CFL Preview - Winnipeg (6-7) at Ottawa (1-11) (ET)

GAME NOTES: Canadian football may again be back in Ottawa, but the excitement may already be wearing off as the RedBlacks try to avoid suffering their 10th straight defeat when hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at TD Place on Friday evening.

Being the new kid on the block has not earned the RedBlacks any sympathy, which is why they have just a single win to show for their efforts in 12 opportunities. Since defeating Toronto by a single point (18-17) at home on July 18, the RedBlacks have come up short of expectations. Last week, the team dropped a 15-7 battle against Montreal at home, all but assuring the team that it will finish with the worst record in the league this season.

As for the Blue Bombers, they too find themselves in last place in their division over in the west, but at least they can say that they've been competitive and are within one win of being .500. However, Winnipeg has hit a very rough patch in the campaign since opening with three straight victories and wins in five of the first six games overall.

Last week, the Bombers again had trouble kicking their offense into gear as they scored a mere 11 points in a five-point loss at Hamilton. In the last two games Winnipeg has scored a combined 20 points, that after posting no fewer than three touchdowns in four straight outings. As a result, the team has fallen in four straight and six of the last seven.

With Drew Willy at the helm, Winnipeg scored just a single major versus the Tiger-Cats and that didn't come until late in the fourth quarter when the quarterback hit Cory Watson with a six-yard score. Willy finished the meeting 27-of-41 for 303 yards, but was sacked five times, while the rushing attack contributed only 54 net yards.

Also putting a damper on the Winnipeg effort was 15 penalties for a loss of 130 yards.

Like the Bombers, Ottawa also had just a single major during its meeting with Montreal, a 23-yard TD run by Jonathan Williams in the second quarter. Other than that, the RedBlacks barely made a sound as Henry Burris connected on a solid 25-of-32 passes for 253 yards, but was taken down for three sacks. The signal caller was also second on the team in rushing with 28 yards, trailing only Williams and his 59 yards on 12 attempts.

Montreal made every attempt to let the RedBlacks in the game, from generating only 296 yards of offense to being hit with 14 flags for a loss of 139 yards.

Burris has tried to give the RedBlacks a fighting chance this season, placing fourth in the league with 2,715 yards passing, but he simply does not have the players around him to get the job done. Completing a decent 61.1 percent of his attempts, Burris has tossed just nine touchdowns in 378 tries, not to mention eight interceptions, which is why he has an efficiency rating of only 82.1.

Frustration has been mounting for the seasoned quarterback, and it surely would for any player who has been successful over his career and now finds himself in charge of an offense that ranks last in the league in scoring with a mere 15.0 ppg and is coupled with a defense that surrenders 25.7 ppg, second-most in the CFL entering play this week.

The counterpart for Burris this week, Willy has been one of the more durable quarterbacks in the league this season and has managed to throw for a CFL-best 3.280 yards on 65.6 percent accuracy as a result. However, Willy has tossed only 13 touchdowns, which is just two more than he has interceptions at the moment.

The good news for Winnipeg, a squad that has the worst turnover margin at minus-10, is that Grigsby leads the league in TDs with nine, eight of those coming on the ground and the other through the air. The running back is tied for second in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,110

While the RedBlacks may be new to the league in 2014, football does have a history in Ottawa and that has produced a considerable series between these two cities. Dating back to 1961 and taking into account only regular-season bouts, the Bombers own a 41-26-1 advantage, using a 36-28 victory in Week 2 to extend their win streak in the series to four in a row.

In that game Ottawa appeared to be well on its way to a stunning victory, logging three touchdowns in the first quarter, but the defense was unable to make those stand up for the duration. Burris threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns and Chevon Walker accounted for one major on the ground and another through the air for the visitors.

Trailing in the fourth quarter, Winnipeg scored 16 unanswered points down the stretch in order to complete the comeback. Willy shook off five sacks and an interception as he threw for 307 yards, while Nic Grigsby erupted for three TDs on 14 rushing attempts.

That first meeting was filled with miscues and sloppy play as the two teams combined for 28 penalties (240 yards).

Despite being banged up and a little sore from the last outing, Willy is ready and willing to get back onto the field for the Blue Bombers and that should spell trouble for the fledgling RedBlacks on Friday night.