{"id":170107,"date":"2026-08-16T16:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/170107\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T16:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:22:19","slug":"jake-maier-fully-accountable-for-ottawa-redblacks-offensive-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/170107\/","title":{"rendered":"Jake Maier ‘fully accountable’ for Ottawa Redblacks’ offensive struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Samantha Keen\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 quarterback Jake Maier was finally ready to point the finger after Friday night\u2019s loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his view, there was only one man responsible for the team dropping to 0-9 on the season. That man\u2019s name? Jake Maier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed a couple throws, missed a couple reads, wasn\u2019t good enough. I\u2019m fully accountable for this one, in terms of not putting enough points on the board for our team,\u201d Maier told TSN 1200 post-game<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s the story for me. That\u2019s the way I see it, the way I want to look at it, and that\u2019s what I told the guys. That\u2019s where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ottawa suffered a 33-21 defeat in Winnipeg, keeping them winless at the official midway point of the CFL season. The result extended a streak of 15 straight defeats dating back to last season, surpassing the 1994 Shreveport Pirates for the longest such drought in league history<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maier put together a respectable stat line in the loss, completing 28-of-43 passes (65.1 percent) for 314 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. However, the Redblacks\u2019 offence struggled to find consistent traction and went quiet for long stretches, particularly in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it stemmed from me just being inaccurate or not getting to the right read in the progression,\u201d Maier said. \u201cI\u2019m totally accountable to that stuff. I think if we don\u2019t get first downs, I\u2019ve got no problem putting the hand up and saying, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s something that I need to improve on and get better for our group,\u2019 so that we can sustain an entire four quarters where we\u2019re playing some good offence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when drives did prove fruitful, finishing them was difficult. The Redblacks converted on just 50 percent of their red zone opportunities, a persistent problem throughout this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once again, Maier looked inward for answers, specifically calling out a second-quarter incompletion on second-and-four from the Winnipeg nine-yard line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that goes into some of the misreads and ball placement stuff. Felt like I had a tighter window-ish throw to Cade (McDonald). Probably should have just went the other way with it. Again, that\u2019s just hindsight decision-making that I need to be better at when we\u2019re down there, because we\u2019re just not finishing well enough down there,\u201d he said, adding\u00a0that the lack of an established run game was making dissecting defences more challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been kind of the theme all year, and it\u2019s one of those things where we\u2019re being presented some pretty tough defences in terms of how many people they have in coverage when we get down tight, and the windows become small and tight. But there\u2019s no reason why we can\u2019t still find some throws and find some windows in there to get us some points.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Maier may choose to focus on his own failures, even the harshest reading of his performance would have to acknowledge forces outside the quarterback\u2019s control. His lone interception, which came on the opening dive of the game, bounced off the hands of McDonald on what should have been a simple bubble screen. A likely touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt was drilled off the left upright, deflecting away from the wide-open receiver. Tight end Jevoni Robinson had nothing but green grass in front of him on a 32-yard catch-and-run, but pulled a hip muscle and collapsed instead of finishing the race to paydirt.<\/p>\n

Moments like that make it seem like there are powerful forces working against Ottawa, but Maier won\u2019t use that as a crutch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe football gods don\u2019t owe us anything. They really don\u2019t,\u201d he insisted. \u201cI think that there\u2019s a respect to the game that you try to play with in order to get some breaks and be ready for the opportunities when the luck presents itself. Right now, we\u2019re just not taking advantage of those opportunities. We\u2019re not owed anything, man. We just unfortunately are on the wrong side of things right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old pivot has been under the microscope since he was elevated to the starting job in training camp<\/a>, a controversial decision by incoming head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. Through nine games, he\u2019s completed 246-of-351 passes (70 percent) for 2,680 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions \u2014 on pace for career highs in yardage and touchdowns. That just hasn\u2019t translated into wins.<\/p>\n

Despite the results, Maier\u2019s status has never been seriously questioned internally, and his performance in Winnipeg likely won\u2019t change that. He believes that Ottawa has the talent needed to end their drought and that they are close to breaking through.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re just in that 21, 24 (point) purgatory, it seems like. I want to get to 30 points; I want to get to 35 points,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like we have opportunities to do that. We have the receiver room to do that, and we had our chances to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-9) won\u2019t have to wait long for their next opportunity to record a victory, as they\u2019ll visit the Montreal Alouettes (8-1) on Thursday, August 20. Kickoff at Percival Molson Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.<\/p>\n

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J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.<\/p>\n

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