Jaime Stein
CFL.ca
What appears to be the easiest play on the field – the quarterback sneak – may actually be one of the most difficult plays to execute. Take Jarious Jackson for example. In the third quarter on Friday night he was stood up at the goal line on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. On second down, he was stood up again, only this time the Ticats stripped the ball from him and forced a turnover. That one play basically shifted the momentum of the entire football game. The Ticats improved to 3-2 while the Lions fell to a league worst 1-4.
Time and time again we see coaches bring in their backup quarterback to run a QB Sneak. More times than not, the QB attempts to go high over the line of scrimmage. Going high on a QB sneak never works. A quarterback needs to get low and follow the surge of his offensive line.
A few years back, the Argos were stuffed three consecutive times from the one-yard line against Saskatchewan. Damon Allen was stuffed on first down. He slipped on second down. On third down, Allen and Chad Folk had trouble with the exchange from centre and the Argos turned the ball over. The Argos were up 10-0 at the time and were poised to take a 17-0 lead on the road in hostile Regina. Instead, the Riders were sparked by the big stop and came back to win 24-13.
The point here is that a big stuff on the goal line can change the momentum of a game. Teams often spend little time in practice on QB sneaks. Bringing in a cold QB doesn’t help the matter.
EASY AS A COBB ‘O CORN
DeAndra’ Cobb appears to have the BC Lions’ number. It is too bad the rookie tailback can’t face the Lions every week – if that were the case, he would be on pace for 27 TDs and 2403 yards rushing this season! Cobb has a downhill running style and his legs never stop moving, allowing him to continue to gain yards after contact. His story is a good one; he nearly missed out on the CFL altogether. Credit the Ticats scouts for this great find.
TICAT O-LINE LOVES PANCAKES
Staying with the Ticats, Peter Dyakowski wins the ‘Breakfast Award’ for the best pancake of the week. On DeAndra’ Cobb’s second TD he pancaked BC’s defensive lineman Andrew Jones, opening a gaping hole for the shifty runner. Dyakowski’s inspired play may come from the fact that he no longer sports a mullet – or maybe the Ticats’ O-line has finally found some harmony. I’ll chalk it up to the latter. The big boys in black and gold threw some massive blocks to spring Cobb all night long en route to his best game in the CFL. My hat goes off to Dyakowski, Alex Gauthier, Marwan Hage, George Hudson, Dan Goodspeed, Simeon Rottier and Cedric Gagne-Marcoux for their play on Friday night.
SIDDEEQ-AND-DESTROY
What a great start to the 2009 campaign for Siddeeq Shabazz. Heading into Week #5 he had returned two interceptions for touchdowns. He didn’t disappoint on Saturday against the Argonauts. He snuffed out a Toronto drive with an interception near the goal line and followed that up with another pick near midfield to kill the momentum of the Argonaut offence. In addition to his interceptions, Shabazz may be one of the hardest hitters in the league. His coach, Mike Kelly, said that his last two steps are faster than the rest of the steps he takes to get him to the ball carrier. This leads to bone-crunching hits. Shabazz is making a strong case as an early favourite for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award.
FOLLOWING IN THE WAKE
Few people outside of diehard Lions fans and the good people of Courtice, Ontario know who Ricky Foley is. Fans should start paying more attention to #95 in orange, black and white. Foley grew up on a farm and never had the opportunity to play high school football. Instead, he became a decathlete. Upon arriving at York University, the confident Foley convinced the football coach that he could play both offence and defence. Foley settled in as a rush end for the York Lions and developed into a tenacious – but raw – football player. The Baltimore Ravens signed him to a free agent contact before his path eventually took him north to the BC Lions (the team that drafted him). Foley has bided his time as a backup defensive lineman and special teams player for the Leos. It is nice to see him flourishing this year as a starter in the spot previously held by the departed Cameron Wake.
NOT SO SIMPLE SIMON
Gotta feel for Geroy Simon. He had two catches in the first half versus the Ticats nullified because of penalties. The first came when Rufus Skillern ran an errant route and was flagged for an illegal block on the play. The second catch was called back due to a holding penalty. Simon is generally moved around in the Lions offensive formations, but against the Ticats he appeared to be lining up in the same spot in the slot for a majority of the reps. Simon had three receptions for 29 yards against the Ticats – his longest was only 14 yards. Teams are keying on Simon. For BC to have success on offence, they are going to need to find a way to get him open.
RAY DAYS
Ricky Ray is back. He had a wonderful game on Thursday night, throwing that vintage deep ball with precision. The best play may have been the pump fake he gave to free Fred Stamps on the “dagger” touchdown late in the fourth quarter to solidify the win. Credit should also be given to the Esks’ offensive line, which did a great job protecting their leader.
MORE THAN A KICKER
It is easy to hate kickers. They usually stand around at practice kicking the odd ball while the rest of the team grinds it out on the field. Of course, Sandro DeAngelis and Burke Dales use their spare time to train for the right to fight the Esks’ Adam Braidwood in an MMA off-season bout. But I digress. Former Concordia Stinger Mike Renaud has had a couple of great weeks kicking the ball in addition to running over returners. Renaud was fired up in Week #4, recording three special team tackles. These were not your garden variety tackles. He was laying the wood as a couple of Argo returners found out. Renaud followed up on that performance with some great punts on Saturday afternoon, pinning Argo returners inside the numbers and often deep in their own territory. Another kicker who deserves mention is Jamie Boreham. He threw a big hit on Tristan Jackson in the fourth quarter of last week’s game. However, Boreham has an advantage – he also played safety at the University of Manitoba.
LITTLE BIG MAN
Weston Dressler shows great hustle on every play fighting for extra yards and it is contagious. Watch his teammates Rob Bagg, Stu Foord, Chris Getzlaf to name a few. You’d be hard pressed to find another offensive group in the league that fights for extra yards like these guys do. And their fans love them for their effort.
MAJOR PAIN
Ben Major – the umpire in the Bombers/Argonauts game on Saturday – showed why the officiating position of umpire may be
the most dangerous in all of sport. The umpire stands about 7-yards off the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. Basically, he is right in the line of fire and must keep his head on a swivel at all times. On Saturday, Major was run over on a pass attempted for Argo Cory Rodgers. Major, while still on the ground, managed to blow his whistle to signal the play dead. A great hustle and a worthy mention for the men in stripes who officiate the games each week.
STARS OF THE WEEK #5
***** Chris Getzlaf: His heroics in Calgary were unbelievable. What an amazing touchdown catch to give the Riders a 1-point victory in the most exciting game of the week.
**** Odell Willis: This is a bit of a carryover from last week because I didn’t get to hand out my stars. Willis has strung together a few great performances in a row. He is becoming one of the most feared linemen in the CFL. He leads the league with six sacks.
*** Garrett McIntyre: Sticking with the theme of great new defensive ends, McIntyre was outstanding on Friday night. His motor appears to be in overdrive the entire game and he never quits on a play.
** Michael Bishop: His stat line wasn’t the best, but he came in and got the job done for the Big Blue with only a few days of practice under his belt. His arm strength makes the Bombers offence a whole lot better – just ask Terrence Edwards who was on the receiving end of a couple of Bishop bullets, including a TD.
* Justin Medlock: Medlock was 11-for-11 on field goals before his 57-yard game-winning attempt on Saturday afternoon. While he missed the 57-yarder, he was an unlucky bounce off the post from making it through the uprights for the win. I think Medlock has a bright future despite the slight step back.
