Cauz: A new Mayor of Swaggerville?
I once wrote an entire column on a Jonathon Jennings touchdown pass. So why can’t I do the same thing for someone on the defensive side of the ball? As someone whose fallback position is to focus on the quarterback, I have decided to do the complete opposite and write about a single defensive play. Hey, if it worked for George Costanza then why not for me?
Now, this play wasn’t a sack, an interception or even a return touchdown. Instead it was “just” a tackle. Of course, Maurice Leggett’s tackle on Chris Rainey, this isn’t any normal tackle. It sealed a 37-35 win over the BC Lions and more importantly the win keeps the Bombers one game ahead of the Edmonton Eskimos for third place in the West with three games to go.
That play was pure football. Please excuse the variety of clichés that will find their way in my column but really there is no better way to describe Leggett’s effort. It was mano-a-mano, one man versus another man … actually it was Leggett versus two men to be precise. It was third-and-one with the ball placed on the four-yard-line with under a minute to go. The Lions offence was in full jumbo mode, the Blue Bombers were packed together, waiting for the Lions’ offensive line to shoot out and create just enough of a wedge.
Maurice Leggett has been the catalyst on a dominant Bomber defence (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
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But wait! Before we go into Leggett’s heroics, we need to back up one play. Before Maurice can get a chance to be a hero, he needed some help from his teammates on second down. On second-and-two, Anthony Allen slammed up the middle of the Bombers defence and was immediately pushed back. Ninth-year pro Keith Shologan, who was the heart and soul of the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ resurgent defence in 2015, was in the middle of this short yardage stop. If you go back and re-watch the play, you’ll also find All-Star Jamaal Westerman somewhere in the mass of bodies doing his best Gandolf ‘You shall not pass!’ impersonation as Allen is rebuffed (quick aside about Keith. I have no idea which defensive lineman currently is the active leader for most consecutive games played, but over the past eight seasons Keith has only missed five games. Think about how tough that is for that position!).
Back to third down. When you watch the play live, you can see Leggett slowly creep up to the line of scrimmage right before Travis Lulay snaps the ball. Chris Rainey goes in motion from left to right, takes the handoff from Lulay and starts to chart a course to the corner of the end zone. I understand in hindsight you can ask: Why didn’t they just try to run up the middle again? But the play makes a lot of sense. Load up one side with extra blockers and allow one of the games most dynamic players to use his speed for a game winning touchdown. Rainey had already ripped off a 44-yard punt return, a 56-yard run and a 70-yard kickoff return earlier; what’s three yards to the fastest player on the field?
Maurice Leggett was not supposed to be a factor on this play. The Lions had sent out Allen to block Leggett and by design this should work as Allen is two inches taller and about 30 pounds heavier than the man he has been assigned to block. Instead, Leggett fought off the initial block, spun past Allen and somehow managed to tackle Rainey around the knees before he could pick up any speed. I mean it was just a hell of a play. Leggett took on two players and managed to beat both of them, forcing the Lions to turn the ball over on downs.
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Two quick facts that make those last two plays even more remarkable: The Bombers managed to stifle the league’s number one team in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. It’s one thing to win at the point of attack against Saskatchewan’s rushing attack; it’s quite another to do it against the Lions. The other point is that third down stop was the first time we had seen Leggett on the field since injuring himself on a Winnipeg punt return near the start of the third quarter. Have I mentioned how much joy I take out of that one tackle?
With a league-leading seven interceptions, three touchdown returns and two fumble recoveries, Leggett feels like the new mayor of Swaggerville. He is the lynch pin behind the best big play defence in the league. Now the question is can he do what Odell Willis and Jovon Johnson did in the past: help take the Blue Bombers to the Grey Cup.
I’m looking forward to next Friday; here’s hoping we get to see Rainey vs. Leggett again.
