This season, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have used four different returners on kickoff, and three on punt returns, as injuries have sidelined DeVonte Dedmon and Tobias Harris at different points of the season.
Kalil Pimpleton has stepped into that role, seemingly with ease, and Adarius Pickett has given Head Coach Bob Dyce assurance when needed, earning their much-deserved praise. As recently as the last game, Pimpleton made a huge impact, returning a punt for a touchdown.
Yes, Pimpleton’s run was impressive, but it was only possible thanks to those around him, he admitted, pointing to linebacker Gary Johnson, whose jersey he grabbed ahold of around midfield.
“In everything, someone does the dirty work,” Johnson said. “When he grabbed me, I knew he was in control. I was like a dog, and he had the leash, I had to go where he wanted me to go.”
Formerly the Special Teams Coordinator for the REDBLACKS, Dyce’s team reflects his relentless chase for perfection when the ball is kicked. It’s no secret: if you want to make his football team, you better be willing to play specials, and you can’t take it lightly.
“Since [I got here] there has always been a huge emphasis on special teams, and it hasn’t changed,” said defensive back Justin Howell. “Coach McDiarmid has done a good job of coaching us up, and that same standard has stayed. We’ve been one of the best-coached teams in the league for years.”
Every kicking play begins in the hands of one person: the long snapper, Peter Adjey. It’s his first season in Ottawa, working with Richie Leone and Lewis Ward, but they have already built a special relationship.
“Working with elite guys like Lewis and Richie have made this pretty seamless,” Adjey said. “All three of us understand that we want to be an elite unit, and we come here every day with that goal. We keep each other accountable, and we know we need each other. If one guy is down, we can lift him up together.”
Adjey’s job isn’t easy, although it’s likely the most thankless job in all of sports, next to being an official. If he’s off by just a couple of inches on the snap, it can easily be the difference between a made field goal, or a big play the other direction.
Not only that, but immediately after the ball leaves his hands, he either needs to block, or sprint down the field as fast as possible to cover, depending on if it’s a field goal or punt.
“It requires focus and repetition,” Adjey said. “The last thing I want to be doing when I step on the field is thinking. I just want to go perform. I’ve been doing this for a number of years, so I have confidence in my game, and I know I’m going to deliver a ball that allows Lewis and Richie to perform at a high level.”
Joining Adjey on his sprint down the field are the rest of his teammates, who come from all over the world, with different personalities. Together, however, they have formed a special kind of bond that transcended offence and defence, and share an enjoyment in the violence only special teams can produce.
“Our group is so cohesive,” said defensive lineman Kene Onyeka. “You have guys like Tyron Vrede who is always in the right spot, and will set the edge, and then you have guys like Gary, who just run in there and smack everything in their way. I like to think I’m a little bit of everything, but we all have our strengths, but we all take special teams extremely seriously.”
The REDBLACKS have been one of the best special teams units in the CFL this season, creating nine big play returns (30+ yards for a punt return, 40+ on a kickoff), while allowing only one, which is tops in both categories. They have also scored two kick return touchdowns, and have allowed none.
Their success hasn’t come overnight, it has been a regular focus for the club, treating it no different than offence or defence, and demanding nothing but the best.
“It’s accountability and belief,” Howell said. “It’s a standard, and we expect guys to win their one-on-one matchups. We believe that we’re better than the guy we’re across from. We believe in the schemes and the returner back there, and that Coach Dyce and Coach McDiarmid are going to put us in a good spot.”
Even though they have been successful thus far, there’s no resting. They know the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Mario Alford are in town on Thursday night, and they’re keen to find the endzone.
“We crank the intensity up each week knowing that there’s a target on our back because we are the best special teams unit in the league,” Johnson said with his trademarked confidence. “We have to keep up with it every game. We go out there week after week knowing we have to be dominant, especially when you know there’s a dynamic returner back there. We can’t give him an inch, because he’ll take a mile.”
