Redblacks seek first win against Alouettes - BERITAJA

MONTREAL – Ryan Dinwiddie said a acheronian unreality hung complete the Ottawa Redblacks aft Dru Brown mislaid the starting occupation to Jake Maier and asked to beryllium traded.

Now the Redblacks dream they could move the page.

Ottawa sent Brown to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this week, yet granting the petition he made erstwhile Dinwiddie named Maier arsenic QB1 retired of training camp.

“Dru wasn’t happy and I deliberation everybody knew he wasn’t happy,” said Dinwiddie, Ottawa’s coach and wide manager. “The coach-player connection and narration evidently was ne'er going to beryllium location aft the request, right?

“Everybody about the building was benignant of stepping connected eggshells, and truthful that’s not location anymore.”

The Redblacks (0-2) beryllium past successful the CFL successful mean points for and against heading into Sunday’s sojourn pinch the Montreal Alouettes (2-1). They’re still successful hunt of their first triumph nether Dinwiddie, who near the Toronto Argonauts past off-season aft 5 years arsenic caput coach.

Dinwiddie had hoped to tally pinch 2 could quarterbacks successful Maier and Brown until it became clear the second would not judge a secondary role. He past turned to a seasoned he trusts, signing McLeod Bethel-Thompson hours aft completing Brown’s waste and acquisition to the Bombers.

“We had to move guardant and find an reply and person a plan,” Dinwiddie said successful a telephone interview. “McLeod evidently played bully shot for me, we won games. So that was our answer.”

Bethel-Thompson and Dinwiddie won a Grey Cup together pinch the Argos successful 2022. Dinwiddie said the 37-year-old will subordinate the Redblacks adjacent week and capable a support domiciled down Maier, who has yet to find his footing successful the nation’s capital.

Maier, erstwhile a starter for the Calgary Stampeders, signed pinch the Redblacks past wintertime aft backing up Trevor Harris connected the Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Through 2 starts successful Ottawa, Maier has completed conscionable 61 per cent of his throws for an mean of 6.3 yards per effort — some CFL lows — pinch 2 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions arsenic the Redblacks dropped location games to the Argos and Edmonton Elks.

“That’s evidently ace frustrating. I dislike losing. I wouldn’t get to this constituent successful my playing profession if I accepted losing aliases felt OK pinch it,” Maier said complete the phone. “I’m doing everything I could to make judge that I could ace the codification connected immoderate of our shortcomings.”

Maier said Brown’s departure doesn’t alteration his approach, nor does he expect to beryllium looking complete his enarthrosis erstwhile Bethel-Thompson enters the backmost room.

“If you inquire immoderate of the 9 quarterbacks successful the league, they would show you the aforesaid thing,” he said. “You’re week to week, period to month, twelvemonth to twelvemonth … there’s nary enarthrosis watching here, man. It’s wholly retired of my control. I’m conscionable trying to play arsenic good arsenic I can.”

Dinwiddie said location are plays Maier should want backmost but pinned the blasted connected Ottawa’s offence arsenic a whole. Running backmost Greg Bell, for example, rushed for only 29 yards against the Argos.

“It’s reliable to play backmost and play astatine a precocious level erstwhile your teammates aren’t doing their portion arsenic well. We gotta tally the shot to thief him out, we gotta enactment retired of 2nd and long,” he said. “We conscionable gotta beryllium much efficient, much consistent.”

That’s why Dinwiddie simplified his playbook to about 50 plays this week — down from his accustomed 90 — arsenic the Redblacks look to debar different losing season.

“You could beryllium a jack of each trades, maestro of none,” Dinwiddie said. “We had each this worldly in, but we’re not very bully astatine immoderate of it correct now. So let’s find retired what we’re bully at.

“As the play goes, arsenic we commencement playing better, past commencement adding.”

Even without prima receiver Eugene Lewis, connected the one-game injured database pinch a enarthrosis ailment, the Redblacks will person a chance to break retired offensively astatine Percival Molson Memorial Stadium connected Sunday.

The Alouettes’ defence, agelong considered a strength, has surrendered 89 points done 3 games. Montreal held a shutout until 29 seconds remained successful the first half past week against Edmonton, but yet fell 32-29 successful overtime, pinch Elks moving backmost Justin Rankin many times making defenders miss tackles successful a leaky 2nd half.

“We hit ourselves,” protect backmost Najee Murray said. “There was moreover that play pinch myself. I make that tackle 9 times retired of ten, don’t miss that tackle. Rankin’s a awesome player, he’s having a awesome year. Made maine miss. He made america pay.

“We make that play, game’s a wholly different game.”

The Alouettes will invited backmost prima linebacker Tyrice Beverette aft he missed past week’s contest, but will beryllium without starting cornerbacks Lorenzo Burns (head) and Kabion Ento (hamstring). Don Callis and rookie Faion Hicks will capable in.

“I’m not worried about it,” coach Jason Maas said of the defence. “We person standards connected our defence we want to play to each azygous crippled … Every clip they touch the ball, you want them to salary for it. They transverse that extremity line, you want them to salary for it, and that’s what we want to unrecorded up to.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published June 27, 2026.