Veteran Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Jaelon Acklin recently took the blame for his team’s offensive problems since the start of the season.
“I didn’t play very well, it’s my fault and nobody else’s,” he said ten days ago, quoted on the Rouge et Noir website. If I play better, the team will be better. It starts with me I have to expect more from myself.”
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In the next game on Sunday, August 13, against the Toronto Argonauts, Acklin put his words into action by piling up 157 yards for his first touchdown of the season. Should the Rouge et Noir still lose, the player has accomplished his mission and will certainly be one to watch on Saturday in Ottawa against the Alouettes.
Kevin Sousa / Provided by the CFL
“I know the number 23, I’m still learning the names of the Canadian Football League players, but I’ve studied the game of the number 23 very well in Ottawa,” said defensive end Kabion Ento das Rouge et Noir. When preparing, there isn’t just one opposing player to watch out for. Rather, the goal is to make corrections to the system presented in the previous game. The goal is to stick to the game plan and play hard regardless of the opponents in front of you. What I control is how I play.
In their last game last Friday, the Montreal club gave up just 12 points to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In addition, it must be said that the corrections that had to be made before the game against Ottawa were not so numerous.
Take action against air play
Alouettes defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe obviously didn’t want to reveal the strategy he was going to use to upset Acklin and his teammates, but did outline the various options.
“Everyone has their own way of defending. You can have one player targeted against another depending on the players’ athletic qualities, or you can choose to double down on an opponent in cover,” Thorpe said. The danger of doubling someone down is that there is another player who can harm you.
“The Rouge et Noir have a good core of receivers and the team had one of their best games last week in passing,” added the defensive coordinator. your quarterback [Dustin Crum] seems to be getting more and more comfortable with their offensive system and spreading the ball better.
opportunism
Despite a 44-31 loss to the Argos, Crum completed 21 passes on 26 attempts for 292 yards, more than half of them from Acklin. Receiver Justin Hardy also did well with seven receptions for 62 yards.
“The Rouge et Noir has several strengths and our defensive unit needs to attack them and make the big plays when we have the opportunity,” predicted Alouettes head coach Jason Maas simply.
- The Alouettes (5-3) and the Rouge et Noir (3-6) meet for the second time this season. Both teams started the season on June 10 at Percival Molson Stadium and Montreal won 19-12.