THE CANADIAN PRESS
Hello, Christophe Normand. My, that was some serious air you got under you as you leapt over Ticats linebacker Larry Dean on Wednesday night.
Question: How quickly can you get to Rio? The hurdles start next Monday and the Bombers play Toronto this Friday with a bye week to follow.
Timing’s perfect.
Here are this week’s takeaways:
1. JC Sherritt has mad mimic skills.
The Edmonton linebacker scored the first touchdown of his splendid career on Saturday night, briefly giving the Eskimos a fourth quarter lead against Ottawa. He finished his interception return with a successful dive to the pylon reminiscent of the one Chris Rainey employed in one of the great highlights of last season.
The flair, finish and nose for the end zone that Sherritt showed on that play had him looking just like a seasoned running back or receiver and I’d imagine that guys like Rainey, Weston Dressler, Luke Tasker and Tyrell Sutton all grinned a little and nodded their silent approval from their couches. You might expect a linebacker to just put his head down and try to plow through a tackler in that scenario but Sherritt opted for poetry over punishment and he succeeded with flying colours.
Air Sherritt. Who knew?
2. Roy Finch is about to break out.
Roy Finch evades a defender during a return in Thursday’s win over the Riders (The Canadian Press)
Is it just me or does the Calgary Stampeders’ kick returner seem to be busting off progressively longer returns on a week by week basis? Based on the theory of, well, off the top of my head let’s call it “The Pinball theory of Gizmodic energy transformation,” Finch is about due to score a major on a run back.
His 54-yard romp to the Saskatchewan 24-yard-line during the third quarter of Friday night’s Stamps win means that far away horizon known as the goal line has gotten closer and closer and closer…. Only a matter of time – not much more of it – before Finch starts finding the end zone.
3. Got some pretty hearty fans in Winnipeg.
Have to hand it to the good people of the ‘Peg. So many of them waited out a storm delay on Wednesday night, one that saw the Blue Bombers’ game versus Hamilton starting pretty well when it should have been ending. For two and a half hours, they milled about under the partial roof of IGF and whiled away the time by watching baseball on the big screen.
When the game finally got started, they were in great voice and top marks to the home team for making it all worthwhile. A delay of that long wouldn’t normally float my boat but, personally, anything that gave me more time at The Rum Hut wouldn’t be considered a bad thing, really, amiright?
4. Clarence Denmark should have been playing before this.
Clarence Denmark returned and provided a major boost for the Bombers (BlueBombers.com)
What I mean to say is somebody ought to have had him in their line-up and it was probably Winnipeg all along.
I get it. The Bombers brought in Ryan Smith and Weston Dressler and decided Denmark was a luxury they couldn’t afford. Saskatchewan tossed him aside, too and when they did, I just assumed he’d be snapped up by somebody, somewhere and it perplexed me when he wasn’t.
The rest of the league slept on this and it’s a good thing for the Bombers they all did, because he slipped back into the line-up so very, very smoothly. Denmark’s shown himself to be a clutch receiver ever since his rookie season and at the age of 30 still has plenty to contribute.
5. Bryan Burnham is the league’s new over-the-middle monster.
Bryan Burnham has emerged as a star receiver in 2016 (The Canadian Press)
This takeaway maybe could have come last week and I’d actually jotted it down then, after he’d made some wicked grabs against Calgary. But I had other things on my mind and they made the list ahead of him in Week 6. But, Burnham provided another night of showing just who he is when it comes to snaring rifle shot, over-the-middle passes in traffic against Montreal on Thursday.
He fights off defenders, stabs darts, moves the chains. Scared of that Lions’ receiving corps yet, opponents? You should be. Bryan Burnham is giving BC a kind of Luke Tasker, Brad Sinopoli, Marquay McDaniel vacuum cleaner option week in and week out. The kind of receiver that keeps the first downs coming and provides even more opportunity for guys like Shawn Gore and the Manny Show to shine.
And finally…
Hey, Smilin’ Hank. All good now? Or do we give you a new nickname?
Rilin’ Hank.
