Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes receiver Nik Lewis made history on Thursday night. With 10 catches in Montreal’s overtime loss to Winnipeg, Lewis tied and surpassed Geroy Simon’s prior mark for career receptions. Now at 1,031 and counting, Lewis put himself in the history books by doing what he’s done throughout his entire Hall of Fame career.
In a class of his own
Lewis is one of the best possession receivers in the history of the CFL. And the way he was used against the Bombers on Thursday night was the same way he’s been used throughout his 14-year CFL career. Even at the age of 35, Lewis is still one of the league’s very best receivers over the middle.
He’s hit triple digits in receptions twice in his career including his highest total of 102 last season. In a full season, which he’s only failed to complete twice, Lewis has never had fewer than 67 catches and has a career average of around five receptions per game. It’s his reliability and consistency that has allowed him to have such longevity.
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From Henry Burris to Bo Levi Mitchell and now Darian Durant, Lewis has always been a favourite target of quarterbacks. Because he has such a knack for finding soft spots over the middle and has no fear going into traffic, Lewis has forged a reputation as a sure thing when needing to keep drives going.
Over the last decade or so, has there been a more money player on second down than Lewis? So many of his catches have kept drives going on second down; he had three more of those receptions against Winnipeg on Thursday, for instance.
But Lewis’s value goes beyond raw reception totals. Let’s call a spade a spade: he’s not built like your typical receiver. Instead, Lewis is built more like an NFL-style tight end, and he’s been used in a similar fashion over the years. I don’t think there is a better blocking receiver on the line of scrimmage right now and his downfield presence is still devastating. If you’re bored, go take a look at a few of Lewis’s downfield blocks over the years and tell me you can’t feel them through your computer.
To play for 14 seasons, though, a player has to reinvent himself at least once. Lewis has done that, both on and off the field. Let’s not forget many were questioning whether it was time for Lewis to call it a career prior to his Calgary departure. His final two years with the Stamps saw him hit with injuries and ratio issues and he only played 20 games combined in 2013 and 2014.
Upon arrival with the Als, though, Lewis returned to prominence. With a rotating door of quarterbacks, Lewis has led Montreal in receptions the last two seasons and was second by one catch in 2015. Simply put, he returned to the role he excelled in with Calgary and did the job at the same level, just with different colours.
Lewis has reinvented himself off the field, too. Being based out of Calgary, I’ve gotten to know him over the last number of years and I’ve been impressed with how he’s evolved. When he first joined the Stamps in 2004, he was brash, cocky and outspoken while claiming to be “the CFL’s version of Terrell Owens.” That’s a real quote and he lived up to it in his early days; I can remember numerous times he held court in the dressing room following games with an outlandish statement or two.
That changed over the years though and Lewis gradually took on more of a leadership role. He became heavily involved in the community, helped bring along younger receivers and became a highly respected teammate. For evidence, go look at the reaction of teammates when Lewis left Calgary or take a look at the recognition he got from fellow CFLers following his record-setting performance on Thursday.
I don’t think there’s any doubt: Lewis will one day be enshrined in the CFL Hall of Fame. He’s a two-time Grey Cup champion, three-time league All Star, a former Most Outstanding Rookie, a record-holder and will finish his career no lower than fifth on the all-time yardage list.
There’s only one question left for Lewis to answer: will he play next year? Everything you hear from him leads you to believe the answer to that question is no. But if he were to come back for 2018, he’d just continue doing what he’s always done: reliably and consistently catch footballs. After all, he’s one of the best at doing that we’ve ever seen.
Due credit
Kent Austin did something last week we almost never see. After an 0-8 start, Austin stepped down as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. What’s so unique, and admirable, about that decision is the fact he didn’t have to. As vice president of football operations, Austin was under no obligation to make a change, seeing as how he calls all the shots.
Essentially, though, Austin recused himself as head coach. In a business sometimes based too heavily on egos, Austin recognized things weren’t working with him on the sidelines and made the change. This wasn’t a decision made under pressure from ownership nor was it forced on him. There’s something to be said for that.
Following Hamilton’s 60-1 drubbing at the hands of Calgary in late July, Austin hired June Jones as an assistant coach. At the time, I think Austin had an idea it was time to make a change at head coach, but also realized Jones needed some time to get up to speed. So, during their bye week, Jones got the nod and he’ll take over a team in desperate need of a shot in the arm.
In Jones the Tiger-Cats are getting a coach who truly has done it all. In his five decades in the sport, Jones has played and coached in the CFL, NFL and NCAA. In this country, the former quarterback finished his playing career with Toronto in 1982 before moving onto his impressive coaching career; that coaching resume includes a stint as Ottawa’s offensive coordinator in 1986.
Kent Austin steps away from the Ticats’ sideline for the first time since arriving in 2013 (CFL.ca)
One of the most successful purveyors of the “run and shoot” offence, Jones’s teams were known for their deadly aerial attacks. During his eight years with the University of Hawaii, for instance, quarterbacks Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan were among the most productive in the country every year they played. Chang, a former Hamilton pivot himself, still holds an NCAA record for most career pass attempts (2,436) while Brennan holds the single-season record for touchdown passes with 58.
I’m not sure how Jones will fare as he returns to the CFL for the first time in more than 30 years and takes the reins as head coach for the first time since 2014. His offensive acumen is impressive, but run and shoot football has been employed rarely, if at all, over the last number of years, both at the professional and college level. Will he be able to have success in the modern CFL? Only time will tell.
The fate of Jones as Tiger-Cats’ head coach is independent of Austin’s decision on Thursday, though. In admitting things weren’t working with him at the helm, Austin bucked the normal professional sports trend and handed things over to someone he believed was more qualified. I believe he deserves a lot of credit for that.
The right decision
The BC Lions have a full-blown quarterback controversy on their hands. In the midst of a three-game losing skid and a stretch of losses in four of five, BC has gone from competing near the top of the West Division to being in danger of being on the outside looking in. Now, the 5-5 Lions have a quarterback situation to handle.
After essentially missing four straight games with a shoulder injury, Jennings has gone 0-3 since returning as BC’s starter in Week 8 against Saskatchewan. In Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Ottawa, Jennings was pulled at half in favour of Travis Lulay and might not start another game for a while. And I don’t know if Head Coach Wally Buono had any other decision to make.
A few weeks ago, Marshall Ferguson and I argued the merits of the Lions starter in our weekly Berg vs. Ferg debate. I was adamant Jennings, once healthy, had to reclaim his job as starter because he gave BC the best chance to win. Well, at least as it stands right now, it seems my CFL.ca colleague was right.
Jonathon Jennings (left) and Travis Lulay (right) before a game in Hamilton in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Since returning, Jennings has completed just 47.1 per cent of his passes in 10 quarters of football. On top of his questionable accuracy, the third-year CFLer has thrown seven interceptions over the same span compared to just two touchdowns.
Plain and simple, Jennings has looked like a shadow of the quarterback he was prior to going down in Week 4 against Hamilton. Prior to the injury, Jennings had thrown just one interception in three starts and was completing 67.6 per cent of his passes. I’m not quite sure what has happened, but BC is in a desperate situation. The Lions need to win games and right now Jennings isn’t doing the job to make sure that happens.
Lulay, on the other hand, is in the midst of a resurgent season. Since setting a league record for yards off the bench upon relieving the injured Jennings on July 15, Lulay has played better than he has since 2013. In his six appearances, Lulay is completing 73.3 per cent of his passes, has 10 touchdowns and has looked more explosive than I thought he would.
As much as Jennings is the younger pivot with a higher ceiling, BC now sits 5-5 and could be surpassed by the Riders this week. Now on their bye, the Lions don’t play again until week 12 when they host Montreal and they need to start the quarterback who gives them the best chance to win. As it stands right now, that is Lulay.
