Redblacks GM expecting a more aggressive defence and polished offense this season

By Mike Vlasveld

It's been a busy off-season for Ottawa Redblacks General Manager Marcel Desjardins.

He told 1310 NEWS' Ottawa Today with Mark Sutcliffe the organization tweaked it's roster-building tactics a little bit following last season.

Typically, Desjardins said he would look to add quality depth players at as many positions as possible, but sometimes came at the expense of signing one or two more “higher end starters” on one side of the ball or the other.

This off-season, he still looked to upgrade where he could, but decided to spend money on a few key pieces and rely more on their young players to act as the team's depth.

The offense hasn't changed much, but fans will notice former Ottawa Renegades Linebacker Kyries Hebert as well as pass rusher Jonathan Newsome and defensive back Josh Johnson. Plus, former Montreal Alouettes Defensive Coordinator has joined Ottawa as it's new DC.

Overall, Desjardins said he likes the Redblacks' chances at another Grey Cup run.

“With Trevor Harris having another year under his belt now as the starter [at quarterback] and not having to worry about what people's impressions might be of him as our leader, I think he's going to be in a much better place mentally,” said the GM. “I feel, offensively we're going to continue to progress — as much success as we had last year, I think we will get even better this year.” 

He continues, “And then defensively, with all the changes we've made, and the aggressiveness, our defence should be able to get a lot more turnovers. [We] should be able to stop the opposition's offence that much more frequently, therefore giving our offence that much more opportunity with the ball.”

Aside from roster construction, Desjardins added that he likes this year's schedule much more than in 2017, when the Redblacks were stuck with two bye weeks very late in the season.

“Yes it's definitely better,” he explained. “We actually have a bye week the first week of the season this year, which is a little different. Guys are going to be chomping at the bit to get ready for the first game and we're going to have to manage that effectively so that we can be ready for the first game at home, June 21 against Saskatchewan.”

The Redblacks take on the Montreal Alouettes at TD Place Thursday night at 7:30pm. 

Training camp runs until June 9.

Listen to the full conversation with Marcel Desjardins:

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