Stephen Harper seemed to enjoy himself attending many (if not all) home games in the first season for the Redblacks. And of course, anything the Prime Minister endorses must be a good thing right? Well…
The Ottawa Redblacks’ 2014 season, however, was a huge success. Each of the nine home games at TD Bank stadium were sold out and there was a buzz that could be felt through Canada’s capital city.
Across the CFL, the Redblacks had a new look, a new name, a fresh story for fans to grasp onto. The fact that the team was lousy was understandable; an expansion team naturally will be one step behind the rest of the league.
Business as a whole was positive, well away from red and into the black. But on the field…
The honeymoon is now over.
Incumbent starting Quarterback Henry Burris will be 40 years old by the time the season starts.
Expectations will be cranked up, and those close losses from last season will get old quickly if they happen again in year two.
GM Marcel Desjardins, of course, is more aware of this than anyone, and has been working on improving where the team was weakest last season: wide receiver.
Ottawa has added five major pieces to the receiving corps, including Chris Williams, Maurice Price, Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, and Ernest Jackson. All should greatly improve a group that had a serious case of the dropsies last season.
Maurice Price and Chris Williams – are you kidding? Both have legitimate speed and can score from anywhere on the field. They will bring a veteran presence to a young team.
Greg Ellingson proved in Hamilton that he’s a solid route runner and possesses great hands; at 6’3″ he also provides a big target for Henry Burris.
Brad Sinopoli has shown potential to be one of the league’s better Canadian receivers. Add in the fact that he’s a University of Ottawa alum and it seems like a perfect match.
Former BC Lion Ernest Jackson could be the underrated difference maker, as he averaged over 16 yards per catch last season, with a career-high total of 813 yards receiving. His future is bright.
The Redblacks defence was dead last in the CFL last season, and in addition to that they traded away their leading tackler, Linebacker Jasper Simmons.
With all the new firepower it could be a high scoring 2015 for the Redblacks, on both sides of the ball. And for most fans I would think they’d be okay with that. Even it means Ottawa plays without that, well… conservative approach.
Main Photo:
