Why Redblacks should expect many happy returns Sunday night in Edmonton
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The return of cornerback Adrian Frye from a knee injury that kept him off work for a week is on a list of reasons to like the Ottawa Redblacks’ chances Sunday night in Edmonton.
So is the expected return of quarterback Dru Brown, who has missed the past three games with a hip injury, and the return to Edmonton of star receiver Eugene Lewis, who had an exchange of words with Elks GM Ed Hervey upon leaving the green and gold as a free agent in the off-season.
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Lewis, who extended his consecutive games touchdown streak to nine when he received a Brown scoring pass in Ottawa’s season opener, hasn’t been to the end zone since the team’s No. 1 QB was sidelined.
Expect they’ll be determined to get back on track against the Elks’ ninth-ranked defence.
Also expect the Redblacks defence to get a boost in facing Edmonton’s No. 7-ranked attack with Frye back in the secondary. The 26-year-old leads the CFL with three forced fumbles, all of which came with the Redblacks compiling a 1-1 road record to date.
For context, Montreal’s Tyrice Beverette led the CFL last season with four forced fumbles. In 2023, seven players finished tied for the league lead with three.
When asked about the impact Frye, a first-year starter, has had on the Ottawa defence earlier this week, head coach Bob Dyce referred to a meeting he had with the team that same day.
“I showed about five clips of practice, and one of the plays was Adrian coming off another receiver once the ball was completed and then going in and taking the ball away,” said Dyce. “What I talked about is consistency. The plays that he has made (in games) is because of how he practises and how he approaches the game, and that’s what we all have to do.
“Adrian has done a great job. He is really prepared every time he steps on the field, and he’s one of those players that does exactly what the coach asks him to do. He really is intentional in everything that he does, and it shows in his play. He’s done a great job for us, and I look forward to seeing him continue to do that.”
At 1-3 and wanting to keep the East Division-leading Montreal Alouettes in their sights, the Redblacks need to leave Commonwealth Stadium with two points this weekend.
As the CFL’s only winless team and anxious to continue making strides towards more glory days for Edmonton football, so do the 0-3 Elks.
They showed improvement in 2024 with a 7-11 record, but still missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
Since the pandemic, the Elks are 18-53 overall, with an abysmal 5-30 home record.
Meanwhile, Frye isn’t sure how he injured his knee late in the fourth quarter of the Redblacks of Ottawa’s only win two weeks ago in Calgary, but he is looking forward to a happy return.
How hard was it for Frye to watch last week’s loss to the Argos, especially after the start to the season he’s had?
“It always hurts, because I love games,” he said. “I love being out there with my guys, going into every game with them, bleeding and giving everything I’ve got for them. So it hurt to miss a game, but I know it’s for the best, better than running the risk of missing more.”
How did Frye develop the mindset of practising hard?
“When I was in peewee football, my coaches would tell me practice has got to be hard, so the game is easy,” he said. “When you when you put in all the extra effort and all the extra hours leading up to the game, it makes the game that much shorter, that much faster, that much easier. So doing all this stuff, it’s been a thing for years and years and years. I was a high-motor kid, all I knew was go, and it just plays into me playing football now. So when I’m at practice, it’s just go, go, go, and then get to the game, it’s a lot easier to go.”
How much time does Frye focus on trying to force fumbles in practice?
“It’s the kind of thing you hear in camp all the time, and of course, we want to protect each other practising because we’re teammates,” he said. “But punching, ripping at the ball, and all that stuff, you’re kind of just taking that to the field, and when you get the opportunity, take your chance, because the worst thing you can do is not get it out. So take a shot at it, and if you get it, great, but at least you’re practising those habits and using those habits that you practice.”
Does Frye expect opponents to start gripping the ball tighter when he’s around, as a QB might shy away from throwing the ball to the side of the field where a great cover guy is lined up?
“I don’t know, but it’s been kind of a opportunity thing so far,” he said. “With two of the force fumbles I had, they kind of didn’t see me coming. It’s kind of an advantage I had in the moment. Just waiting on that opportunity and then striking when I get the chance.”
Does Frye have personal goals this season?
“Stats-wise? No,” he said. “I just want to be the best that I can for my team. If I’m fortunate and that ends up with me being an all-star, whether it’s a division all-star or league all-star, great. But I just want to be able to perform and get the ball back to my offence as many times as possible each game, just so we can win. Anything I’ve got to do to win. If the stats come with it, great, but I just want to be a winner more than anything.”
Do the Redblacks expect to face a hungry opponent when they meet the winless Elks?
“We expect everybody to give us what they’ve got,” said Frye. “So we kind of expect the unexpected, go in prepared, hope for the best, prepare for the worst type of thing. We just see it as everybody is 0-0 going into each week. We see it as one game at a time, so we can only imagine it’s going the same way in their locker room. It’s one game at a time. We’re going to fight this week to go 1-0. That’s what we harp on every week, we want to go 1-0 this week. We see the record column across the league, but we’re not really worried about until the week is done with and we’re like, ‘did we go 1-0 this this week?’ It’s just a yes or no. That’s what everybody’s goal is, to go 1-0 this weekend, and keep marching towards the Grey Cup.”
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