Behind the R: Playing the hand you’re dealt

The Ottawa REDBLACKS could never have expected what was coming to them this season.

They’ve dealt with countless injuries, with prized free agent acquisition Jovan Santos-Knox missing the first six games, along with first-overall pick Dontea Bull still recovering. They’ve lost Shaq Evans to start the year, and Money Hunter for the rest of the season. It gets no better when you look at the quarterback room, where both Jeremiah Masoli and Tyrie Adams’ campaigns are over, and with a banged-up Nick Arbuckle, Dustin Crum has stepped in as the fourth option.

That reality has been tough to watch for everyone in the organization, including General Manager Shawn Burke, who watched Masoli go down through gritted teeth and an incredible level of empathy.

“Anyone around here knows the affinity we have for our players and what they go through to do what we ask of them,” Burke said. “I have a long-standing relationship with Jeremiah and his family, and it means a lot to me. He’s helped me get where I am in my career, so it’s always first and foremost about the players for me. To see one of your guys go down, it hurts, but we’ve moved on, that’s what Jeremiah wants.”

In his first CFL action in Hamilton in Week 6, Crum showed flashes of what the REDBLACKS hope he can be. He completed 14 of his 21 passes for 149 yards, and rushed for 91 yards on just six carries, but he made a trio of costly mistakes, fumbling once and throwing two interceptions.

Despite nearly bringing the REDBLACKS into the endzone at the game’s death, Crum accepted responsibility for the outcome. He has been called his own biggest critic, and has adopted a positive attitude in an effort to “get out of the way” of his teammates.

“That’s the quarterback position in a nutshell. You can play a 95 percent perfect game, but if the mistakes you make are big turnovers, that’s what you’re going to remember,” Crum admitted. “I have to clean that up, and [if I make mistakes, they need to be] as minute as possible.”

As he rolled into his first week as the starter, he found a little bit more comfort in working with the team’s top receivers on a consistent basis, but with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in town for Week 7, virtually everyone and their mother had written the game off as a loss – except for those inside the REDBLACKS’ walls.

Everyone knows the story by now. Down by 16 points inside the final two-and-a-half minutes, the REDBLACKS mounted a comeback for the ages. Oddly enough, Crum found himself in an eerily similar situation with the game on the line. In Hamilton, he took off and was held just short of the endzone as time expired, but when he got his second chance, he was never going to be held short.

“When I got to the five-yard line, I felt that moment again, and I told myself I wasn’t going sideways this time,” Crum said following the win. “I was going right through him, and if he stopped me, I could live with that. I wasn’t going to let it happen again, I had that ‘anything it takes’ mindset. That embodies this whole team, that’s something Jeremiah Masoli started for us.”

Confidence grew for the former fourth-string pivot, not only in himself, but with his teammates. The almost inexplicable victory felt like the proverbial shot in the arm, suddenly presenting something tangible to show for all of their hard work. The next week, there was a swagger about the offence, and when they rolled into Calgary, the REDBLACKS turned in one of their best offensive performances in the past five years.

Crum marched the offence up and down the field for four touchdowns, while the defence added another, bringing their point total to 43, the most they have scored in a single game since a 44-41 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 20th, 2019.

With three wins in their last four games, the REDBLACKS brought their record to .500, and currently stand in second place in the East Division. In a season that had the potential to get off the rails, the coaching staff and the players doubled down on themselves, pulling their way out of an early hole, and now have the nation on nice.

Moreover, a short week of practice brought some much-welcomed good news. When the ball is kicked off on Friday night, the REDBLACKS will have three All-Stars back in their lineup, as Jovan Santos-Knox and Shaq Evans make their Ottawa debuts, and Cariel Brooks makes his return to the lineup, after missing four games with a foot injury.

Along with Jackson Bennett returning to the backfield, Evans gives another toy for Crum to use, and defensively, the reinforcements bring stability, know-how, and desire, which live-wire Santos-Knox is dying to show.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks now,” he said. “I’m happy that it’s finally here, and I can do what I came here to do: help make this defence great.”

The REDBLACKS head into the second trimester of the season tonight, as they face the Tiger-Cats, looking for revenge, and a chance to level the season series.