So much for going down swinging.
It’s not so much that the Ottawa Redblacks lost to the visiting Montreal Alouettes by a score of 24-12 at TD Place on Saturday afternoon that will leave a sour taste in the mouths of R-Nation, but rather the how.
Thanks to a pair of decisions to punt while trailing by 12 points late in the fourth quarter, head coach Bob Dyce basically conceded the game and eliminated any possibility of a late comeback before it began.
A series of small errors accumulated and proved to be the difference between punching a playoff ticket and losing to Montreal for the seventh straight time.
Here are all my thoughts on the game.
1) For the second consecutive week, quarterback Dru Brown was not the same pivot fans in the nation’s capital have become accustomed to. Even when provided a clean pocket, he was slow to go through his reads and uncharacteristically inaccurate. Just like last week, he didn’t make it to the end of the game. Against Hamilton, he was pulled. This week, he left early due to an ankle injury sustained in the second quarter that may have saved him from himself.
Before his departure, Brown had completed 50 percent of his pass attempts for 69 yards and a pair of interceptions. Of the two picks, only the second can truly be laid at his feet, as it was a poor read and a worse throw. On the pick-six, Andre Miller fell after the ball had already left Brown’s hands. Not much to be done there, but in a close game, giving away seven points stung.
Roughing the passer 👎
Ruffin the passer 👍Dionté (@not_worrieddd) takes advantage of some Ottawa slippage for a big pick-six.#CFL #AlsMTL #Alouettes
pic.twitter.com/WHfAwqchbo— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 21, 2024
Upon Brown’s exit, veteran Jeremiah Masoli once again took over. The 36-year-old certainly seemed to be able to operate the offence a bit better than Brown, but his production was hampered by a series of mistakes by those around him — be it flags on his offensive linemen, drops by his receivers, or his head coach not believing he could convert a couple of third downs late in the fourth quarter.
Masoli finished by completing 65 percent of his passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. He avoided turning the ball over but frankly, that came down to nothing more than dumb luck as he had at least three balls that deserved to be picked off.
Cue the comeback?
Jeremiah Masoli (@jmasoli8) finds Justin Hardy (@FreakMagic2) wide open for six.#CFL #Redblacks #RNation
pic.twitter.com/Fn9sDynXTR— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 21, 2024
2) Following last week’s game, I wrote it would be foolish to overlook Brown’s season-long contributions because of one bad performance. I still believe he should remain the starter, despite another shaky outing, but it might be a moot point if he isn’t ready to go for next week’s game.
If he can’t play and Masoli moves Ottawa back into the win column, it would be tough to see him return to the bench. But that’s putting the cart ahead of the horse at this point.
3) Good scheming can overcome and cover up injuries, but that will only go so far. It seems like offensive coordinator Tommy Condell is discovering those limits.
I say that because without his two starting tackles, down a pair of starting receivers, and using a new running back, Condell seems to have fundamentally changed how he’s calling his offence.
It was yet another game with a massively unbalanced run-to-pass ratio — 14 handoffs to 42 dropbacks — which again prevented the offence from establishing much flow. For the third week in a row, Condell tried to replace the ground game with a series of screens and hitch passes, but once again it wasn’t effective.
Although the Redblacks generated 360 yards of offence and 19 first downs, they repeatedly struggled to maintain drives or build off of the good field position gifted to them by their special teams.
Of Ottawa’s 16 possessions, five drives went two-and-out while another seven drives moved the chains only a single time before resulting in a punt. In fact, just four-of-16 drives had multiple first downs. The Redblacks averaged merely 4.3 yards per second down play, which unsurprisingly led to them converting just 29 percent of their second down opportunities.
Ottawa was already the worst in the league at finishing drives that reached the inside of their opponent’s 20-yard line before missing their lone opportunity against Montreal. Put everything mentioned above together, mix in three turnovers, and it doesn’t take an expert to know that’s not a formula for winning football.
4) Rookie American Khalan Laborn continues to look good but he’s simply not being given enough touches. The 25-year-old turned 13 handoffs into 71 yards for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. He also managed to bust off three runs of 10+ yards.
Although Laborn was targeted five times, he managed only two catches for 11 yards. What stung the most was a crucial drop on third-and-six in the middle of the fourth quarter that resulted in a turnover on downs. Had Laborn hung onto that pass, he easily moves the chains and who knows how the rest of the game would have played out.
5) As he has been all season long, Justin Hardy was once again Ottawa’s most dangerous offensive weapon. The quarterbacks looked his way 11 times, and he turned those targets into nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. That’s why seeing him shaken up on Ottawa’s last offensive play of the game was so disheartening. R-Nation will be praying his injury isn’t serious.
As for the rest of the receiving corps, Dominique Rhymes was targeted ten times but only managed four catches for 59 yards. He also had a drop in the end zone that could’ve made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
Outside of Hardy and Rhymes, nobody else in recent weeks has established themselves as a threat worthy of commanding serious attention from opposing defences. Jaelon Acklin made five catches for 41 yards, but none of his routes have been stretching the field. Canadian rookie Nick Mardner made three grabs for 20 yards, while American rookie Andre Miller had a pair of catches for 39 yards.
6) With Dino Boyd joining Zack Pelehos on the six-game injured list, the Redblacks found themselves without both starting tackles. Veteran Jacob Ruby got the start at right tackle, while American Drake Centers was moved to left tackle. It really speaks to how poorly 2023 first overall draft pick Dontae Bull has developed when he’s effectively the fifth option at a time when both starters at the very position he plays are out.
Ironically, Bull wound up on the field anyway, because Centers left the game with an injury. Bull came in at right tackle while Ruby flashed his versatility yet again by shifting to left tackle.
In theory, giving up three sacks on 42 pass attempts sounds good. In reality, the number wasn’t higher only because of Brown and Masoli scrambling and throwing the ball away to prevent further losses.
On top of the pass protection issues, a pair of procedure calls — one on Centers, the other on Ruby — and a holding call on centre Eric Starczala each killed drives.
If you’re looking for positive news from the position, general manager Shawn Burke managed to ink left guard Drew Desjarlais to a contract extension through 2026 this week.
7) Considering that Cody Fajardo came into the game leading the CFL in completion percentage and passer rating, and given that Montreal was averaging 104 yards per game on the ground, Barron Miles’ defensive unit held up well.
Fajardo completed 59 percent of his passes against the Redblacks and Montreal was limited to just 79 rushing yards. In fact, the Alouettes only put up 285 total yards of total offence.
Despite the loss, Ottawa’s defence more than pulled their weight. The Alouettes converted 30 percent of their second-down opportunities and of their 15 possessions, 11 ended in punts. 12 of their drives gained less than 20 yards. Typically, that’s winning football.
Although the Redblacks failed to register a turnover, they did notch three sacks and would’ve had more if not for Fajardo being perhaps the shiftiest quarterback in the CFL.
What makes the stout defensive effort even more impressive is that it came with all of the starting linebackers on the six-game injured list. In place of Frankie Griffin, Jovan-Santos Knox and Adarius Pickett, the Redblacks started Davion Taylor on weak-side, Global Tyron Vrede in the middle and Bennett Williams on the strong side.
Vrede made five tackles and had a sack. Defensive back Damon Webb made four tackles, two of which were for a loss. Defensive linemen Cleyon Laing notched his 50th career sack, while also making two tackles. Fellow defensive tackle Michael Wakefield was a force all game long, registering three tackles and a sack of his own. Defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin made five tackles.
8) Kicker Lewis Ward was only called upon twice but, as usual, delivered, splitting the uprights from 18 and 44 yards out. Unfortunately, that was the best of Ottawa’s special teams efforts. Richie Leone’s punts had good hang time and were put to the right spots, yet undisciplined gap coverage and missed tackles allowed Montreal returner James Letcher Jr. to average nearly 20 yards per punt return, including a 60 and 34-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Defensive back Adrian Frye and defensive lineman Kene Onyeka led the way with two special teams tackles apiece.
In terms of Ottawa’s return game, four different players returned a kick. Originally the job was Eli Stove’s, but following his injury and departure, Canadian safety Alonzo Addae filled in. Then he was hurt, which meant Frye fielded a pair of punts. Defensive back Brandin Dandridge also returned a kickoff.
9) I don’t know how to understand or justify Dyce’s decision to punt on third-and-eight with 2:33 left in the game, or again on third-and-10 with 46 seconds remaining. In both instances Ottawa was trailing by 12 and needed two scores.
Obviously in neither scenario are the Redblacks likely to score twice and come all the way back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But as the head coach, shouldn’t you be sending the message that every single person needs to be trying to win right until the final whistle sounds? It’s the CFL after all — crazier things have happened.
By punting both times, it seemed like Ottawa had accepted their fate and conceded the loss as opposed to fighting until the end.
10) The second quarter defensive pass interference call on Alijah McGhee wasn’t the reason Ottawa lost the game, but it was a chintzy flag that wound up setting up a touchdown. The initial call was bad enough but the fact that the Command Centre upheld it is even more baffling. Not having anything resembling a standard for the call means fans are constantly left guessing and often fuming when something that passes the eye-test is deemed illegal.
But before R-Nation harps on the refs, the real story when it comes to penalties is that the Redblacks continue to be sloppy and undisciplined. Against Montreal, Ottawa was flagged 11 times for 137 yards. In a fairly close game, those free yards add up.
11) I’m sure OSEG didn’t love that the biggest crowd of the season at TD Place — 23,530 fans — was also the one that watched the team’s unbeaten streak at Lansdowne come to a sudden halt. As if that weren’t bad enough, the 12 points the Redblacks scored was their lowest output at home this season.
Ticket sales were undoubtably buoyed by the hundreds of Alouettes fans who made the trip down the 417. Be it the “Olé” chants or airhorns that somehow slipped past TD Place security — technically they’re banned — Montreal fans were a factor and extremely noticeable, even through the TV broadcast.
12) For a team that already had 15 players on the six-game injured list, the last thing anyone in Ottawa wanted to see was more injuries. Unfortunately, the bug bit again.
Quarterback Dru Brown, tackle Drake Centers, receiver Eli Stove, Canadian safeties Ty Cranston and Alonzo Addae, defensive back Brandin Dandridge, and fullback Marco Dubois all left the game with injuries. None of them returned. Furthermore, Hardy was hurt but it’s impossible to say if he would’ve returned, as he was hurt on the offence’s last play.
One can preach next man up, believe in it and it can work, but only to an extent. The reality of the situation is that Ottawa has an astounding amount of talent that isn’t healthy enough to suit up, and it’s affecting their competitiveness. Clearly one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity but at a certain point, some of these guys now getting significant playing time were further down the depth chart for a reason.
13) With the loss, the Redblacks’ record drops to 8-5-1 and they are now a full six points behind Montreal for the division lead. With just four games remaining, catching the Alouettes to win the East would require Ottawa running the table and Montreal losing out. Not likely.
What that means is that the Redblacks are playing to a) lock down a playoff spot for the first time since 2018 (something they seem to be in a good position to do) and b) fight for seeding to host a home playoff date.
With their ceiling for finishing the regular season pretty much set at second in the East, it’s essential Ottawa hold off the Argos and Ticats so that they can open the post-season at Lansdowne.
Up next is a trip to Regina next Saturday for a matchup against the Roughriders and the recently released Ryquell Armstead, who is fresh off a 207-yard rushing performance.
Not only will Dyce’s squad be motivated to snap their two game losing skid and finally, officially, lock up a playoff berth for the first time since 2018, the defence in particular should be motivated to shut down a recent teammate.
