Photo | Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photography/Ottawa REDBLACKS
Next man up (again)
There’s a reason teams should stack their roster of quarterbacks with experience and the REDBLACKS, unfortunately, are seeing their off-season work in that department pay off. After starter Trevor Harris went down against Hamilton two weeks ago, Drew Tate stepped in against Montreal and was having a solid outing – 21 for 29, 185 yards and a touchdown – before he too went down.
Ryan Lindley – a San Diego state product who has also played in the NFL – came in, finished off the game and is expected to get the nod to start against Winnipeg. If that’s the case, it would be Lindley’s first start in the CFL after working most of this season as Ottawa’s short yardage man.
Pad the lead
The REDBLACKS picked up a key win against a division rival when they beat the Montreal Alouettes last weekend, but they will be in even tougher against the Blue Bombers as Ottawa looks to give itself some breathing room atop the CFL East Division standings.
While Ottawa leads Toronto by one point in the race for the East Division crown, the Argos have a game in hand. The Blue Bombers, meanwhile, sit second in the West, six points ahead of Ottawa, trailing only the powerhouse Calgary Stampeders. But Ottawa has won four of five and has historically played well in Winnipeg, so this could be anyone’s game.
Bring the run
After coming off the injured list against Montreal, the Alouettes couldn’t get a handle on shifty REDBLACKS running back William Powell. The Texas native and Kansas State product, who missed all of last year due to injury after being Ottawa’s best player in the 2015 Grey Cup game, pounded the Alouettes defence for 144 yards on 25 carries.
That smashed Powell’s previous 2017 high of 85 yards, which coincidentally came against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa’s opponent this week. The REDBLACKS will need another big game from Powell against an intimidating Winnipeg defence.
