Another week, another gut punch. The Ottawa Redblacks fell to 0-6 after a game that, by every account in the locker room, they should have won. Instead, a stalled fourth-quarter offense and a handful of dropped interceptions turned a winnable one into another entry in the loss column, and the head coach isn't hiding from any of it.
"I thought we played better football, but we're still not making the plays we need to to win football games," the head coach said. "And there's positive strides, guys, but we're in a win-loss result business."
The Third-Quarter Sneak That Still Stings
Asked to revisit the game, the head coach went straight to a decision he's clearly still chewing on — a third-down quarterback sneak attempt near the start of the third quarter that didn't work.
"We thought we had 3 downs to get a yard and a half. We figured we could sneak it, right? The last one we went with a wider sneak because we've been running it inside and we just didn't block it properly. We had 2 guys go the wrong way... I could take 3 points there and it probably changes kind of the outlook of the game, right? So, yeah, that's a tough one for me to go back and revisit."
He also pointed to a disputed no-call on a deep ball intended for Justin Hardy on that same drive, saying his team believed there was pass interference. "We thought there was pass interference on Justin there, but at the same time we can't turn the ball over there. We got to get points."
Fourth-Quarter Stall, Again
The bigger issue was what happened — or didn't happen — late. The offense couldn't find first-down production once it got into second-and-long, and a receiver screen designed to keep the clock moving and get a playmaker in space wasn't enough to flip field position.
"We had 40 seconds there. You wish we could have gotten in field goal range, at least had an opportunity to," the head coach said. "Yeah, missed opportunities for sure."
Quarterback: 'A Lot More Internal Than You Think'
The starting quarterback was asked directly about the frustration of being in position to win every week and still walking away 0-6. He didn't dodge it, but he framed the issue as one of internal focus rather than outside noise.
"I think everybody in the locker room has a real feeling of, oh, like if I would've just had one more moment, one more first down conversion, whatever it is, you know, we'd probably be celebrating right now. It's more so about, hey, how well can we play? How well can each individual play to help our team? And I think that's where the frustration stems from the most."
He was also asked about facing his former team and whether there was any part of him looking to vindicate the decision to start the season with him under center. He shut that framing down.
"No, because I just never felt like I was playing against him. I feel like our offense was playing against their defense tonight, which poses so many challenges... Once you start buying into the outside noise and the narratives, I think it can just cloud your brain with unnecessary thoughts."
Pressed further on his former backup now sitting at 2-0 with his new team, the quarterback kept it simple. "No, it's 2 totally different situations. I couldn't be happier that he's found a place and he's getting an opportunity to play... We're trying to solve our own puzzle right now."
On dealing with the criticism that's likely coming his way after another loss, he said it's part of the job. "You're a quarterback, you win, you get a bunch of praise. You lose, and it's like, oh, what do you do? What are you doing, right? ... It really doesn't bother me anymore. I care about the opinion of my teammates and I feel like that's really strong."
Dropped Interceptions Keep Piling Up
On defense, the recurring theme this season has been chances left on the field, and this game was no different. The head coach confirmed his group had opportunities they simply didn't finish.
"We had opportunities, you know, we had 4 interceptions that we dropped, right? Didn't make enough plays to finish the football game."
One defensive back carried that weight visibly after the game, admitting two of those drops were on him — including one near the end zone that was overturned on review.
"Those 2 interceptions that I dropped, they're going to haunt me tonight. So we just got to learn and just work on finishing... I felt like my hands were underneath. I felt like I caught it, but they reviewed it and said when my hands were underneath, it also hit the ground too. Just a game of inches. That's what I've always been coached, and I just wish that I can get those inches back."
He was quick to note the group can't dwell on it mid-game. "You can't wallow in it. You can't let it faze you and let it eat at you because, hey, you still got a ball game to play. You still got a next play." He added the secondary needs to get back to fundamentals during the break — "more ball drills when we get back, get on the jug machines, whatever we need to do to get better, to capitalize on those plays."
Looking Ahead to the Bye — and Montreal
With the bye week now here, the head coach says the plan is equal parts family time and hard self-scouting. "We're going to self-scout and we'll run the stats and look at all our schemes... We got to watch every play of the season and kind of see where we're at and have a detailed write-up of what we can do better."
The quarterback echoed that the timing, while painful, could help banged-up players heal before the matchup against Montreal. "It's coming at a good time in terms of some of the guys that are a little dinged up that weren't able to go tonight," he said, adding the mentality now is simple: "Reset your mind, start over... no one's going to feel sorry for us and the season's not just going to suddenly stop."
Still 0-6, still competitive, still searching for the finish. Ottawa has the bye to figure out how to turn "close" into a win before Montreal comes calling. Check the latest CFL standings and the full schedule for what's next.