Press Antoine Pruneau for a prediction and eventually you'll get one.

"As long as we've got enough to make the playoffs," the RedBlacks linebacker says at first, when asked how many games his team will win in this, its second season. "And then win the Grey Cup."

Come on, Antoine. A number. Fourteen? Twelve? Ten?

"Twelve," says Pruneau. "If we can go for 12, that would be good. But we'll try to win every game."

Overambitious? Absolutely. Ottawa won two games in 2014. Under a normal progression, six would seem to be a nice reachable target this season. Same with the playoffs.

But if you tilt your head just the right way and really think about it, you can also see the reason for the optimism.

Last season the RedBlacks had a good defence that could have been great if it wasn't on the field for so much of the game. It was overworked because the offence was so bad, specifically the air attack. Was it all the fault of butterfingered receivers? What about the wayward balls thrown by quarterback Henry Burris? And now he's 40?

OK, so maybe Burris' better days are behind him, but is it possible receivers who couldn't catch the ball also didn't run the proper routes?

Burris deserves the benefit of the doubt with the new group of better receivers. And now he has that, led by Chris Williams, who was only the most exciting player in the league when he was last in the CFL three seasons ago.

"You can see out here at training camp he's got the ability to make big plays, he has speed," head coach Rick Campbell said Friday. "He's been very business-like so far. He shows up, does his work ... all signs point to good things right now."

Williams, who was signed as a free agent for $225,000, is just what the doctor ordered. In 2012, he had 17 touchdowns for the Ticats -- 11 receiving and six on special teams returns.

His personal targets this season?

"Win," said the 27-year-old. "No numbers, just win. Grey Cup championship. That's the goal. Now whether we get there or not, that's yet to be determined. But that's the ultimate goal.

"The year (2012) I got all the individual numbers and accolades and stuff, we were the worst team in the league. It's a humbling experience when something like that happens. You feel like you've done everything you can and your team still didn't do it. Now it's just getting wins."

But the RedBlacks were the worst team in the CFL last season. Why sign here?

"Because in this league, you can go from the worst to first very quickly," said Williams. "My rookie year, Toronto was the worst team in the league and in my second year they won the Grey Cup. It's like that in this league. There wasn't anything about Ottawa that said this is not a good place. I was like, they're improving. They've got Hank. They've got Chevy (Walker). Yeah, they had a rough year, but if you look at it, look at all these games they lost by single digits. They just couldn't score.

"Now you've got some more weapons, you've got some more playmakers. And hopefully we can turn that around."

Twelve wins is still way too high. We'll go with 11.

SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME

RedBlacks receiver/return specialist Jamill Smith returned to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana for the first two weeks of the offseason before deciding to spend the rest of the winter in Ottawa. "This is my home," said the affable, 5-foot-6, 155-pounder. "Everybody dispersed from Muncie. I visited for two weeks and the only person I saw was my sister. So I came back. Just the whole scenery here is different from Indiana, it's a lot better in the winter. Indiana is ugly and nothing to do. Here you can go skating and do things." Smith went to 67's and Senators games. He trained with teammates. He learned the offence a little more. And yes, he got on skates for the first time in his life. "I didn't fall, so that's a good accomplishment," said Smith, who hit the canal with Pruneau and RedBlacks receiver Scott Macdonell the first time, then went out by himself on a couple more occasions. "It's a nice workout. Gets the hammies burning."

BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS

Campbell plans on bringing all but 10-15 players to Monday's exhibition game in Hamilton. "We're playing to win the game because the scoreboard is on, but we're also going to do it with everybody we travel with," he said. "We're looking for a full group effort." ... Pruneau is starting camp at the SAM linebacker position but could find himself back as safety at some point. "Of course we haven't played a game yet, but in terms of confidence and communication on the field, defensively we're much better," he said. "It's good to know they strength of your teammates. That makes us a better team right now." ... RedBlacks released receiver L.J. Castile Friday.