Days after the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ crushing defeat at the hands of the B.C. Lions on Saturday night, the words still don’t exist to describe it.
Through three quarters, the REDBLACKS looked as good as they had in some time, leading the Lions 37-18, but the fourth quarter changed everything. The Leos pieced together strong drives leading to scores, and things totally unravelled on the Ottawa sideline. Lewis Ward missed a long field goal, which was returned for a touchdown by Terry Williams, and B.C. finished the win as time wound down.
It’s the seventh consecutive loss for the REDBLACKS, which is cause for frustration on its own, but the context of those losses is what makes it worse. With so many one-score games, the results could have been exceptionally different, but as it stands, Head Coach Bob Dyce is left seeking answers.
“At the end of the day, explosive plays have hurt us all year, and this week, it happened to be on special teams,” Dyce said. “We have to get a couple of first downs when we need to get first downs. The defence stood tall for the majority of the game. Credit to B.C., they’re a good team; Coach Campbell does a great job with them, and they made the plays when they had to.”
In the fourth quarter, the REDBLACKS’ offence managed just nine yards, with eight of that coming on the second-to-last play of the game. That, in turn, has sparked criticism of the playcalling, with fans calling it too conservative. Dyce, however, suggested otherwise.
“We say we’re going to be able to run the ball and move the sticks, then we have to be able to do that,” he said. “We have to be able to convert second down if we’re in second and long situations. So I’m not going to say that [it was too conservative] without watching the film.”
Dustin Crum took another step in his progression, completing nearly two-thirds of his passes for 233 yards, and despite throwing an interception early in the game, he used his legs to make up for it, rushing for three majors.
It’s the overall productive performance from the offence – and even the defence for most of the night – that leaves a bad taste in Crum’s mouth.
“I don’t know if I have the words for it, to be honest,” he explained. “In past weeks, I have said frustrated, but tonight, we let it slip. That can’t happen. You have to finish to win games against good teams like B.C., so it’s disappointing. We felt like we played well enough to win, but mistakes at the end cost us.”
The wild momentum swings have been a bit of a trend for the REDBLACKS this season. Sometimes, it has worked in their favour, including in the victory over the Winning Blue Bombers, but more often than not, it has gone against them.
The big question is simple. Why?
The answer, however, is far from simple. There’s much more than meets the eye, but there is an element of learning.
“It’s how the league can be, but it’s also a culture thing,” Crum said. “Obviously, we haven’t won a lot of games in the past few years, and in this league, you have to learn how to win.”
Disappointment is the theme of the night, but Dyce won’t stand for questions about the character of his team.
“You saw what they did, they flew across the whole of Canada here, came out here and fought until the end of the game,” he said. “These guys are men of great character, so that’s not the thing, we gotta correct the things we need to correct as coaches.”
