It’s a part of football, everyone goes through it at one point or another, but for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, the injury bug hit them hardest ahead of Week 16.
Going into a meeting with the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday afternoon, their injury report is looking more like an All-CFL roster, with names like Bralon Addison, Jovan Santos-Knox, Zack Pelehos, Kalil Pimpleton, and DeVonte Dedmon highlighting the six-game list.
As bad as it already was, things got worse for the REDBLACKS last week in Hamilton, losing Dino Boyd and Frankie Griffin for an unknown amount of time, and star strongside linebacker Adarius Pickett for the remainder of the season.
“He’s been a huge part of our mindset and communication,” Dyce said of the Berkeley, California native. “When you have someone as talented and as great of a leader as he is down, it’s a blow.”
Those with keen eyes notice something imperative with the injury list: the REDBLACKS’ linebackers have been hit especially heavily. Without Santos-Knox, Pickett, and Griffin, they have hit the practice field this week with a completely different look, playing around with various options on the defence.
It would seem as if it’ll be some combination of Davion Taylor, who has played a handful of games with the REDBLACKS already at both middle and weakside linebacker, Tyron Vrede, Bennett Williams, and Damon Webb, who could be moved to take Pickett’s place at the more defensive back-like strongside position, but everything is still under consideration.
“We were blessed with a great group of linebackers,” Dyce said. “As you’ve seen, Taylor has done a fantastic job, both at will and mike. Vrede is back, Gary Johnson is champing at the bit to get out there as well, and [we have] Silas Stewart, who’s played numerous games this year. It’s a fantastic group of guys who will step in and are excited about the opportunity to play Montreal.”
Though it could very easily be used as one, the REDBLACKS aren’t hunting excuses. They’ve been in this spot before, starting the season with both of their starting cornerbacks down, and being forced to start two receivers for their first CFL action in the same game.
“Right from day one, these guys have been very resilient,” Dyce said of his group. “Even throughout the game in Hamilton, we were down 22 points, and they got it back to within one score. They’re a fantastic group of young men who have a strong belief in themselves and their teammates, and that carries a long way.”
Taylor says he believes he has taken steps forward since his first game action this season, and quietly, he has become a formidable and reliable force in the Ottawa defence, but as things spiralled in Hamilton, he believes the responsibility to rally the troops was his, serving as a learning experience to take with him into the final five games of the regular season.
“I was kind of disappointed in myself that I didn’t step up and be that leader, especially in that mike position,” Taylor said. “[I] have to be that captain of the defence, you have to be that voice of the defence. This week, I’m going to be one of those voices and one of those captains, because once you have a strong leader who’s playing well, people are going to listen to you, and it’s going to carry on with the whole team.”
It’s not just his worry, however. Other members of the defence must come forward and pitch in if the REDBLACKS have hopes of closing the gap to the Alouettes and first place in the East Division down to just two points.
“Coach Dyce always talks about leadership being plural,” Vrede said. “It’s not like there’s just one or two or three [leaders], everybody can be a leader in their way. You might not be the most rah-rah guy, but everybody can be a leader.”
“Everybody needs to contribute. Everybody needs to know their stuff for things like this. Although there may be newer guys on the field snap-wise, we’ve played the game in our minds 100 times. That’s how we prepare ourselves, and I think that will show on the field.”
Without the familiarity of reps together, the linebackers, in particular, are in a position where communication is paramount, and with over 20,000 tickets already sold for the game, it’s going to be loud. Diligence will be critical, which is being highlighted in the meeting rooms this week.
“We try to emphasize over-communicating,” Taylor said. “We’re all gonna repeat it. If you know what you’re doing, we’re all gonna repeat it. Your assignment, you want to repeat it out loud to yourself and the other backers, just so he can know what you have, so we can always be on the same page and just play fast, because it’s going to be the biggest thing.”
Once again this week, the REDBLACKS can clinch a postseason berth with a victory, but it has hardly come up.
“We’re not trying to put our heads on playoffs right now,” Taylor said. “I felt like we did that last week, and it was a distraction, so this week is just trying to get a win. We know that coming home, we’re the Bank Street Bullies. We’ve been dominant at home this year, so we’re trying to come out and be that same team.”
