Redblacks defence building an identity as one of CFL’s best

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As the elder statesman of the Ottawa Redblacks’ defence, Cleyon Laing is a respected and reliable authority on what makes the unit tick.

And the Edmonton-born defensive lineman knows as well as anyone that it takes teamwork to make the dream work.

“We got a room full of dogs,” Laing said Monday in a discussion that touched on the fact that, through eight games this season, he’s still looking for his first sack. “If one doesn’t make it, the next one will. That’s our mindset. It’s a genuine race to the quarterback.”

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Laing, who has 221 tackles and 46 sacks in his first 10 CFL seasons, isn’t counted on to win those races. He plays tackle, where he eats up blocks and shuts down running attempts.

“It’s the position I’m in now, but by no means do I not expect to go out there and get two, three (sacks) every game,” he said. “We have game-changers. We have guys that are going to command double teams, and we just got to capitalize on that.

“If one of us eats, we all eat. I think that’s just the mentality. Bring as much as you can to the table so we can all have some food.”

The Redblacks’ defence deserves much of the credit for the fact the team will take a 5-2-1 record and four-game unbeaten streak into Calgary to play the Stampeders on Thursday.

It didn’t allow a touchdown for almost 12 full quarters — 177 minutes and 35 seconds of football, to be exact — until there was just 1:55 left in regulation time of last week’s 22-22 overtime draw against Saskatchewan.

Was extending the shutout string a focus?

“Actually, it wasn’t brought up once,” said middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox. “I think we know to play successful defence, the ultimate goal is to not give up any scores or any touchdowns. So I think it was just guys just locking into their assignment, their job, and just having a bunch of pride out there and playing for one another, and just saying, ‘Not my guy.”’

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Sandwiched in the middle of the run of defensive excellence was a 33-6 pounding of the Stampeders on July 26 that represented the fewest points allowed by a Redblacks team since 2017 and a 32-4 win in Montreal.

Since that loss, the Stampeders (4-5) have scored 52 points in splitting a home-and-home series with the Toronto Argos.

One can assume they’d like to bump that average up when trying to redeem themselves for the embarrassing display in the nation’s capital.

In attempting to do that, the Stamps will be facing a Redblacks defence that had three starters absent for the previous meeting: linebacker Frankie Griffin, along with corners Alijah McGhee and Brandin Dandridge.

McGhee had a big night last week, his 2024 debut after missing the first seven games with a fractured foot.

Dandridge, a former CFL all-star, was also supposed to return last week, but had a setback.

“The defence has just played outstanding football,” said head coach Bob Dyce. “So adding a guy like B-Dan, we just want to be consistent and continue to do that.”

Interestingly, despite all the juggling injuries have forced the Redblacks to do in the secondary, only the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Montreal Alouettes have allowed opponents a fewer passing yards average.

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“We set a standard in the room, no matter who we have on the field we have to uphold to the same standard,” explained halfback Damon Webb.  “Guys know when they come in the lineup they’ve got to be able to play at the same level that the dude who was previously playing before them or better than them.”

With success comes swagger, and Webb was not afraid to make a bold statement when asked if he expects the Stamps to come out with added motivation against the Redblacks after the last clash of the teams.

“That was the standard,” he said. “Like, we ain’t give up a touchdown the first game, we ain’t planning on giving up a touchdown this game. I already know they going to come in with a chip on their shoulder. Like, ‘These guys shut us out.’ So they’re gonna be trying to prove a point. We’re ready for the challenge.”

One area the defence does need to improve is in creating turnovers.

With three interceptions against Saskatchewan — by Santos-Knox, McGhee and Alonzo Addae — the Redblacks doubled the number they had going into the game and improved their turnover ratio to minus 5.

To put that stat in perspective, the Roughriders lead the league with plus 12.

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“We dropped a lot of picks already,” said Webb. “If we catch the ones that come to us, the turnover ratio would be way better.”

Said Santos-Knox about the Saskatchewan game: “I think we definitely got after the ball a lot better than we did the last two games. Not saying that we didn’t play well those last two games, but as a defence, that’s our No. 1 goal, to create turnovers and take the ball away. So I think we got a knack for it last game, and we’re hoping that carries over to the next game.”

As the 33-year-old Laing says, the Redblacks’ defence is still building its identity.

“We have a real, genuine team atmosphere, a camaraderie … for lack of a better word, a loyalty, a devotion to each other,” said Laing. “Every room is different, and I can only speak for ours, but the last thing we want to do is disappoint our fellow D-lineman. The last thing we want to do is disappoint one of our linebackers. The last thing we want to do is miss a play for our DBs.

“We really pride ourselves on feeding off each other.”

GOING DEEP

After allowing five sacks against Saskatchewan, the Redblacks are making a change at centre this week, starting Eric Starczala in place of Cyrille Hogan-Saindon. Starczala’s CFL bio has him down for just one game played to date. “We’re going to give Ziggy an opportunity to start,” said Dyce, referring to the 28-year-old former Guelph Gryphon. “We’re always looking at making sure we put the best group out there, and he’s had some good work in practice, just hasn’t had as much experience in games. So we’re going to give him an opportunity to see what he can do out there.” … Jeremiah Masoli was sharper in his second day of practice since being named the Redblacks’ starting quarterback for Thursday’s game. “Better today than yesterday and that’s what we expect,” said Dyce. “We work every day to improve, and it was a little bit crisper today. Jeremiah looked a little bit more comfortable as well. Different being out there and being in the heat of it. Body’s flying with the pads on today. And that’s what he needed to see. It was good to see him perform at a good level.” … To make room for Dandridge, Bennett Williams moves to the practice roster … The Redblacks have added American running back Khalan Laborn, a 5-foot-10, 212-pounder, to the practice roster. Laborn, who was at the Toronto Argos training camp, spent the last part of 2023 on the Edmonton Elks’ practice roster after a training camp stint with the San Francisco 49ers. In 2022, his last season of college ball, he played 13 games for Marshall and rushed for 1,513 yards and 16 touchdowns in 13 games.

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