D-line stepping up for Ottawa Redblacks while receiver Rasheed Bailey added to practice roster

Published Aug 29, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

File photo/ Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey Photo by KEVIN KING /POSTMEDIA

With an offence that’s capable of eating up big chunks of yardage and putting points on the scoreboard, the Ottawa Redblacks also have gotten a huge contribution from their defence.

With a 7-2-1 record and having gone undefeated in their past six games, the Redblacks are looking to take down the B.C. Lions on Saturday in the CFL’s Touchdown Pacific game in Victoria.

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A week ago, Ottawa beat B.C. 34-27 with quarterback Dru Brown completing 28 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns. Rookie receiver Nick Mardner had the first two touchdown catches of his young career.

Then, there was the defence. While allowing 165 yards rushing (51 of those came on a run by QB Nathan Rourke), a couple of big plays stand out. Defensive back Damon Webb knocked the ball out of Rourke’s hands and it was recovered by Kene Onyeka while defensive lineman Mike Wakefield also forced a fumble and recovered it himself.

Those are the kind of things that are allowing the Redblacks to grind out win after win.

The season stats: Ottawa has allowed an average of 335.7 yards net offence, second best in the league, behind Winnipeg. Ottawa has allowed an average of 87.7 yards rushing per game, behind just Toronto and Saskatchewan. Ottawa has allowed an average of 260.9 passing yards allowed, behind just Winnipeg and Montreal. With 22 tackles for loss, Ottawa is behind just B.C. and Saskatchewan. The sacks are a work in progress — with 20, they’re seventh in the league, but just eight behind top-rated Saskatchewan.

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The defensive line — which features starters Lorenzo Mauldin IV, Bryce Carter, Cleyon Laing and Wakefield — has been a big part of the success.

With five sacks, Wakefield is tied for second-best in the CFL (Micah Johnson leads with six). Carter and Mauldin each have four.

The 30-year-old Wakefield is one of the unsung heroes, providing a steady influence in the middle of the defensive line.

“He’s a good man, a hard worker, well respected by the guys in the room,” Redblacks defensive line coach Greg Marshall said. “He’s a talented player, we can use him in multiple ways.”

“I’m getting better over time, I’m aging like a fine wine,” said Wakefield, a Redblack from 2017-19, then 2023-24 (with two years in Montreal in between). “After three or four years, I could look at plays, see what was going to happen before it happened. Experience has helped me a lot.”

Asked about stripping the ball from Rourke last weekend, he said: “It was beautiful. I moved to defensive end, the tackle didn’t know what I was going to do. I chopped it, then picked it up.”

With eight games remaining in the regular-season schedule, the defence is really coming together.

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“We pride ourselves in what we do on defence,” Wakefield said. “This could be the best defensive line I’ve played on. We want to grind for each other. We’re just not playing for ourselves, we’re playing for everybody else on the team.

“I don’t think you’ve seen the best of us yet, not even close. Everybody on (the defensive line) is dynamic. The people behind us, they can step up and make plays, too. What this can be, we’re still working toward that. The talk from Day 1 is we have a chance to win this thing. We’re going to stick to that.”

“It’s a very good group,” Marshall said. “They want to be successful so they’re doing the things you need to do to prepare. I’m having a lot of fun coaching them.”

And, how can the defensive linemen keep the arrow pointing up?

“We have to be more consistent,” Marshall said. “We’ve let the quarterback out of the pocket a few times. They’ve missed some sacks. If they continue to do what they’re doing, they’re going to get better each week.”

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BAILEY ADDED

The Redblacks announced the signing of veteran receiver Rasheed Bailey, who practised Thursday.

With 60 CFL games under his belt, the two-time Grey Cup Champion has 2,317 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. Bailey spent six games this season with the Toronto Argonauts (with 24 catches for 245 yards) before being released.

He won two Grey Cups in Winnipeg, where he played from 2019-23. In 2022, he had 729 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

A day earlier, the Redblacks brought in receiver Maurice Ffrench, who spent time on the team’s practice squad in 2023.

Said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce: “To practise, you have to have enough bodies. We’ve got a couple of receivers (Jaelon Acklin and Bralon Addison) down, so you have to bring some guys in. When you take something out of the hopper, you have to add something to the hopper to make things work properly. Rasheed was available, he’s got experience.

“He’s a physical player. The big thing is he wanted to be here. It’s a great fit. We added two guys to help us continue our journey. But we’re really excited to see Eli (Stove) and Dre Miller (who will replace the injured starters in the lineup this week).”

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THE END AROUND

Defensive end Bryce Carter, who missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury, will return Saturday. So will offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek … Defensive end Mathieu Betts, released a few days ago by the Detroit Lions, is again a Lion, signing with B.C. — news that was broken by TSN’s Farhan Lalji on Wednesday night … It seems likely he will play vs. the Redblacks. Said Dyce: “Our offensive tackles (practise) against the best ends in this league in Bryce and Lozo; they face a dominant player every day. Good for B.C. and Mathieu Betts. But (our linemen) couldn’t get any better preparation than they do every day in practice.”

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