By: Santino Filoso

The middle of the CFL’s off-seaosn is the perfect time to see how the 2002 Renegades season stacks up against the 2014 Redblacks inaugural year. Though the Renegades eked out two more wins, there’s an argument to be made that the Redblacks had the more entertaining first year.

Game #1:

Renegades lose at home against Saskatchewan, falling 30-27 in OT

Redblacks lose in Winnipeg 36-28

Game #2:

Renegades lose in Edmonton 40-24

Redblacks lose in Edmonton 27-11

Game #3

Renegades win at home vs Winnipeg 25-24

Redblacks win at home vs Toronto 18-17

Game #4

Renegades lose in Winnipeg 55-7

Redblacks lose in Hamilton 33-23

Game #5

Renegades win at home vs Hamilton 38-37

Redblacks lose at home to Saskatchewan 38-14

Game #6

Renegades lose in Toronto 24-8

Redblacks lose in Calgary 38-17

Game #7

Renegades lose at home to Montreal 29-6

Redblacks lose at home to Edmonton 10-8

Game #8

Renegades lose in BC 22-18

Redblacks lose at home to Calgary 32-7

Game #9

Renegades lose in Hamilton 30-9

Redblacks lose in Montreal 20-10

Game #10

Renegades lose at home to BC 28-4

Redblacks lose at home to BC 7-5

Game #11

Renegades lose at home to Toronto 30-25

Redblacks lose in Saskatchewan 35-32 in double OT

Game #12

Renegades win in Calgary 26-12

Redblacks lose at home to Montreal 15-7

Game #13

Renegades lose at home to Calgary 26-22 in OT

Redblacks win at home vs Bombers 42 – 20

Game #14

Renegades lose in Saskatchewan 29-11

Redblacks lose in BC 41 – 3

Game #15

Renegades lose at home to Edmonton 37-34

Redblacks lose in Hamilton 16-6

Game #16

Renegades lose in Toronto 29-12

Redblacks lose at home to Montreal 23-17

Game #17

Renegades lose at home to Montreal 43-34

Redblacks lose at home to Hamilton 34-25

Game #18

Renegades win in Montreal 26-25

Redblacks lose in Toronto 23-5

Final records:

The Renegades went 4-14 with 356 Points For and 550 Points Against equaling a difference of -194 points

The Redblacks went 2-16 with 278 Points For and 465 Points Against equaling a difference of -187 points

Quick Takeaways:

The Renegades averaged 19.7 points a game, scoring more than 20 points in 10 games, and more than 30 in three

The Redblacks averaged 15.4 points a game, scoring more than 20 points in 5 games, more than 30 once, and more than 40 once

The Renegades gave up 30.5 points a game to the Redblacks 25.8 points per game and were *blown out seven times to the Redblacks five

*In this case I counted a blowout as losing by more than 14 points

Individual Stat Leaders:

QBs:

Dan Crowley threw for 2697 yards with 16 TDs, 19 INTs and a 49.1% completion rate

vs

Henry Burris throwing for 3728 yards with 11 TDs, 14 INTs and a 60.9% completion rate

RBs:

Josh Ranek rushed for 689 yards and 3 TDs, averaging 5.4 yards per carry

vs

Chevon Walker rushing for 458 yards and 3 TDs, averaging 4.5 yards per carry

WRs:

Jimmy Oliver made 82 catches for 1004 yards and 6 TDs

vs

Marcus Henry making 67 catches for 824 yards and 2 TDs

Defense (tackles):

Kelly Wiltshire made 86 tackles vs Jasper Simmons making 80

Picks:

Gerald Vaughn made 3 INTs vs Brandyn Thompson making 4

Sacks:

Jerome Haywood had 6 sacks vs Justin Capicciotti having 11

Special Teams Tackles:

John Grace made 16 vs Jason Pottinger making 13

Awards:

Renegades: LB John Grace, CFL All-Star

Redblacks: None

Attendance:

Renegades: 0 sellouts with an average crowd of 23,773

Redblacks: 9 sellouts with an average crowd of 24,500

Have your say:

@RedBlackGade

– All stats via CFL.ca and images via Scott Grant Photography