit failed to register a sack. Yet again, the secondary looked leaky, giving up numerous deep shots.

In his second game since returning from injury, middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox looked exactly like the player Ottawa had hoped he’d be when they signed him in free agency. The veteran made a game-high nine tackles and knocked down a pass. Also returning from injury was Canadian safety Justin Howell, who made five tackles of his own, including a couple of hellacious hits over the middle.

8) Lewis Ward’s consecutive field goal streak ended at 16 after he came up short on a 52-yard attempt on the game’s opening drive. He quickly shook off the miss and started a new streak, nailing the other five kicks he attempted from 51, 35, 32, 28, and eight yards out.

Richie Leone smashed seven punts for 397 yards with an average net of 47.9 yards, which is spectacular. Ottawa’s coverage units were suffocating and led by a monster effort from Canadian linebacker Kevin Francis, who finished the night with four special teams tackles.

With Brandin Dandridge moved to the six-game injury list, rookie Tobias Harris was given the first crack at return duties. The 23-year-old looked dangerous, averaging 16.7 yards per punt return and 21.7 yards per kickoff.

9) The Redblacks took 10 penalties for 93 yards, so you’d never guess that Dyce’s squad was the least penalized in the league coming into the contest. The team jumped offside three times on hard counts, which is simply unacceptable.

10) I was skeptical when the CFL introduced weekly Sunday night games this season but it’s proven to be a great decision. Not only are the TV numbers strong, having a game on Sunday evening allows those who enjoy camping or going to the cottage a chance to get home, settle in and still catch the action to cap off the weekend. Hopefully, it’s something the league continues to do every summer.

11) This is a pet peeve of mine, so here’s a quick public service announcement: saying “YAC yards” makes no sense. The Y in “YAC” means “yards.” Whenever TSN’s commentators or someone on the panel or a fan says, “YAC yards,” what they’re really saying is “yards after catch yards.” Can we just say “YAC,” please?

12) With the loss, the Redblacks’ record has dropped to 3-5 and put them in a tie with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the bottom of the East Division. By failing to secure a victory, Ottawa wasted an opportunity to gain ground on Toronto, who finally lost, and keep pace with the Alouettes.

Four of the Redblacks’ five losses this season have come by a single score. On one hand, it shows the team has been in every game. On the other, it demonstrates of lack of finish.

Bob Dyce has a week to get his team ready for a tough contest at BMO Field next Sunday night against a banged up Argos’ squad. Although a game in August can never be called a must-win, Ottawa can’t settle for anything less than a victory if they want any chance of winning the East Division.

Santino Filoso
Santino Filoso
Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).

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