August 7, 2017

Landry’s 5 takeaways from Week 7

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Hello, Chris Williams. Welcome ba…. Um, bye, Chris Williams. He just blew right by me, folks. Probably onto the third or fourth takeaway by now. He just disappeared on me. Well, I’m in good company with that.

Here are this week’s takeaways.

1. WALLY BUONO CAN’T LOSE

You hear this every now and then in football circles: “It’s a nice problem to have.” In the history of nice problems to have, however, has there ever been a nicer “nice problem to have” than the one the Lions’ head coach has right now? Quarterback Jonathon Jennings is set to return and we all know how exciting he is at the controls of the BC offence.

Travis Lulay has impressed in the absence of usual starting quarterback Jonathon Jennings (Jimmy Jeong/BCLions.com)

Does Buono hand the reins back to him, even though Travis Lulay has more – much more – than just served his purpose of keeping the Lions on track during Jennings’ absence? The Lions’ offence couldn’t possibly run better than it has with Lulay at the controls but that’s not to say it couldn’t keep up the pace with Jennings as the trigger man as well.

Wally Buono’s decision on this is kind of like the butter tart argument that’s been going around; The one over whether a butter tart ought to have raisins in it or not. The short answer is that it does not matter, you’re getting a butter tart and that is amazing. The only question is:
Do you feel like raisins or not? Personally, I might not choose at all, and I’d have BOTH butter tarts every single game.

2. KEVIN GLENN KNOWS WHY YOU’RE FOLLOWING HIM BUT THERE’S NOTHING TO SEE HERE

The Roughriders were losing big and their quarterback, Kevin Glenn, was replaced by the young understudy, Brandon Bridge. Bridge rolled a little, leading the Riders to a couple of late TD’s in what is often called “garbage time.” A sideline camera operator was assigned man coverage on Glenn as this was playing out, with repeated cuts to the veteran as he navigated the bench area.

“You see how he keep followin’ me?” Glenn asked of an off-camera teammate. “They’re talkin’ about that on the panel right now. Kevin Glenn’s gettin’ old. There’s a quarterback controversy right now.” Glenn was kinda, sorta grinning through it, although his overall demeanor suggested to me that he may have felt just a li’l bit like Alec Baldwin does when he pops out of his hot yoga class and the paparazzi swoop in.

Kevin Glenn had a rough outing in the Riders’ 30-15 loss to BC on Saturday (The Canadian Press)

Brandon Bridge’s time is coming in this league, we think. But that time is not now, not based merely on Glenn struggling against one of the best defences in the country. Outside of Saturday night, he’s been just fine. Quarterback controversy? Wally Buono laughs in your face. No, really. He laughs and laughs and laughs because as I stated earlier, he’s getting a butter tart.

3. THE QUARTERBACK’S WIFE HAS GOT GAME TOO

While Matt Nichols did his part in leading the Bombers to a rousing comeback win in Ottawa, I’m not even sure his was the best performance of the night by someone in his family. That’s because his wife, Ali, owned him in her reply to this tweet by Bombers’ Communications Director, Darren Cameron:

That one had some tabasco on it. It’s like the Twitter equivalent of zipping a rocket in between defenders. Matt retweeted that, by the way, because it’s all good when you’re winning the close ones in exciting fashion. In Ottawa, Nichols showed again that anyone still calling him “merely a game manager” is stuck on what is now a nearly deserted island by themselves. Because the boat everyone else is on is disappearing over the horizon. Good luck trying to build a radio out of a coconut, professor.

By the way, coconut in a butter tart is a no-go, far as I’m concerned. But Wally Buono doesn’t have to worry about that. Again, it’s raisins or no raisins for him and he’s still leaning over the box with his hands behind his back, grinning. “Let me see…” he muses.

4. SIGNS OF LIFE EMERGE IN TIGERTOWN

After their 60-1 loss in Calgary the week before, followed by fighting at one of their practices in the days that followed, you may have figured that life that in the Ticats’ camp would resemble the hellscape of a post-apocalyptic Mel Gibson movie, something along the lines of “Mad Max: Beyond the Burlington Skyway.” If the Ticats fell to the absolute bottom of the pit during their Saturday night struggles in Cowtown, the following Friday night in Edmonton showed that they are not content to just lay there waiting for that pit to fill up with their tears.

While they still lost to the Eskimos, the Ticats pushed the league’s last unbeaten team to the limit, almost pulling out the upset as the clock wound down. In that game there remained instances of what has ailed the ‘Cats during this horrific start to the season, but there were ample examples of goodness, too, including moments where quarterback Zach Collaros looked like the dancing matador we’ve seen in the past, with a glint in his eye and some turbo in his getaway step.

Who knows? The Ticats might continue to lose. But for the moment, at least, there are signs that they might be able to fight their way out of Bartertown yet. Sidenote: Bartertown sounds a little like Butter Tart Town to me. At least today it does.

5. KENNY LADLER IS THE ASSERTIVE TYPE

The speedy Edmonton linebacker was somewhat quiet for a good portion of Friday night’s game against the Ticats, ending the evening with three tackles, a third of the total he hung on BC the week prior. When crunch time came, though, Ladler saddled up and rode to the rescue, zipping to the back of the end zone in Ticat receiver Luke Tasker‘s pocket as though he were running the route for him, and picking off a Collaros pass. Had the connection been made, the score would have been 33-27 Eskimos, with more than seven minutes left, and that would have changed the texture of the game entirely. I mean, like the difference between a butter tart with raisins and one without.

Kenny Ladler is emerging as one of the CFL’s top defensive players and some are taking notice (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)

Ladler’s season so far has been a defensive gem, with 33 defensive tackles, three interceptions, a forced fumble and three knockdowns, leading injured teammate and member of the linebacking fraternity, JC Sherritt, to tweet “Perfectly OK to start that (Kenny Ladler) is one of the best players in the league talk.”

Ladler has always looked “frightened-minnow” fast to me but now he looks – if it’s possible – even faster this season. Like “Anthony Scaramucci rescinded credential” fast.

AND FINALLY…

I know it’s still early August but Labour Day in Alberta is coming and I’m already anticipating it keenly, with the Esks and Stamps both flexing muscles. Like Christmas, there should be an advent calendar leading up to it. Except that instead of chocolate, every door should have a butter tart behind it.