Article content continued

Making the run game work and finding a good mix with the passing game should help an offence that has too many two-and-outs and has been unable these past two games to sustain long drives.

“We have to commit to running the ball and we have to commit to mixing things up – not just turning it into a drop-back pass game,” Campbell said. “We got behind those guys (Blue Bombers and Alouettes), so it forces us into catch-up mode. We have to be diverse on offence, mix up the play calling. It’s a lot easier to do when you’re not in chase mode.”

It looks as if running back John Crockett, who had 62 yards rushing on eight carries in his CFL regular-season debut against Montreal, will get more playing time and may even start in the near future. The Redblacks may again put both Crockett and Mossis Madu in the lineup for Friday’s contest at Winnipeg.

“We’ll see on the running backs,” Campbell said. “We like both of them. I’m sticking to my story on that. We’re going to see if we can fit them both in. If not, we’re going to use both those guys the rest of the year. We’ll see how that plays out. (Crockett) is a determined guy, he runs with a purpose and brings a good energy to it. We really like him. He’s definitely going to be a big part of what we do this year.”

SECOND AND LONG: In Monday’s shortened practice — really more of a walkthrough — several Redblacks didn’t participate much. Among those were defensive back Antoine Pruneau and receiver Seth Coate. Campbell said Pruneau was going to see a doctor. “We’re hoping for the best. We’re going to know more soon. It’s an issue with his hand.” Coate was on crutches following Saturday’s game. “I’m guessing (he’s out),” Campbell said. “We had a lot of bumps and bruises — that always happens in a football game — but there were more (last week). We wanted to give guys another day. We’ll know more Tuesday or Wednesday as far as where guys stand.”

DEDMON RETURNS: DeVonte Dedmon is getting another chance. The 23-year-old rookie receiver/returner opened a lot of eyes with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a pre-season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 1. However, a week later in another pre-season game against the Alouettes, he was injured on a kickoff return. With an expected recovery period of 4-6 weeks, Dedmon was released by the Redblacks, but on Sunday they brought him back. “It was part of our plan from the beginning,” Campbell said. “If he hadn’t gotten hurt, he would have been here and probably would have been on the roster. We wanted to get him back when he was healthy. We’ll watch him practise the next two days and we’ll go from there.”