How a slow start by the Ottawa Redblacks could turn into a very slippery slope

The Ottawa Redblacks' Aidan John reacts during the first half of the game against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at TD Place. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

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From the official start of training camp, the Ottawa Redblacks had 27 days to prepare for their season and home-opening game against the Edmonton Elks, and they lost by eight.

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Because they had a bye in Week 2, they had 14 days to dust themselves off and get ready for a Battle of Ontario clash at TD Place with the Toronto Argos, and they lost by 20.

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The Elks and Argos will be better this season, but just eight months ago, the only team that finished lower than them in the CFL standings was the 4-14 Redblacks.

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Meanwhile, up next for Ottawa is back-to-back meetings with last year’s Grey Cup combatants.

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The Redblacks are in Montreal to face the Alouettes next Sunday, and prep time gets shorter as they then return home to host the champion Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 3.

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Six days later, they’re in Edmonton to face the 2-0 Elks, who just handed Als’ quarterback Davis Alexander his first loss in 14 regular-season starts. Then they’re back home to entertain the always-difficult Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 19.

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They have another bye after that, and then, guess what — consecutive games against Montreal and Saskatchewan again.

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You may be inclined to think the schedule maker is taking out any frustrations over taxes he sends to Ottawa on the national capital’s football team, unless you’ve already realized the Redblacks are the free space on everyone’s Bingo card.

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“It gets tough,” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie admitted after the spanking his former team gave the Redblacks on Saturday. “We knew that we had to find a way to start fast. The only thing we can focus on is Montreal these days, but we can’t be fighting our ass off at the back of the standings to get going. We’ve got to get going now. So, we’ll look at it, find ways to practise maybe a little bit differently. We’ve got to have an answer for these guys. We’ve got to help them out, too.”

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It’s important to remember the Redblacks have adopted a new system. They are one of just two teams that changed coaches in the offseason, and the other promoted from within.

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At the same time, their fickle fan base has already lost patience.

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For the Argos game, only 13,943 turned out for a 1 p.m. start with conditions ideal for football-watching.

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At one point in the fourth quarter, one exasperated leather-lung in the southside shouted: “No wonder the stands are empty!”

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There could be more people making the trip from Montreal than Ottawa residents if the Redblacks are 0-6 when they host the Als on July 31, their last home game for a month.

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Is there a quarterback controversy yet?

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You would like Jake Maier, the person. The quarterback? It’s understandable if you’re already having doubts.

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Nobody expected him to be Chad Kelly — in fact, Maier was widely recognized as the worst of the CFL’s starting QBs entering the season — but against a defence that gave up three touchdowns to the Als the previous week, Ottawa managed to visit the endzone once with 17 possessions.

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It wasn’t all Maier’s fault.