Redblacks come up short against Bombers, but show plenty of potential in the process

It wasn't perfect, and it didn't result in a win, but the Ottawa Redblacks' impressive performance Thursday in a 36-28 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers suggests there might be a better season ahead for this team than many expected. The Redblacks got off to an incredible start in their first regular-season game, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns and leading 21-7 at the start of the second quarter, but they couldn't keep their offensive production up and couldn't hold off the charging Bombers forever. Still, they had the ball in the final minute with a chance to tie the game, on the road against a Winnipeg team that's looked very good so far this year. That in and of itself is impressive for an expansion team, and it may suggest that their first win may not be that far off.

Ottawa's defensive performance on the night had great moments, despite the team allowing 36 points. (Six of those came on a 96-yard kick return from Deon Washington, so the defence was only really responsible for 30 points.) Bombers' running back Nic Grigsby did have three rushing touchdowns on the day, but he was held to 62 rushing yards on 14 carries. That's just an average of 4.4 yards per carry, which isn't bad at all. The pass defence was a little weaker, with Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy throwing for 307 yards with a 63.6 per cent completion percentage, but they did pick him off once and didn't allow him to throw a touchdown pass. All in all, that's not a bad night, especially for an expansion team's defence, and it's better than the established Toronto Argonauts' defence looked against Winnipeg in a 45-21 loss last week. Moreover, their play was crucial to the Redblacks leading 25-24 after three quarters, and might have done enough for a win if they'd gotten more offensive support.

The Ottawa offence did a lot of things right, especially at the start with their three early touchdowns. However, their stats on the night weren't all that great. Quarterback Henry Burris threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, but only completed 56.7 per cent of his passes, while running back Chevon Walker picked up two touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving), but was held to 62 rushing yards on 15 carries (4.1 yards per carry) and 37 receiving yards on two catches. There were promising moments from both, as well as the Redblacks' receivers and offensive line, but they didn't adjust well to Winnipeg's defensive changes as the game went on.

That theme of in-game adjustments is probably something the Redblacks will need to improve if they want to notch wins this year. They did everything right at the start, but couldn't react to how Winnipeg adjusted as things went on. Rookie head coach Rick Campbell is still picking up the nuances of being a head coach, and he and his staffers may need to focus on how they adapt their plans (offensively and defensively) once their initial strategies are figured out. Still, there were enough impressive moments and overall performances here for this to be a good start for Ottawa. If the Redblacks can get back towards what they did in the first quarter Thursday, they'll be a very tough team to beat.