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It’s not like the Ottawa Redblacks are out of control, but they know the dumb penalties have to stop.

Last week, in a 40-32 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Redblacks took 12 penalties … with 174 yards marched off against them. That’s a killer when you’re a team looking to do some serious damage down the stretch, maybe even win a Grey Cup.

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To be fair, the Redblacks are middle of the pack in the CFL – their 1,169 yards in penalties are way behind Montreal’s 1,433. At the other end of the spectrum is Winnipeg with 842.

One of the penalties the Redblacks took against Winnipeg – and it was a dubious call with an exaggerated fall by one of the big Blue Bombers who launched himself backward after a shove, a Fosbury Flop at its best – went to offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers. The timing was certainly inopportune, it was in overtime.

“That’s a penalty I can’t take, I take full responsibility,” said Rogers. “I wanted to make sure they couldn’t get any extra push or any extra shots on our QB. As offensive linemen, we’re protectors – that’s our DNA.