Naylor’s Kickoff: Lions meet Redblacks in clash of improved teams

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Here’s how quickly things can change in the Canadian Football League.

When the Ottawa Redblacks hosted the BC Lions last September, it was a battle of teams going nowhere.

The Lions won by a score of 45-13, just one of five victories they earned on a season that unravelled as it went along.

Ottawa was already playing out the string in a year in which both their starting and backup quarterbacks were lost to season-ending injuries.

Nine months later, a lot has changed as the Lions and Redblacks meet at TD Place Stadium on Thursday night.

Both the Lions and Redblacks have been among the most impressive teams this young CFL season, even though Ottawa is 0-2.

The improvement on both these teams has been immense. And it starts, as it so often does, at the quarterback position.

The cupboard was bare in Ottawa by the end of last season, which made the Redblacks aggressive in free agency under new general manager Shawn Burke. Burke used his connection from Hamilton to sign free-agent quarterback Jeremiah Masoli after the Tiger-Cats made their commitment to Dane Evans.

Masoli represents a massive upgrade over anyone – and there were many – who took a snap for Ottawa between the end of the 2018 season, when Trevor Harris departed, and the start of this season.

Seasoned and still in his prime, Masoli brings a presence Ottawa has badly needed. Playing behind a completely rebuilt offensive line and some nice offensive pieces, the Redblacks look like a team that can compete with anyone in the East.

They sit at 0-2 on the season, but both of those losses came in hard-fought games against the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Bombers may not be what they were, but