Latest news with #OttawaRedblacks
Toronto Sun
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Many CFL teams enter week with questions at quarterback position
Published Jul 22, 2025 • 4 minute read Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Jaelon Acklin (23) taps quarterback Dru Brown (3) on the head after Brown was injured during first half CFL action against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Ottawa, on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. Photo by Spencer Colby / The Canadian Press The bye week comes at an opportune time for Dru Brown and the Ottawa Redblacks. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ottawa (1-6) will have time to recover from its 30-15 loss Sunday to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Redblacks, who have now dropped four straight, resume play July 31 hosting the Calgary Stampeders (5-1). The time off should especially benefit Brown. He was forced from Sunday's game in the second quarter after taking a hard hit from Hamilton's DaShaun Amos, who came clean off the edge on a blitz. Replays showed Amos struck the bottom of Brown's facemask with the crown of his helmet. Brown's helmet flew off, though his chinstrap wasn't fully secured. Brown left the game and didn't return. Amos received a 25-yard penalty for roughing the passer. Brown was replaced by Dustin Crum, who finished 16-of-22 passing for 149 yards and an interception while rushing six times for 43 yards. He completed six-of-eight attempts for 66 yards and an interception before leaving the contest. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Brown had missed three previous starts this season with a hip injury. Ottawa's lone win, a 20-12 decision over Calgary on June 21, came with Crum under centre. Read More But at least Brown has time to recover. Many other CFL teams enter the week with questions at quarterback as they prepare for upcoming games. Davis Alexander's quest for a record-setting ninth straight win to start a CFL career is on hold. The Montreal Alouettes placed the 26-year-old American on the six-game injured list after he aggravated a hamstring ailment in their 26-25 comeback win over the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday night. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Alexander's 10-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter capped Montreal's comeback from a 25-7 deficit. But as he scored, Alexander grabbed the back of his leg. He remained on the field for Montreal's unsuccessful two-point convert attempt. Alexander had just returned after missing the Alouettes previous two contests with the injury. With Alexander out, veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson is expected to again be Montreal's starter after serving in that capacity during Alexander's two-game absence. The Alouettes visit Calgary (5-1) on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Chad Kelly watch in Toronto continues. The CFL's outstanding player in 2023 hasn't played this season as he recovers from a leg injury suffered in last year's East Division final. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kelly was again a limited practice participant Tuesday. Nick Arbuckle, who earned MVP honours in Toronto's 2024 Grey Cup victory over Winnipeg, has started all six of the Argos' regular-season contests in 2025. Arbuckle has completed 150-of-210 passes (71.4%) for 1,691 yards with nine TDs and eight interceptions but has been sacked a CFL-high 16 times this season. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto (1-5) has dropped two straight games. Its offence stands eighth in net yards (308 per game) and last in both rushing (46.7 yards) and most sacks allowed (16). Toronto hosts Winnipeg (3-2) on Saturday night and it looks like the Argos will face Bombers starter Zach Collaros. Collaros left Winnipeg's 41-20 loss last week to Calgary with a upper-body injury. On Tuesday, the 36-year-old was a full participant in practice with what the Bombers listed as a neck ailment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Collaros had completed eight-of-11 passes for 151 yards with a TD and two interceptions versus Calgary. He was replaced by veteran Chris Streveler. Collaros missed Winnipeg's season-opening 34-20 win over B.C. due to suspension. Streveler threw for 246 yards and three TDs with an interception in that contest. And in Edmonton, incumbent Tre Ford and veteran backup Cody Fajardo split starting reps in practice. The Elks (1-4) come off the bye week preparing to visit Saskatchewan (5-1) on Friday night. Ford, of Niagara Falls, has started all five of Edmonton's game thus far. The six-foot, 192-pound Ford has completed 82-of-121 passes (67.8%) for 984 yards with five TDs and three interceptions while rushing 16 times for 152 yards (9.5-yard average) and a touchdown. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Edmonton stands eighth in offensive points scored (22 per game) and is tied for last with Ottawa in offensive TDs (12). The Elks sport the CFL's fourth-best ground game (106.8 yards per game) but are last in passing (218.2) and net offence (300.2 yards). Most teams have had to deal with quarterback questions as Ford, Arbuckle, Hamilton's Bo Levi Mitchell and Calgary's Vernon Adams Jr. are the only ones to have started all of their teams' games. Yet the league's overall quarterback rating is 97.4 compared to 96.9 last season and 93.9 in 2023. And over the last three weeks, CFL teams are averaging a combined 765 net offensive yards per game. Overall, this season's average is 729 yards, down from 733 in 2024 but ahead of 702 in 2023. CFL teams are also scoring an average of 53 points per game, up 2.3% from 2024. Canada Columnists Celebrity Olympics Entertainment
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Why the start of a bye week is the only reason for Ottawa Redblacks to celebrate an anniversary
Expectations are that Dru Brown will start at quarterback and the coaching staff will be intact when the free-falling Ottawa Redblacks return from their bye week to host the surprise team of the CFL, the Calgary Stampeders, on the last night of July. But while it's believed Brown will bounce back from the controversial head shot he received in Sunday's loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the overall health of the Redblacks is not good. Monday marked the one-month anniversary of the team's first, last and only win of the season, a 20-12 victory in stormy conditions on June 21 at Calgary's McMahon Stadium Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The Redlbacks have since lost four in a row and sit in the CFL basement with a 1-6 record. Since last season's promising 8-3-1 start, they are 2-11, or 2-12 counting the 20-point beating they took from the Toronto Argos in the East Division semifinal. And despite an organizational belief in Bob Dyce, the Redblacks are 15-31-1 since he took over as head coach from the fired Paul LaPolice late in the 2022 season. Likely needing to go 7-4 or 8-3 when they return from their bye, Ottawa's chances of making the playoffs are in grave condition after what Dyce termed 'critical errors' that stacked up in their 30-15 loss to the Tiger-Cats. He cited three examples: 'We talk about maximizing opportunities … it's the critical situations,' said Dyce. 'I believe we have a talented team, and that's why I'm optimistic about the future. But at the same time, you've got to be able to perform at critical times.' Dyce thinks so. 'It's almost good for them to get out of here and enjoy their family,' he said of the players. 'No different than we will as coaches. It's time for introspection, right? We've got to identify what our challenges are, and they've got to identify what their challenges are. All of us together have put us in this situation, and the only way we're going to get out is with all of us as well.' Peter Godber, the veteran Canadian centre the Redblacks signed as a free agent in the offseason, is expected to be among many players returning from the lengthy injury list when the team tries to get it right in its return to action against the 5-1 Stamps on July 31. Godber has been out with a broken finger suffered in training camp. There was no definitive update after the game — and there likely won't be until the Redblacks return to practice July 27 — but Dyce indicated the Brown injury, which came on a controversial hit by DaShaun Amos that knocked the quarterback's helmet off and ended his night in the second quarter, might not be as serious as it could have been. 'I just talked to Dru in the locker room, and he feels a little bit better,' said Dyce, who thought the hit was worthy of an ejection rather than just the 25-yard penalty it received when seeing it live but after the game wanted to make sure by watching the film. 'Any time it's a head injury or anything like that, you're going to be as cautious as possible. We're going on to the bye week, so we're getting him into protocol, and then we'll go forward from there.' He completed six of eight passes for 66 yards but didn't look particularly sharp. He threw his third interception in three quarters (which was also one of three the Redblacks tossed up on the night, with backup Dustin Crum and receiver Justin Hardy, on a gadget play in the fourth quarter, guilty of the other two), and it wasn't until Crum entered the game in the second quarter that the Redblacks started to move the ball with efficiency. Part of it was the refusal, presumably of offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell, to employ a ground game. In the first quarter, they were credited with four running plays — a lateral pass to Andre Miller that almost resulted in a turnover, two QB sneaks by Brown and one lone handoff to William Stanback on the last play before the teams switched ends. The Crum-led attack advanced the chains because of quick decisions by the QB and because he started handing the ball to his backs, with Daniel Adeboboye proving to be the most effective. 'It's huge,' Crum said when asked how much mixing in some runs can help. 'Whenever you can rely on a good run game and mix it up, it takes a ton of pressure off you. When you have to drop back over and over and over again, it makes you truly earn your paycheque as a quarterback. So being able to have different things, whether it's the run game, screen game, different things, where you can get the ball out quick and let your playmakers make plays, makes life easy for a quarterback in this league.' So far, not great. The team's best running back has been Adeboboye, and, at this point, it looks like the team would be better off going with the Canadian as its full-time starter. On Sunday, he had four carries for 54 yards (13.5 average) while Stanback had seven carries for 17 (2.4 yard average). Adeboboye is also the Redblacks' leading rusher on the season with 35 carries for 253 yards (7.2 average), as Stanback is next at 49 carries for 248 yards (5.1 average). Lewis remains the CFL's fourth-leading receiver with 435 yards, but on Sunday, in his 'competition' with Hamilton star pass catcher Kenny Lawler, he had one catch on three targets for 13 yards and once again failed to hang on to a ball on what would have been an important first-down gain. Lawler had a modest three catches for 66 yards, but did score the game's first touchdown when he burned corner Alijay McGhee on a 41-yard score. That one touchdown was one more than the Redblacks managed all game. On Sunday, a season-low 15,054 showed up to watch the Redblacks drop their home record to 0-3. That's 7,582 less than the league average. While the numbers would surely be better if the team started winning, Sunday night games are less than ideal, as many folks have likely had a busy weekend and want to lay low the night before going back to work. TV rules, right? But the CFL should also try to keep the Redblacks on the road (or on a bye) for two weeks in particular each summer, as the Bluesfest crowds have to impact attendance at TD Place. 'I don't think there's any external pressure greater than their internal pressure to be great,' said Dyce. 'They have a great drive to be great. So external pressure isn't something that these guys worry about. I would say they're frustrated, but I believe they're going to go back and they're going to identify some of those challenges, and come back here with a clean slate and go forward.' 'I don't think it's doubt,' said Crum. 'I think, at some point, as a competitor, you just kind of have to self-reflect a little bit and just say enough is enough. I mean, obviously we've had stints where we're successful, whether it was the game we won or in parts of games, but we have to be able to put it all together. I mean, football is a game of adversity. Teams are going to make mistakes. Even the teams right now that are at the top of the league, they're still making some mistakes in games. It's a matter of being able to overcome that, develop that kind of killer instinct mindset that no matter what happens, we're going to come out and win. And I think, as competitors, we have to self-reflect a little bit and take that approach and mindset every single week.' 'I think it's just a lot of things that come down to small details, stuff that we need to focus on and do better,' said veteran defensive tackle Mike Wakefield. 'Every game it's a different situation. I can't tell you overall why, but it's just the small things, small details. I think once we get these things fixed, we're going to be pretty good. We've got a heck of a team, very talented on every part of the team. It's just the small things that we need to correct, and I think we'll get where we need to go. '(Being 1-6) is a tough feeling, but I still believe in every single one of them guys in the room,' he added. 'I've been playing in the CFL for a long time, and I've seen some crazy stuff happen. I think we're going to come out of this bye week and we're going to do what we need to do, and go on winning runs that we need to change the season around. Nobody has given up. Everybody still has the same belief from Day 1 in camp. The CFL is a crazy football league. Anything could happen. So I've still got big belief.' 'We can go undefeated right now and be in a position that we want to be in,' said Justin Hardy. 'So it's all about how you look at it.' 'We can,' said Hardy. 'It's possible. Anything's possible.'
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Why the start of a bye week is the only reason for Ottawa Redblacks to celebrate an anniversary
Article content Expectations are that Dru Brown will start at quarterback and the coaching staff will be intact when the free-falling Ottawa Redblacks return from their bye week to host the surprise team of the CFL, the Calgary Stampeders, on the last night of July. Article content But while it's believed Brown will bounce back from the controversial head shot he received in Sunday's loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the overall health of the Redblacks is not good. Article content Article content Monday marked the one-month anniversary of the team's first, last and only win of the season, a 20-12 victory in stormy conditions on June 21 at Calgary's McMahon Stadium Article content Article content Since last season's promising 8-3-1 start, they are 2-11, or 2-12 counting the 20-point beating they took from the Toronto Argos in the East Division semifinal. Article content And despite an organizational belief in Bob Dyce, the Redblacks are 15-31-1 since he took over as head coach from the fired Paul LaPolice late in the 2022 season. Article content Likely needing to go 7-4 or 8-3 when they return from their bye, Ottawa's chances of making the playoffs are in grave condition after what Dyce termed 'critical errors' that stacked up in their 30-15 loss to the Tiger-Cats. Article content He cited three examples: Article content Having to settle for a field goal after Adarius Pickett intercepted a Bo Levi Mitchell pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and gave Ottawa the ball on the visitors' 24-yard line while trailing 20-12; The decision by American return specialist Easop Winston Jr. to run a punted ball out of the end zone, and making it only as far as the Ottawa one, rather than concede a single point; Allowing Mitchell to find Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard bomb to the Redblacks' three after 'our deep players don't play deep enough' on a second-and-18 situation. Article content 'We talk about maximizing opportunities … it's the critical situations,' said Dyce. 'I believe we have a talented team, and that's why I'm optimistic about the future. But at the same time, you've got to be able to perform at critical times.' Article content Article content Article content Dyce thinks so. Article content 'It's almost good for them to get out of here and enjoy their family,' he said of the players. 'No different than we will as coaches. It's time for introspection, right? We've got to identify what our challenges are, and they've got to identify what their challenges are. All of us together have put us in this situation, and the only way we're going to get out is with all of us as well.' Article content Peter Godber, the veteran Canadian centre the Redblacks signed as a free agent in the offseason, is expected to be among many players returning from the lengthy injury list when the team tries to get it right in its return to action against the 5-1 Stamps on July 31.
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Why the start of a bye week is the only reason for Ottawa Redblacks to celebrate an anniversary
Article content Expectations are that Dru Brown will start at quarterback and the coaching staff will be intact when the free-falling Ottawa Redblacks return from their bye week to host the surprise team of the CFL, the Calgary Stampeders, on the last night of July. Article content But while it's believed Brown will bounce back from the controversial head shot he received in Sunday's loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the overall health of the Redblacks is not good. Article content Article content Monday marked the one-month anniversary of the team's first, last and only win of the season, a 20-12 victory in stormy conditions on June 21 at Calgary's McMahon Stadium Article content Article content Since last season's promising 8-3-1 start, they are 2-11, or 2-12 counting the 20-point beating they took from the Toronto Argos in the East Division semifinal. Article content And despite an organizational belief in Bob Dyce, the Redblacks are 15-31-1 since he took over as head coach from the fired Paul LaPolice late in the 2022 season. Article content Likely needing to go 7-4 or 8-3 when they return from their bye, Ottawa's chances of making the playoffs are in grave condition after what Dyce termed 'critical errors' that stacked up in their 30-15 loss to the Tiger-Cats. Article content He cited three examples: Article content Having to settle for a field goal after Adarius Pickett intercepted a Bo Levi Mitchell pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and gave Ottawa the ball on the visitors' 24-yard line while trailing 20-12; The decision by American return specialist Easop Winston Jr. to run a punted ball out of the end zone, and making it only as far as the Ottawa one, rather than concede a single point; Allowing Mitchell to find Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard bomb to the Redblacks' three after 'our deep players don't play deep enough' on a second-and-18 situation. Article content Article content 'We talk about maximizing opportunities … it's the critical situations,' said Dyce. 'I believe we have a talented team, and that's why I'm optimistic about the future. But at the same time, you've got to be able to perform at critical times.' Article content Article content Article content Dyce thinks so. Article content 'It's almost good for them to get out of here and enjoy their family,' he said of the players. 'No different than we will as coaches. It's time for introspection, right? We've got to identify what our challenges are, and they've got to identify what their challenges are. All of us together have put us in this situation, and the only way we're going to get out is with all of us as well.' Article content Peter Godber, the veteran Canadian centre the Redblacks signed as a free agent in the offseason, is expected to be among many players returning from the lengthy injury list when the team tries to get it right in its return to action against the 5-1 Stamps on July 31.
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Slumping Ottawa Redblacks lose quarterback Dru Brown and another game to Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Ottawa Redblacks are spiralling into their first bye week of the CFL season. Not only did they lose for the second time in eight days to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but in falling to a CFL-worst 1-6 record, they also lost starting quarterback Dru Brown to a possible concussion on a hit that incensed head coach Bob Dyce. While the 30-15 defeat in front of just 15,054 fans at TD Place on Sunday night doesn't dismiss their chances of making the playoffs, the Redblacks qualified as the third seed last year with a 9-8-1 record. Using that gauge, they'll likely have to win at least seven of their last 11 when they return from the bye. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. At this point, it seems like a tall order. Along with dropping their fourth straight contest, the Redblacks lost Brown early in the second quarter when he dropped back for a pass and was bulldozed by Hamilton defensive back Dashaun Amos, who sent the quarterback's helmet flying with an illegal hit. The 'unnecessary roughness major grade 2' cost the Tiger-Cats 25 yards of real estate and Ottawa its No. 1 signal caller. 'We say we're going to protect quarterbacks, but I don't know how that's not an ejection,' Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce told TSN's Claire Hanna at the intermission. The Redblacks, however, responded positively to the adversity. Upon entering the game with his team trailing 10-3, backup Dustin Crum breathed some air into the attack by combining a running game that was missing in the opening quarter. In the final 12 minutes of the second quarter, he completed 10-of-10 passes and, with Lewis Ward kicking four field goals, Ottawa trailed by just one at halftime. The 12 points the Redblacks put on the board were the second most they've scored in a first half this season. Ottawa had a chance to build on that small bit of momentum with its first possession of the third quarter, but Geno Lewis allowed the ball to be stripped from his hands past the first down marker for Crum's first incompletion after he had connected on 11 straight. Forced to put the ball, the defence looked like they'd get the ball right back after Michael Wakefield's second sack of the season put the visitors in a second-and-18 situation. But Bo Levi Mitchell found Kiondre Smith for a 63-yard gain to the Ottawa three, and Treshaun Ward scored with a run up the middle on the next play. A familiar foe produced the early hole. After not throwing an interception in his two and a half games, Brown coughed up his third in three quarters when he was picked off by Stavros Katsantonis at the Ottawa 47 nine minutes into the night. Two plays later, Kenny Lawler sped by Redblacks cornerback Alijay McGhee for a 41-yard touchdown catch. It was Lawler's third TD in two games against Ottawa and league-leading eighth on the season. Along with Brown, the Redblacks lost veteran Canadian defensive tackle Cleyon Laing to an apparent leg injury early in the first quarter. Ottawa is now on its first bye week of the season before returning on July 31 to host the West Division co-leading Calgary Stampeders.
