QB’s record not as good vs. rest of CFL
By Michael Petrie,
Calgary Herald
There’s no telling exactly why Henry Burris has owned the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
But if he played as well against the rest of the Canadian Football League as he does against his former club, the Calgary Stampeders would be Grey Cup favourites.
“For whatever reason, he’s almost perfect in our games with them,” Stamps guard Jay McNeil said Thursday afternoon. “It’s ridiculous. I’ve been thinking about it and I can’t figure out why it is. It’s amazing.
“I just hope he keeps it up.”
The enigmatic quarterback has made three starts against Saskatchewan since leaving as a free agent two winters ago. All were wins.
His stats are bloated against the ‘Riders, his demeanour is more authoritative, his focus is sharper, his teeth are whiter . . .
“The biggest thing is that his decision-making process seems to be a lot crisper,” said offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto. “It might be that he played against their defence every day at practice and he understands and sees it more clearly and much quicker.
“Why he’s not that way in the other weeks is the $64 question.”
Against Saskatchewan, Burris has completed 62 per cent of his passes, has a 114.8 quarterback rating, five touchdown passes and one interception. His numbers against the rest of the league pale in comparison.
“It’s really hard to say why,” said Burris. “It’s a game-to-game thing. I had a lot of reps against that defence, so I know their personnel, I’m able to see things much quicker and have an idea of what they’re doing.
“Besides that, we’re executing. I’m making the throws,” he said.
“We’re making the catches, we’re making the blocks, we’re not taking penalties and we’ve been able to take care of the ball,” said Burris
But his teammates don’t believe all these elements just happen to fall into place against his old team. Many of them claim to see a difference in him before facing the Greenies — his emotions are high and his focus is spot on.
“It’s all about your attitude,” said slotback Jeremaine Copeland. “You played there, you know exactly what’s going on and you want to let the fans know it was a bad loss on their part and a good gain for the team you’re playing with now. You step it up a notch. That’s the way everybody plays.”
“It might be that the guys around (Henry) want to make sure that they give more than their best effort,” said backup pivot Danny McManus. “In a situation where he is (in Regina), where everyone’s really hating him, everyone might raise their game a little bit more just to make sure he comes away victorious.”
While Burris doesn’t have any Grey Cup rings or long winning streaks to prove his mettle, he seems to thrive in adverse conditions. Some of his best performances have come in playoff games and close finishes.
When he goes back to Taylor Field, now Mosaic Stadium, a hostile crowd always awaits and the intensity is high as soon as he steps on the field.
“You have to stay focused because they have such a vocal crowd,” said Burris, who spent three seasons in Saskatchewan. “If there’s something happening in your world, in your life, they research it, find out about it and let you know about it on the sideline.
“Guys have to stay focused about what their job is and what they’re trying to do on the field. If you sit there and listen to all the animaniacs behind you, it takes you out of what you’re trying to do — and they do a great job of that.”
But it hasn’t worked on Burris. At least, not yet.
