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I’ve always liked Drew Willy’s often displayed characteristic of calm rationality on the field. I know now I can fully expect a healthy dosage of level-headedness from him off the field as well.
This week, the Winnipeg quarterback was asked about having receiver Weston Dressler in blue and gold. He replied with appropriate compliments and then wound up by saying Dressler “gives a hundred per cent.” That’s right. A hundred per cent. Not a hundred and ten per cent, which has been the norm for cliché-ridden question and answer sessions in the world of sports for years and years and years now. And not – as I heard a hockey player say of a teammate this week – “a thousand per cent.” Just good ol’ achievable one hundred per cent.
Thank you, Drew Willy. Bet you’ll never catch him using the word “literally” when he means “figuratively.”
Here are some takeaways from the first week of CFL training camps:
The secret to a Saskatchewan Roughriders’ renaissance this season just might be poultry.
Sasky head coach Chris Jones demands a hundred per cent (see what I did there?) all the time when the matter at hand is a serious one. However, as he said this week; “We just come out here and try to make football fun. That’s what it should be.”
So, once the regular season begins, Jones will pit his first team offensive unit against his first team defensive unit, once a week, in a graded practice period. The losers have to buy chicken dinners for the entire team. Now, whether that’s buckets from The Colonel or some kind of fancy-shmancy, sauce-covered entrée with vegetables and stuff remains to be seen.
RELATED: Durant says Riders’ 2016 season a personal matter
Here’s the bottom line, according to running back Kendial Lawrence: “You don’t wanna buy chicken. So, you’re gonna do what you can to win this play, win the next play and win the whole period.”
If the Riders show a little extra pluck against their opponents this season, you might be able to trace it back to the weekly poultry wars. Remember: You don’t wanna buy chicken.
Never mind the chicken, Kevin Glenn is talkin’ steak in Montreal.
“He cooks the meal, all I do is bring it out and hand it to them,” said Montreal’s QB1, referencing the Als’ offensive coordinator, Anthony Calvillo. Glenn was talking about how to keep all of the Alouettes’ receivers happy and productive. “He’s the cook and I’m the waiter,” said the sixteen-year vet. “If they don’t like the way the steak is cooked, they have to talk to the chef, I didn’t cook it.”
Well, sure, Kevin, I get that. But, waiters are accountable, too, and the Alouettes have a lot of meat-eaters waiting to chow down. Duron Carter at table one, S.J. Green right next to him. Kenny Stafford is just over there, with Nik Lewis, Tyrell Sutton and Sam Giguère all scattered around the dining room. You just know they’ll all be banging their cutlery on the table if Glenn delivers their rib eye to somebody else.
Ricky Ray is back. Like, really, really back this time.
As we reported here at CFL.ca back in March, Argos’ quarterback Ricky Ray is back to one hundred per cent health for the first time in two years. At least, that’s what the veteran pivot said at the time, holding back just slightly when he said “there’s still a little uncertainty.” That, apparently has been erased with his performance during the first week of Argonauts’ camp.
RELATED: Ray happy to have Bourke on his blindside
Receiver Kevin Elliott, who saw Ray return and try to lead the team with a still weakened shoulder last October, has noticed a difference in passes coming his way. “It’s spinning a little faster,” said Elliott of the ball. “Gettin’ to us a little faster. He’s actually got some oomph behind the ball, which is a great thing.”
With those lingering questions about Ray’s shoulder put to rest, there is another big one for the Argos in 2016: Can they keep Ray upright, well-protected and healthy for an entire season?
What I said about Ricky Ray? Ditto for Solomon Elimimian.
Reports from the BC Lions’ training camp in Kamloops, B.C. tell us that the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2014 is looking like his old self, so far. It’s the best Achilles rehab story west of Darian Durant.
Downed by one of football’s most troublesome injuries – especially for guys who make their money by reading, reacting and then exploding towards the target with great force and extreme prejudice, Elimimian is apparently looking very much like the guy who totalled 136 defensive tackles in his MOP year.
This is good news for the Lions and very bad news for opponents who catch a little dump pass over the middle. And doubly bad for those who catch one in the seam between Elimimian and Adam Bighill.
Maurice Leggett might not be in mid-season celebration form. Or is he?
Reasons to follow wpg_bluebombers on snapchat: daily dancing. ?? pic.twitter.com/q72ilwmAEk
— Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) June 3, 2016
Can someone answer a question for me? What is this? Really… what IS this? Bombers strong side linebacker Maurice Leggett – who I’m pretty sure I saw give the royal wave a couple of times after big plays last season – is doing something here that I’m not familiar with.
I’m not saying I don’t dig it. In fact, after watching it a few times, I’m pretty sure I do want to see it broken out this season. It’s just that I don’t know what it is. Should I know this? Is it trending with the kids? Did he steal it from Drake? What do we call it? “The Cross-Country Skiier”? “The Double Gondolier”? “The Mo-Commotion”?
Do I see young Canadians everywhere doing this in front of their mirror just before heading out for a night of clubbing? Yes, I do. One hundred per cent.
