B.C. Lions 7 @ Ottawa Redblacks 5 (lowest-scoring CFL game since 1979).
Ottawa now 1-9 (.100)
Evidently Hamilton knew what they were doing when they released Burris. Love the guy, but he can't execute a 5-yard hitch pass. Even with a pathetic O line, under-throwing a receiver 8 yards with a lame duck is 100% on the veteran. Game in, game out, he looks like a fish out of water, a CFL rookie.
Final drive, they needed 45 yards to get into field goal range with :27 left. Not the time to be wasting :08 to deliver the ball on a hitch pass in the middle of the field. Should be going 20+ down field near the sidelines. Two plays, in field goal range. This is playcalling 101.
Naturally, I sympathize with Burris having to deal with an overmatched O line & all the dropped balls, but you have to logically give yourself a chance to win. May as well have taken a knee on the final drive.
*****
Whatever happened to home field advantage? Ottawa plays in a hurricane, is forced to kick a FG in a monsoon with a soaked ball. Weather kills an easy chip shot to take the lead 8-7, then the officials call the game when B.C. gets the ball playing into the storm. Play resumes with no wind, no rain, perfect conditions for B.C. to run the clock.
With lightning in the area well before the FG, the home team should be able to better protect their interests, and have some influence on when a game is called.
*****
Heard all the Cohon and Hunt interviews and read all the CFL propaganda in the years leading up to the expansion draft. All made it resoundingly clear Ottawa would NOT be treated as an expansion franchise, and would be given an opportunity to compete right out of the gate.
To refresh, here's one of dozens of articles from 2011 hyping what promised to be a very competitive team:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/footb...ottawa_praises_cfls_expansion_draft_plan.html
The RedBlacks were to have "significant advantages" over what the 4-14 Renegades expansion team selected from in 2002. To me, this implies a realistic shot of being 7-11 or better, especially given the weak division.
Then the 2013 expansion list is mysteriously hidden from the public, but very little detective work is required to learn what actually happened (as the softball media will not expose the truth). While the RBs could have drafted better, the CFL did not do them any favors.
-Top QB pick was a wasted pick, never played a down for the team (Glenn) ... did nobody in management see Burris becoming available with Collaros expected to sign in Hamilton?
-Star non-import Centre Marwan Hage announced his retirement immediately following the draft. Evidently never had any intention of playing in Ottawa.
...and the list goes on. One has to wonder how many other deadbeats Ottawa had to select from from the well-guarded "list." Logic tells me each and every player leaning towards retirement was available. Star players rarely wish to end their careers on expansion teams.
*****
For those assuming Ottawa should be enduring another 5+ years of expansion misery:
This is not Halifax. We have roots in football dating back to 1876. Ottawa were founding members in the CFL. Why should fans who have invested in this team for decades have to suffer again on a third go-around?
Ottawa has already endured an expansion team for 33 years and counting. In a largely 8-team league, their last winning season was 1981! Every other team in the CFL has won multiple Grey Cups since Ottawa's last appearance in a Grey Cup, let alone winning season. Find another team in any league within a mile of such futility!
Throw in inept ownership from an invisible owner (Chen), to gross incompetence (Glieberman), to senior football management who are unaware of their own quarterback's name (Gregg), to playing in a dilapidated stadium on the verge of collapse, the fans here have been tortured like no other team in professional sport. Even the Clippers, Browns, Pirates and Leafs - the blind squirrels of the four major sports - occasionally surprise and find a nut (make the dance) once a decade.
At least the RBs didn't draft a dead guy this time around, but may as well have given all the other picks that will play 0.0 games for the club.
*****
Clearly, Cohon and Hunt have led a self-interested campaign designed to fill TD Place by any means necessary. This includes the intentional creation of false hope, deception and propaganda, which the media built up over several years. Any intelligent fan should feel insulted by what ultimately will be a 1-17 or 2-16 club despite the large benefit of playing in the worst division in CFL history.
They lied to all of us to fill their pockets in the short term. As usual, Cohon is smirking, washing his hands of the outright lies, knowing he will be gone in a few months.
How long until the novelty of a 50% new stadium wears off and a sea of empty seats occupy the north side? If 2-16 becomes the norm, I suspect next year.
That's the truth none of the media puppets have the guts to report.