Tag: cfl

Things we learned at Redblacks mini-camp

By: Santino Filoso

20140410-213134.jpg

The Redblacks took an important step in their development this week as the team came together for mini-camp in Richmond, VA. The historic gathering gave coaches and management their first look at their players on the field (albeit without any equipment, due to league rules) and allowed the team to begin developing some chemistry. Here are a few takeaways from the three-day camp:

– Marcel Desjardins is the anti-Burris, in that he seemingly never cracks a smile. After all the tough legwork he’s done to get the franchise to this point, the guy has to be giddy inside to finally see his players on an actual field, doing football things. Not that you’d ever be able to tell from his body language though. I think Desjardins will only smile when the Redblacks win back-to-back Grey Cups, and even then only if they’re blowouts.

– Henry Burris could make a hell of a weatherman. Smooth clear voice, check. Million dollar smile, check. Ability to concentrate in averse conditions (Fred Rouse), check. Strokes his audience’s ego with subtle comments, check. Interesting random prop (banana peels), check.

20140410-214743.jpg

– You heard it here first: there’s no chance Kevin Glenn shows up to training camp. This was the Redblacks first organized event in team history. You can’t overstate how important it was for all the guys to get together and to start building some chemistry. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity for Glenn to silence his critics and play the good solider until another team’s pivot went down, paving the way for him to be traded. By failing to show up at this mini-camp, he’s alienated himself from the guys on the roster and missed out on a crucial bonding experience. One thing’s for certain: with Burris, Thomas DeMarco, Matt Faulkner and the newly signed Corey Leonard, the Redblacks have a bevy of strong arms. The only person Glenn’s hurting right now is himself.

20140410-213147.jpg

– Keith Shologan is happy to be out of Regina, even if it’s only for a few days. Who can blame him, considering the seasons in Regina are Winter (October to mid-May) and Spring/Summer (July to early September).

Shologan interview

– The numbers on the Redblacks jerseys are going to be unique in the CFL, as they’ll feature a small notch, just like the R on the buzz saw in the logo. Personally I love this touch and can’t wait to see what the finished product will look like when the uniforms are finally and officially revealed on May 10th.

20140410-213112.jpg

– According to the Ottawa Citizen, Eric Fraser is the Redblacks CFLPA rep. Between mini-camp drills he took some time to meet with the Redblacks veterans and updated them on the latest CBA situation. From his tweets you can see that Fraser is a very intelligent and reasonable guy, and hopefully this translates in a positive manner during the CBA negotiations. Also he got sore feet:

– R-Nation cannot be contained and we are already everywhere. We’re going to have strong showings at every stadium this season so that our boys know they’ll never be alone in enemy territory. Zack and Erika Wood got an early start on the road tripping by heading down to Richmond to watch the Redblacks practice.

20140410-213209.jpg

– Remember the name Jordan Roberts (RB). He was an absolute monster in college putting up 50 TDs in just three seasons at the University of Charleston and sounds like he really had a strong camp. I think he’ll be an impact player and quickly turn into a fan favourite.

20140410-223132.jpg

– The mistakes the doomed the Renegades will not be repeated by the Redblacks. The team had a ton of French content in their camp coverage, with tweets in both English and French, interviews with players like WR Simon Le Marquand and FB Patrick Lavoie and used both languages in their daily video updates. Smart move by management to keep everyone happy.

20140410-213158.jpg

20140410-213124.jpg

– The Redblacks team Desjardins has put together looks very fast. Bodies have been flying around and everyone from reporters to coaches to the players themselves have been commenting on it. That being said, take it with a grain of salt as it’s easy to look fast without helmets and pads and when you’re not being fully jammed at the line.

– Lastly, there’s something different about this team, it isn’t your normal expansion group. The feeling of optimism surrounding the players and the quality of their resumes gives the Redblacks more than a fighting chance out of the gate and you could even make the argument that they’re already better than some teams (hint: Winnipeg). GM Desjardins hammered this message home at the team’s first meeting when he told the players that “from this point forward, we are the Ottawa Redblacks, not the expansion Ottawa Redblacks”. That’s exactly the mentality the team needs to adopt to be successful and it’s good to see it expressed from management.

20140410-213100.jpg

“From this point forward, we are the Ottawa Redblacks, not the expansion Ottawa Redblacks”.

With our first look at the team in the books, what position do you think is the Redblacks strongest?

@RedBlackGade

Hunt hints at possible Redblacks 3rd jersey in year one

A small piece of Redblacks news that may have slipped past most of us, what with the excitement around the sale of home opener ticket packs to the public and the “controversy” around the naming of the Redblacks mascot Big Joe Mufferaw, was OSEG President Jeff Hunt dropping a hint (or pretty much confirming?) a third jersey for the Redblacks in year one. In an interview with TSN 1200 (6-minute mark), Hunt indicates that home and away jerseys will be released in mid-May, likely followed by a third jersey release in the fall!

For a jersey/logo enthusiast (geek?) like myself, this was nearly as welcome as hearing the Redblacks, still over three months away from kick-off, are already pushing 13,000 season ticket holders. A third jersey in the inaugural season is a bit of a surprise, and a welcome one at that.

And now the big question: what might this jersey look like? A couple of things come to mind immediately. First off, a fall release of a third jersey in the CFL would most likely be centred around the team’s Labour Day Classic game. And what better occasion for a vintage jersey than a LDC game.

I’m thinking there might be some giddy former Rough Rider fans in Ottawa in September!

This move makes a lot of sense for the Redblacks. Releasing three jerseys at one time seems like overkill. And if the third jersey is indeed a vintage Rough Riders look, Hunt and OSEG will have once again proven that they get it. They understand this fan base and how important it is to link the new team with teams of the past.

DOES NEW GEAR HINT AT POSSIBLE JERSEY STYLE/STRIPING?

As part of the home opener ticket pack promotion, the Redblacks released an ad featuring QB Henry Burris sporting some gear we haven’t seen before. For those that haven’t seen it, here’s the ad:

20140323-235701.jpg

Specifically, the striping on the hat seems very reminiscent of Rough Riders uniforms gone by. Here’s a closer look at the hat:

20140323-235903.jpg

Notice the striping similarities with this jersey from the early 1970s (image courtesy Wikipedia):

20140324-001131.jpg

Kinda similar, anyway.

Probably reading too much into one hat, but it is fun to speculate.

Want more on Redblacks jersey concepts? Check out these past blog entries.

@OTTRoughRiders

A surprising, disappointing, yet understandable move

20140331-200116.jpg

By: Santino Filoso

Hard to believe that only three days ago Redblacks owner Jeff Hunt proudly introduced Ottawa’s newest mascot, Big Joe Mufferaw, to 500 screaming children at a French elementary school in Kanata. The name, a tribute to a French legend in the Ottawa region, was clearly an attempt by the Redblacks to include Franco-Ontarian and Gatineau fans and link to the Ottawa Valley’s history. Jeff Hunt explained the selection by saying:

Our fans spoke and we listened. We heard that fans loved the look of our mascot and hundreds said he had to be Big Joe Mufferaw. We like the name too because it reminds us of our city’s past and fits so well into the branding of our football team.

While many loved the name selection,

a small yet vocal minority immediately expressed their displeasure.

This small minority has led the team to do a complete 180 and drop the ‘Mufferaw’ from the mascot’s name, who will now be known as ‘Big Joe’ in English and ‘Grand Jos’ in French.

It’s interesting to note that at first the official Redblacks twitter account tried to reason with some of these people by replying to them and explaining that the mascot is not specifically based on Jos Montferrand himself but rather the character immortalized in Bernie Bedore’s stories and the Stompin’ Tom song. Even some of the OSEG corporate accounts responded with explanations like:

It’s disappointing that some people can’t understand the difference between a legend and a person. Jos Montferrand was a real person, Big Joe Mufferaw was a fictional character, based on the exploits of Jos, who gained popularity through a Stompin’ Tom song and a series of kids books by Bernie Bedore. The mascot was named after the character, not the man.

Though sad, it’s understandable to see the Redblacks bend to the wishes of a few loud voices. Clearly they are afraid of alienating the French market, a key mistake that played a large part in the Renegades’ demise. That being said, it looks incredibly amateur to suddenly backpedal because of some negative feedback. If something as simple as a mascot’s name is enough to keep some fickle fans away, how will those fans react when the team goes on a losing streak? Was it season ticket holders complaining or were the French news reports giving Redblacks brass sleepless nights?

Futhermore, didn’t the Redblacks anticipate some kind of negative feedback before they made the choice? For a team that withstood a barrage of criticism over it’s own name, it’s surprising to see how quickly they folded and dropped Mufferaw from the mascot’s name.

Even more startling is that by changing the mascot’s name, the team has caused an issue where there wasn’t one. The easiest solution would’ve simply been to keep the name as Big Joe Mufferaw for English market and refer to him as Jos Montferrand in the French one.

In the end there’s not a whole lot of difference between Big Joe and Big Joe Mufferaw, but any way you slice it this kind of flip flopping doesn’t help the Redblacks build their brand.

Where do you stand on this issue?

@RedBlackGade

Redblacks QB NON-troversy

By: Santino Filoso

Talk about the kind of press the Redblacks didn’t need. On Feb. 11th, just hours into CFL Free Agency, a couple of angry messages came from Ottawa QB Kevin Glenn’s Twitter account:

20140303-145903.jpg

20140303-145916.jpg

Shortly after the tweets went out, Glenn claimed his account was hacked. The offending tweets were also eventually deleted.

Believe what you like, but it appears Glenn simply committed a social media faux pas and accidentally tweeted something that was meant to be a direct message (DM).

Not exactly the kind of news Ottawa wanted to make on opening day of free agency. The Redblacks subsequently took a lot of (unwarranted) heat for how they have treated Glenn to date, warranted or not. There is definitely more than one school of thought, but let’s take a look at the facts (as I see them, anyway):

1. In Glenn, the Redblacks took the best QB available in the expansion draft.

2. Had Henry Burris been released before the expansion draft things would’ve played out much differently.

3. You cannot fault Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins for trying to improve the team in adding a QB like Burris, a sure-fire Hall of Famer coming off a Grey Cup appearance. That’s his job.

4. Desjardins probably shouldn’t have anointed Burris the starter at his introductory presser. Some things are best left implied.

5. Glenn woke up the morning the Redblacks signed Burris to find out he’d gone from being a starter to a backup and trade bait.

6. With that said, Glenn was not told he wouldn’t be challenged, ever. Glenn has been around the block long enough to know better.

7. You can’t blame Glenn for being sour; Pro football is a cut-throat business, but these guys are human beings too.

8. While it’s easy to understand why Glenn is upset, for him to let it slip in public is unacceptable, especially on the opening day of Free Agency.

As mentioned, Glenn quickly denied any wrong-doing with the “I’ve been hacked” defense, as below.

On an unrelated note, Glenn’s dog also ate his homework… and playbook.

Some local reporters gave Glenn the benefit of the doubt, but Twitter wasn’t buying it.

I suppose the biggest unknown in all of this is what Glenn may or may not have been promised by Redblacks brass. Seems really unlikely that assurances of a starting job were given. The following comes from the Globe and Mail report on the Expansion Draft:

Although he now has Glenn and DeMarco in tow, Desjardins said he’ll be active in free agency to land other quarterbacks. Toronto’s Zach Collaros, Saskatchewan’s Drew Willy, Hamilton’s Henry Burris and Edmonton’s Matt Nichols are all slated to become free agents in February.

“There’s a couple of good options out there and we’re certainly going to pursue those,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t be aggressive in that area.

“We’ve got a veteran, (that) doesn’t mean we can’t add another one. We have a young guy, (that) doesn’t mean we can’t add another. There’s three or four obvious guys out there and we’ll certainly reach out to all of them when the time comes.”

Not sure how much clearer that could be…

Though he might still be upset, Glenn’s best bet is to bide his time. If he ends up staying with Ottawa at some point he’ll get playing time. It’s almost unheard of for a single QB to play an entire season. Or maybe another team loses their starter to a significant injury and the Redblacks feel comfortable enough with DeMarco’s growth to trade Glenn.

As it currently stands, the Redblacks are blessed to have two great QBs in their inaugural season, a luxury the Renegades were denied. They’ve arguably got the strongest depth at QB of any team in the CFL with Burris, Glenn and DeMarco. Good QBs in the CFL are what good goalies are to NHL teams; you can never have too many of them.

In my opinion, this whole episode is a whole lot of fuss about nothing. It’s not as if a player never mis-used social media before. And it certainly isn’t the first time a starter was supplanted by a free agent signing. Glenn should be enough of a pro not to let this kind of thing happen again, and besides, he’s only a play away from being “the guy”.

@RedBlackGade

Meet ____________, the newest addition to Ottawa’s mascot scene

By: Santino Filoso

This past Monday, the Ottawa Redblacks unveiled their new mascot during the 67’s Family Day matinee. In a very fitting move, the team chose to keep with the plaid theme and unveiled this handsome fella:

This as of yet unnamed mascot keeps with the theme that the Redblacks organization has chosen to embrace with their brand, logo and history.
1) It pays homage to Ottawa’s lumber history by invoking memories of folk heroes such as Big Joe Mufferaw
2) Lumberjacks are about as Canadian you can get so it’s completely appropriate for the Nation’s Capital’s team
3) He has a jawline that can cut trees, freeing up his axe to chop through opposing teams.

Of course it wouldn’t be Redblacks news without a heavy dose of criticism; first the name was mocked for being too outlandish yet now the mascot is dumped on for being an unoriginal stereotype. Here’s what the naysayers are forgetting; mascots are for kids, and judging by the stream of beaming children’s pictures on Twitter, our lumberjack is a hit!

The Redblacks have given their fans the floor by letting them send suggestions for the name and Twitter wasted no time in responding. Here’s a taste:

The Good
Rough Rider, Big Joe, Tim Bur, Rideau Rooter, Bytown Bob, Big Joe Mufferaw

The Bad
Red Black Jack, Woody, Chopper, Brawny

The Ugly
Axelrod, Arbee, Louis Poutine, Sir Choppington

Personally, I really like idea of naming the mascot Big Joe Mufferaw but what do you think? Send your ideas here.

@RedBlackGade

#RNation

20140215-151213.jpg

In spite of what people think about ‘Redblacks’ as the name for our new CFL team (I’m personally not a huge fan, although it has definitely grown on me), the marketing folks at Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group have done a nice job in creating a meaningful moniker for the fan base – R Nation (check out #RNation discussion right now on Twitter)

At first glance, it seems too simple, even lazy. (“Yeah, yeah, Redblacks starts with an ‘R’ and you added ‘Nation’. Great…”) But here’s why I think it might just be a little bit of genius:

A link to the past
There is nothing more emblematic of the proud football history in Ottawa than the white ‘R’ that has adorned the helmets of those great Rough Rider teams of the 1960s & 70s, teams that created some of the greatest sporting memories in this city’s history. Not to mention hats & other gear worn by legendary coaches like Frank Clair (below) and Jack Gotta.

20140215-142010.jpg

Yes, we’re not the Rough Riders (two words) anymore. And there are a lot of good reasons, frankly, to let that name die. The last couple decades of that franchise’s existence are better forgotten (perhaps it’s no coincidence that the ‘R’ logo was missing in those last few agonizing years of the Rough Riders existence, not to mention the entire 4 years the Renegades were around). But we’re still Ottawa football and the ‘R’ logo is held in very high regard by those who remember the heydays. This is tradition worth maintaining and honouring.

The ‘R’ is also a great way to create a linkage between the players and the fans of the Rough Riders, Renegades and now the Redblacks.

The Nation’s Capital
Besides team history, R Nation is a clever double-entendre, i.e. “Our Nation”. A great slogan for the team in the capital of Canada’s only true professional sports league. Fits very nicely with the CFL’s “This is our league” slogan, too. And isn’t it a pretty neat thing to be able to say “Welcome to R Nation” to CFL rookies from the US? Oozing with pride & nationalism.

In just a few short weeks, the #RNation name has really been embraced by the budding Redblacks fan base. I must admit it is also part of the inspiration for the name of this humble blog. Again, credit to OSEG and the Redblacks for recognizing these linkages to the past and how important it is to incorporate this rich history into the identity of the new team. They get it.

The R Nation nickname has also been met with some surprising bitterness/anger from Saskatchewan fans who believe it to be too similar to their #ridernation fan base nickname. A little misguided, however, as this is not about them. The Rider name is their’s. But the ‘R’ belongs to Ottawa.

Redblacks jersey numbers?

On the day of the Redblacks Expansion Draft, an astute CFL fan noted that the Redblacks official site was using this number template on its player pages:

20140209-155343.jpg

An interesting find. Definitely matches the cut-out style on the Redblacks R logo, as below:

20140209-155910.jpg

If this is indeed the number template they’re going with, it certainly points to a non-traditional jersey style. Not necessarily a bad thing. Certainly an ambitious choice. High risk, high reward, I suppose.

Interesting to note that the team has since removed the player number references from all player pages. Simply because numbers haven’t officially been assigned to players yet? Or cleaning up an unintended mini-leak? Pure speculation at this point. Pretty enjoyable speculation, actually 🙂

#RNation

Ottawa Redblacks jersey concepts

Probably the most anticipated – and hotly contested – elements of any new franchise launch are the team name, logos and uniforms. Ottawa is certainly no exception. The Redblacks name was met with a mix of confusion (“what’s a Redblack?”), acceptance (“I’m just happy to have football back in Ottawa!”) and (if Twitter is a true gauge of the fan base) intense hatred. The logo, on the other hand, has been pretty warmly accepted.

And now, we wait for the uniforms.

According to Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group and Ottawa Redblacks President Jeff Hunt, uniforms will be released in April 2014. The original plan was to have jerseys out before Christmas, but looks like Reebok needed more time than anticipated, as they are also releasing all new alternate jerseys for every team. That puts us still a couple of agonizing months away. What is an Ottawa CFL football fan to do?

Answer: concept art!

Here are a few of the concepts I’ve come across over the last few months. The first is from Nelson Hackewich:

20140208-233149.jpg

20140208-233203.jpg

20140208-233209.jpg

20140208-233217.jpg

In my opinion, Nelson absolutely knocked it out of the park with this concept. The simple, classic striping on the arms, the Russ Jackson-era red numbers on the white uniforms, the Redblacks ‘R’ alone on a black helmet. Perfection. If OSEG land anywhere close to this, I believe they will have one happy fan base.

This next collection is from Nevill Carney:

20140208-234829.jpg

Another great collection with a classic look. This one more 70s/80s-era Riders. I think Nevill is bang-on in expecting a black home & white away, as well as a red alternate jersey right out of the chute. As for an official retro jersey, my guess is the Redblacks wait a year before wearing them, as they will likely want to focus on building their own brand. Also, releasing four different jerseys in the inaugural season seems slightly excessive.

Next is this trio by Dan Ruggiero:

20140209-000351.jpg

20140209-000359.jpg

20140209-000408.jpg

What’s not to like about these? Nothing loud or crazy. Just some very well executed uniforms. Simple, clean design, yet still modern. The red helmets look quite good (I liked them more than I thought I would, actually), but my guess is the Redblacks stick with tradition and a black helmet – in year one, anyway.

Hopefully this whets your appetite for a little while, #RNation. Kudos to these three talented gentlemen on some great work. I’ll be on the lookout for other concepts in the days ahead as excitement builds towards the official release.

Welcome to ‘Defend the R’

20140208-230249.jpg

Thanks for stumbling upon Defend the R, a blog dedicated to coverage of Ottawa’s CFL franchises past and present. I plan to share thoughts & ideas about the Redblacks, as time ticks down to kick-off in their inaugural season, as well as take a look back at franchises from the past – the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Ottawa Renegades. (SIDE NOTE: How perfect is this WordPress theme for an Ottawa CFL blog!!)

I will do my best to keep this blog up-to-date. If it happens to get a little stale, you can be sure there will be some action on Twitter at @OTTRoughRiders.

Looking forward to interacting with you in this format, #RNation.

20140209-154443.jpg