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“We did change basically the entire receiving corps,” Desjardins said Monday as the Redblacks practised at Carleton University. “When you’re talking the 46, you’ve got the receivers, you’ve got the left tackle (SirVincent Rogers).

“It’s a good thing when we are getting better, getting better players. Turnover is what it is. It’s going to be at most teams, anyway. Actually, I think it’s a good thing versus we were 2-16 (last season), right?”

With Pierzchalski, the Redblacks roster had six receivers on Monday. Depending on Sinopoli’s status, Macdonell could be either a starting slotback against the Alouettes or a there and at wide receiver.

“Same thing I do every week, trying to make plays,” said Macdonell, who matches Pierzchalski inch for inch and p0und for pound on the official roster. “For me, I try not to come in expecting to do too much or more than I’m asked at the time.

“I find that, if I think too much, it’s kind of like coaching against ghosts: It doesn’t work well for me.”

By the time they start play against the Alouettes at Molson Stadium on Thursday, it will have been 12 days since the Redblacks last faced a CFL opponent in their second of two preseason contests. Unlike the normal in-season bye weeks where players mostly scatter to their hometowns, these players have continued training-camp workouts and played a mock-game scrimmage in Gatineau.

Whether all that prep time makes players, coaches and especially fans forgot the struggles of Year 1 and surprise those who still don’t expect the Redblacks to contend for a playoff spot is what we’ll all find out starting Thursday.

“That’s why you play the games and you see what it is,” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said. “We have an expectation to compete and we want to find a way to get into the playoffs, but that’s why you play all these games.”

gholder@ottawacitizen.com

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