How much patience will Ottawa Redblacks have as dark mark on home schedule approaches?

Article content

It’s not like there are a lot of better, unidentified football players sitting at home waiting for a phone call.

Article content

Or a lot of difference-makers rival CFL teams would offer up in a trade.

Article content

That stated, if Burke doesn’t feel like he’s on the hot seat, he probably should.

Article content

Will a quarterback change be made for the next game?

Article content

Jake Maier has been remarkably inconsistent. He has thrown some very nice passes, but he also has often been off the mark and the Redblacks, who are averaging 23.5 points per game, have the only offence in the league yet to put up 30 in a game.

Article content

But he also has had less time to work than others who play his position and that seemingly falls on the struggles of an offensive line that isn’t creating any holes for former all-star running back Greg Bell, either.

Article content

“Going into the fourth quarter, it was a one-possession game and, yeah, I just didn’t make enough plays at the end to keep us in it,” Maier told TSN1200’s A.J. Jakubec of his (26-of-39, 293 yards, one TD and four interceptions) performance in Edmonton. “And then towards the end, I was kind of making decisions a little bit more out of desperation and trying to get back into the game, and obviously they didn’t go our way.”

Article content

Article content

If Dinwiddie gives McLeod Bethel-Thompson the start against a Blue Bombers team, that could still have Dru Brown as its QB in nine days, it will likely be less of an admission that he made a mistake choosing Maier over Brown as his starter at camp than in hopes of finding a much-needed spark.

Article content

“We’ll see,” Dinwiddie told Jakubec when asked if there’s a possibility Bethel-Thompson could get the call versus Winnipeg. “We’ll look at it. The one thing is we’re so one-dimensional on offence right now, we’re asking the quarterback to make some amazing throws in second and long, and it’s tough sledding, right?

Article content

“If we stay on schedule, I think we’ll have some better quarterback play there,” added Dinwiddie, who brought MBT in for the last series of plays Thursday. “I just wanted Mac to get in there, get his feet wet. He hasn’t taken a snap in a long time, and he’s only had a few days of practice with us. So we’ll look at everything when it comes to that.”

Article content

What other problems need to be addressed?

Article content

As mentioned, the running game is abysmal. Bell was the free-agent signing they were most proud of and, against the Elks, he had seven carries for 19 yards.

Article content

Article content

In his first three games, he was averaging 3.69 yards per carry (36 for 133), while Justin Rankin is averaging 7.66 yards every time he runs the ball for the Elks.

Article content

Receivers Ayden Eberhardt (11 catches, 155 yards) and Justin Hardy (10 grabs for 114 yards) were outstanding on Thursday, but they also had a combined 31 targets compared to 12 targets for five other receivers.

Article content

For whatever reason, veteran Eugene Lewis is getting paid a lot of money to do nothing much more than run up and down the field.

Article content

He had one reception (on two targets) for 14 yards against the Elks and on the season he has just 13 catches for 144 yards, including one of 40.

Article content

Why he’s not being utilized more is a mystery.

Article content

The Redblacks defence had some positive moments in Edmonton. They had three sacks after entering the game with a league-low four and Nyles Morgan, the CFL leader in tackles, added seven to his total while DB Jeremy Lucien had six tackles and A.J. Allen and C.J. Reavis had five each.

Article content

But the number of missed or broken tackles was a factor in the outcome, and remains a reason why Ottawa has now allowed an average of 35.4 points per game.

Article content

Even at its best, Ottawa doesn’t have the offence to cover those kinds of numbers on a continuous basis.

Article content