Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Hello, Marco Iannuzzi. Sorry to see you go. I felt a little smarter knowing I was watching a Harvard/MIT grad play. Always nice to see a good guy go out on his own terms. Folks, check Marco’s Wikipedia page and click on “philanthropy” if you want to feel dazzled by one man’s dedication to community. Cheers, Marco.
Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. JOHN BOWMAN AIN’T DONE YET
Or do I read too much into a hashtag? Bowman, the still superb defensive end for the Montreal Alouettes, finished up his twelfth CFL season with a three tackle performance against Hamilton on Friday night, adding a sack to bring his career total to 121. The day before the game, he floated a tweet that included the hashtag #BakersDozen in it. At the age of 35, Bowman is still surfing near the top of his performance wave, incredibly. With 35 tackles and 9 sacks in 2017, he is likely to be an East All-Star and you can easily make the case for him to be a league All-Star, as his 79 total defensive plays ranked him behind only Willie Jefferson among defensive linemen.
The questions are: Do the Als want to bring him back? Does he want to stay in Montreal? Or would he rather play a year with a team he knows is already a contender? What is not in question is whether another organization would be interested because he will have suitors if he decides to go for that baker’s dozen.
2. CALGARY HAS ITS SHARE OF INSANELY DEDICATED FOOTBALL FANS
Blue Bombers fans celebrate a touchdown in Calgary on Friday night (The Canadian Press)
Those who were there on Friday night, toughing it out in -25 windchill and staying right to the end? Bravo. An Order of Canada for each of you.
You deserve free java from your coffee shop of choice for life after that and it might take a lifetime of free coffee to warm you up. There were no fires set in the stands and not one of you hollowed out the carcass of an expired mammal in order to stay warm, though I understand that was close to happening. How’d you do it? What was the average number of hand warmers used by each spectator and on what body parts did you apply them? I’ll wait for your answers and then pose the same questions to the folks in Regina.
3. RICKY RAY HAS AN INNER FLUTIE
On back to back plays against the BC Lions, Argo quarterback Ricky Ray did some things that we don’t normally associate with the 38-year-old veteran. He escaped pressure in impressive fashion, if not with speed, certainly with smarts, turning plays that should have been blown up into something positive.
On the first, he ducked a little, stepped up and then fired a sideways pass to running back James Wilder just as he was about to submit to a crushing hit. On the second, the ball was super-glued to his hand as he aborted a pass attempt. He spun, sprinted to his right and got something out of what seemed a loss when he fired a low one to receiver Armanti Edwards.
Let this be a reminder for us all: Let your freak flag fly now and then, folks. Good things can happen.
4. SEEK AND YE SHALL BE REDEEMED
At the beginning of the season and, actually, well into it, Ray was being belted around pretty good by opposing defensive rushers and there was the feeling that the Argos would have to face life without him sooner rather than later. Toronto’s O-line was excoriated, the sacks were accumulated. Funny what adding a power back and telling your linemen to tee off can do for a situation like that.
The addition of O-line Coach Jonathan Himebauch, in September, seems to have been a catalyst, too, because on Saturday night, TSN analyst Matt Dunigan named the entire Toronto offensive line as his “player” of the game. Wilder had big holes, Ray mostly had comfort in the pocket – turning to his inner Flutie when he did not – and Toronto’s beef ended up with what every lineman would like but never publicly asks for: The glow of the spotlight because of something other than a holding call or crumpled quarterback.
5. JEROME MESSAM NEEDS TO FIND SOME SHOES FOR THE 19TH
The big, bruising back would’ve gotten better traction during Friday night’s game if he’d worn flip flops on a sheet of curling ice. The conditions were not ideal for anyone, it’s true. But Messam seemed to have the most trouble, with all the traction of an excited puppy trying to round the corner on a linoleum floor in one of those videos your friends post on Facebook. Only, I’m sure Messam would agree, not so cute as that.
In two weeks, the Stampeders host the Western Final and while it’s possible the conditions won’t be like that, there is a pretty good chance they will. And the Stamps are going to need the Go Train at full speed that day, whether they play Winnipeg or Edmonton. So. Two weeks to find suitable grippers. Anyone know if mountain climbing shoes are nice and light? Got a spare staple gun hanging about? Google “1977 Grey Cup Game,” youngsters.
AND FINALLY…
Two questions that were answered in Calgary on Friday: Does the Winnipeg defence have guts? Yes. And, yes, Mike O’Shea DOES have long pants. All it took was a temperature of -14 in order for him to break ’em out.
