le rouge et noir retrouvent leurs leaders à la veille d’une rencontre cruciale avec les Argonauts
Two games remain in the regular season for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, but their hunt for a home playoff game persists.
For weeks, injuries have been among the big storylines for the club. Starting quarterback Dru Brown has missed some time, Justin Hardy was unavailable last week, Jovan Santos-Knox has been down for a while, and the list goes on. It isn’t going to suddenly empty, but this week, the REDBLACKS are looking a little healthier.
For the past number of weeks, however, those players have been stuck on the sideline, forced to watch things not go their way.
“It’s really difficult, especially when you see your brothers out there, fighting, competing and doing all their best to win,” Santos-Knox said. “I’m just excited to get back out there and be able to add some leadership, or whatever we need to win, I’m here to add it.”
Losses are always difficult to swallow, and the REDBLACKS have been fed a heavy dose of them after losing their last four games. The only way it can be worse, however, is if you don’t learn from them, according to Brown.
“I think we’ll be better down the road because of them,” Brown said. “There were a lot of hard lessons to be learned. You don’t want it to happen to you, but if you look around the league, everyone goes through a spell where they struggle, and it’s about how teams come together and continue to lean on one another.”
“I think that’s what we’re learning. We should be able to get it figured out and get rolling.”
Reflecting on some of those games, discipline sticks out like a very sore thumb. In Montreal a week ago, the REDBLACKS were flagged 12 times for 122 yards.
A few of those flags may draw the most attention, but in reality, they all mattered, and it’s something the REDBLACKS need to have cleaned up hastily.
“The whole penalty thing is completely unacceptable,” Santos-Knox said. “We talked about it, and we addressed it in the team meeting alone. All the guys what our standard is, and that wasn’t it. While I’m out there, I’m definitely going to try to uphold that, and just pull guys away, because we’ve got to keep our eyes on the prize and not get into those side games.”
What happened in previous weeks is now behind them, there’s no changing those outcomes, but heading to Toronto this week, the REDBLACKS hold all of the cards. They can still finish as high as second in the East Division, and host a playoff game on November 2nd.
“I think that the best thing about our situation is that we do control our destiny,” Santos-Knox said. “In life, that’s all you want: the opportunity to control your path. Guys realize the urgency we need to have and what part of the season we’re in, and we just want to take care of this game and then move on to the next one.”
The scenario at this point is simple. If the REDBLACKS lose in Toronto, they’ll go to BMO Field for the East Semi-Final, but if they win, they’ll play a home game on October 25th that could decide their fate.
Tell that to Brown, however, and you’ll likely get a shoulder shrug in return.
“Honestly, I don’t think about any of that,” he said. “I know that there is a lot of talk about this game and that game, but it’s too much to think about for me. I just try and win the game, and everything handles itself, and I feel like that’s how we treat them. Every game is important, but the most important one is this one. We don’t have to worry about all the extra stuff, just putting one foot in front of the other.”
Back on the practice field ahead of the game, the REDBLACKS are dealing with a short week, where most of what they’re doing isn’t at full speed. Brown believes that the veterans on the team make that possible, and less of a concern, but they’re still working as hard as ever.
With the control of the offence at his fingertips once again, Brown’s confidence in the group is as high as ever.
“It’s great,” he said with a 10-foot wide smile. “It’s good, man, I’m excited to be back.”
“It was good to continue to watch at times. My role changed a little bit, and I was trying to help the guys sometimes. That’s good for your perspective on things.”
With the stakes as high as they are, the REDBLACKS can erase everything that has transpired thus far this season. None of it matters. The only thing they’re worried about right now is the next game, the next series, and the next play.
“We’ve got a resilient group, a bunch of guys out there who just love the game and just bought into our scheme,” Santos-Knox said. “You can see that our ‘next man up’ mentality on defence, it’s like guys are just itching for their opportunity. When they get out there, they produce, and I think you’ve seen the last few weeks.”