What went wrong for the Ottawa Redblacks? The Redblacks defeat came after a year of great promise, including dominating the CFL awards and starting Grey Cup 103 with one of the best starts possible.
Mental Errors Led to Redblacks Defeat
Mental errors are to blame for the Redblacks’ demise once they hit the spotlight. Burris showed up and played his butt off, but as in big moments in the past, “Bad Hank” appeared. A wounded duck of a pass resulted in a interception, and a sharp turn in momentum.
Burris is the leader in the locker room, and will take his share of the blame, but the Ottawa secondary should take their fair share as well. Blown coverage resulted in two defensive PI calls deep in Redblacks territory, giving Edmonton opportunities to get into scoring position – and they capitalized.
The vaunted Redblacks defensive front also disappeared in the big game. With only a pair of sacks on the mobile Edmonton quarterback, Ottawa wasn’t going to force Reilly into any bad decisions.
The 2015 Redblacks were for many reasons a feel good story for the league and the championship-starved capital city. Mental errors, poor execution, and static coaching adjustments left this team, notwithstanding all its CFL awards and media hype, travelling home from Winnipeg with no trophy, no chainsaws, and no good answers. After their Cinderella season, Edmonton turned the clock to midnight.
What comes next for Ottawa?
A 12-6 season with a Grey Cup loss is a good year, not great, but good.
The Redblacks will need to make some decisions this coming offseason as there will be a target on them next year. Hamilton will be healthy and hungry, Toronto will have a new stadium and – finally – fans to play in front of, Montreal will have Bear Woods back to lead a terrifying D in the East.
The window to grab a championship in the CFL opens as fast as it is closed on a team; just ask the Ticats and their fans.
For Ottawa, the off-season focus will be on how to improve, how to get over the hump, and how to bring Ottawa a Grey Cup title for the first time since 1976.
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