The Canadian Press
OTTAWA— Henry Burris says awards are nice but something to think about after the season.
The 40-year-old quarterback was named the CFL’s top player of September yesterday. But while Burris appreciated the honour, he says he’ll be a lot happier if his Redblacks (7-5) can beat the Montreal Alouettes (5-7) tonight.
“I never take this award on myself because it just exposes all the great work all the guys from the coaching staff down have done . . . this is a tribute to all the hard work that we’ve put in,” said Burris.
“Now it’s time to take the honour that we’ve just received and carry it over to the field that we continue to get better each and every week.
“We need to get victories on the field,” he stressed. “Right now it’s crunch time.”
The Redblacks are coming off a 35-26 home loss to Toronto that moved the Argos into second place in the CFL East.
With a rematch against the Argos less than a week away, Burris said it’s important for Ottawa to get back on track.
Ottawa is in the midst of a weird schedule as they play three games in a span of 11 days.
“I think everyone was so focused on the three games in [11] days that we looked forward to how it’s going to feel after these three games instead of focusing on the one that mattered, which was Toronto, and we got our butts kicked,” noted Burris.
“Now it’s time for us to respond.
“Everybody’s waiting to see how this team is going to respond, but I foresee us coming out here and playing our butts off and doing what we can to give ourselves the best chance to get a big victory against a very good team,” he said.
Last week, the Redblacks were down 14-0 early in the first quarter and know they can’t afford to make similar mistakes against the Alouettes, who enter the game last in the East but only four points back of Ottawa.
Burris and the Redblacks’ offence are first in the league in terms of yards per gain, but fifth in overall scoring as they struggle to turn yards into points.
Slow starts have been a struggle for much of the season. And while the Redblacks have been able to overcome them at times (Ottawa is 4-5 when trailing or tied after the first quarter), they would prefer not having to play catch-up.
“You want to come out and play well, and set the tone for the game,” said Redblacks’ head coach Rick Campbell.
“It doesn’t define the whole game but it’s always good to start fast,” he reasoned.
“Regardless of what happens, you need to keep playing.”
One benefit to such a short turnaround between games is players don’t have time to dwell on the loss to the Argonauts.
A victory against the Alouettes not only would give the Redblacks a season sweep over Montreal, it would move them back into second place in the Eastern over idle Toronto.
“It’s not your usual week of preparation and so your focus is immediately turned to the next game,” noted Redblacks’ receiver Brad Sinopoli.
“It’s that point of the season where teams are starting to separate themselves and position themselves for the playoffs,” he added.
“So every game is always important but it’s a little more noticeable in the standings right now.”
