Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Hello, Winnipeg. How’ve you been sleeping the last few nights?
That’s what I figured. It’s nice to exhale, isn’t it? Edmonton knows this, too, after an incredibly… I don’t really know how to describe that win. Have you ever seen the movie Inception? Yeah, it was kind of like that. Everybody been able to dig their fingernails out of the couch yet?
Here are the Week 3 Takeaways:
1. There is, absolutely, something brewing in Saskatchewan.
The Riders didn’t get the result they wanted but didn’t come away empty-handed (The Canadian Press)
There’ve been mistakes. There’ve been missed opportunities. There is also little doubt that Friday night’s almost-complete comeback was also partly fashioned by a gracious host who politely provided a couple of opportunities (before themselves taking advantage of the visitors’ largesse as regulation time drained).
On offence, receiver Ricky Collins has – what was it that Nuke LaLoosh said in Bull Durham? – announced his presence with authority. On defence, the gift that is defensive end Jonathan Newsome is one that will keep on giving. Fast, smart and bruising, with cover ability, too, it seems a disservice to merely call Newsome a defensive lineman. Let’s invent a new positional tag for him, one that covers it all; He’s a free-end-backer-safety. Maybe he ought to be the guy the ‘Riders give the ball to on third and one.
2. Those Blue Bombers have guts.
The Bombers were firing on all cylinders to pick up win No. 1 of 2016 (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)
Some wondered if that was the case after a lifeless loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Week 2. Heading into Thursday’s game against a snarly group of Hamilton Ticats – who’d been battered by the BC Lions the week before and were eager for redemption – it didn’t look good. When they botched an early field goal attempt by, umm, not actually having a holder on the field for said attempt, got docked five yards and then saw Hamilton’s Brandon Banks return a Justin Medlock miss 120 yards for a major, it seemed like the same old same. The Bombers could have thought that, too, and folded like… I don’t know… something that folds easily, like a folder, I guess. But they didn’t.
My point? I have two, actually. 1) I’m terrible at coming up with a good simile. 2) The Bombers’ answering of their early, catastrophic mistake with determination – a determination that helped lead them to a huge victory – illustrated that they do have the intangible stuff that they need in order to be successful. Now, can they grow it?
3. You can run your way to a win against the BC Lions.
The Argo ground game keyed a win over the BC Lions in Week 3 (The Canadian Press)
That sounds insane, doesn’t it? With a strong front seven, keyed by the tackling machines known as Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill, attacking the Lions on the ground seems like a doomed strategy. However, the Toronto Argonauts showed us that it can be a strong play, as long as you execute it well. Executing well means getting offensive linemen in the way of Bighill and Elimimian before they can lock their targeting on a running back. You know, the way it’s best to take out a missile while it’s still in its silo.
The Argos had the lead at halftime on Thursday night, that is true. But there was a sense that their sputtering offence – which everyone knows is supremely pass-heavy – might not be able to hit the igniter against the Lions. Lo and behold, veteran Brandon Whitaker found seams galore and showed he can still blast through them. Whitaker had four rushes for 17 yards in the first half. Nine for 80 in the second. I’d like those Mythbusters guys to come out of retirement because we had a couple shattered: That you shouldn’t run against Team 100 and that the Argos can’t muster a ground game.
4. You can win a game twice yet still only come out with a tie.
That’s about what happened to the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday night against Calgary. Down at the one yard line with less than 90 seconds to go in a 20-20 tie, running back Nic Grigsby got disrupted and fumbled the opportunity away on a hard hit by Calgary linebacker Alex Singleton (Takeaway within a takeaway: Singleton is, indeed, gonna be a thing. He was at the centre of action an awful lot after taking over for an injured Taylor Reed). Then, in overtime, after the REDBLACKS had taken the lead with a field goal, Ottawa defensive back Jermaine Robinson had just about the easiest interception of the season in his hands when Bo Levi Mitchell floated a hurried deep ball over the middle.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Ties are unsatisfying? Not to Calgary, on this night. The Stampeders made a nifty escape. And maybe not even to Ottawa, a team that would have really felt the sting of losing a game it should have won.
5. Ryan Smith is one hip dude.
Was that not the most incredibly odd touchdown reception you’ve ever seen? Do you remember that classic bit from years ago, when David Letterman dressed himself in velcro and hurled himself at a velcro wall? That ball was Letterman, and Smith was the wall. I dare Smith and quarterback Drew Willy to try that again, in practice. Run the route, fire the pass, don’t even TRY to catch it. Don’t even look for it. See what happens. You could try it a hundred times and I’ll bet you don’t get it to happen even once. Go on. I dare you. If I win, I get nothing more than the right to say I told you so. If you win, I’ll hook you up with a couple of gorgeous tie and pocket square combos from the TSN football panel (NOTE: Columnist reserves the right to substitute TSN panel ties and pocket squares with those from his own closet if he loses).
And finally… How did Winnipeg Head Coach Mike O’Shea celebrate his team’s win in Hamilton? By staying late and helping the equipment staff load the truck. Don’t know if he meant it this way, but O’Shea’s actions serve as a perfect reminder: Even after a satisfying win, there is always work left to be done. I might be bad with simile, but O’Shea is real good with metaphor.
