The Ottawa REDBLACKS are back at TD Place today to welcome the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Week 7 finale.
Much of the narrative surrounds former REDBLACK Dru Brown, who leads the Bombers into TD Place following a trade to Winnipeg a few weeks ago. The REDBLACKS, however, remain focused on the task at hand following a week of practice and preparation, solely aimed at getting the club’s first victory of the season.
Ottawa heads into the game currently sitting at 0-5. Still, with more than two-thirds of the season remaining, the REDBLACKS will take the field just two games back of a playoff game and with some major quarterback injury questions surfacing throughout the league, Ottawa remains very much in control of its destiny, despite the difficult start.
Among the bright spots for the REDBLACKS has been Ottawa newcomer Ayden Eberhardt, who set a career high with his 129 receiving yards in week 2, only to best that this past week with a 155-yard performance. The fourth-year receiver has opened eyes with his impressive catch radius, going over the top of opposing defensive backs to secure catches on multiple occasions this season.
One of the keys for the REDBLACKS will be getting the running game going. Coach Dinwiddie says the club has gone back to the drawing board to take a look at some different approaches to see more success, also noting that the struggles fall on the offence as a unit, not just one or two players.
Ottawa will be without some key players for this contest, including starting middle linebacker Nyles Morgan, who was off to a fantastic start this year. Morgan suffered a broken hand early in last week’s matchup in Edmonton, even though he finished the game, only missing a play or two. Defensive Backs Adrian Frye and Jeremy Lucien, along with pass rushers Haba Baldonado and Cleyon Laing, also find themselves on the six-game injured list following injuries last week. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for some newcomers to show what they can do on the REDBLACKS defence.
The Bombers head into Sunday’s contest sitting at 3-2 and in third place in the West Division. They’re coming off a 30-21 home win over the Argos last week, a game in which Brown made his debut at quarterback, throwing for 339 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Ontaria Wilson was his favourite target, posting 10 receptions for 133 yards, while Tim White posted three receptions with a touchdown.
Whenever you talk about Winnipeg, you have to focus on their Canadian running back Brady Oliveira. The 2024 MOP currently ranks fourth in the league with 375 yards on 69 carries. On a similar note, Willie Jefferson has been a fixture on the Bombers’ defensive line for the better part of a decade and is coming off a two-sack performance last week.
In addition to Brown, there are a few more familiar faces making their returns to Ottawa in the Blue and Gold, most notably on the coaching staff. Long-time REDBLACKS receiver Bralon Addison joined the Bombers coaching staff this offseason as an offensive assistant, where he works alongside offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, who spent the last two seasons in Ottawa.
In their words:
“We’re trying some different schemes. That’s obviously been a problem for us; we’ve been in second and long a few times. We’ve got to slow up a little bit, which lets us deliver some double teams up to the linebackers. Just slow down a little bit, block it up a little bit, but we’re going to change some things in the run game.” Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie on what the club needs to do to get the run game going against Winnipeg.
“We need to go 1-0 on the week. That’s kind of our thought process. You can never look too far ahead or anything like that, but we’re feeling really confident, and if you watch our practices, you can see that.” Receiver Ayden Eberhardt on the mood heading into Sunday’s matchup with Winnipeg.
“I believe in those guys, we’ve got to believe (as a team). We need to have confidence, and you know there’s a reason these guys are on the club, we feel like we have good football players, we just need to start playing good football and set them up to be successful on game day.” Head Coach and General Manager Ryan Dinwiddie on his belief in his team.
