Peter Power/CFL.ca
Hello, Trevor Harris. That was an impressive, dizzying, and exhaustive array of words flying from your mouth during the Live Mic game on Friday night. Were those all real, actual code words, or did you step out and decide to go all stream of consciousness when you bellowed things like “parakeet” and “Snoopy”? I especially enjoyed “Niagara Falls,” when you punctuated the call by using your hands to mimic cascading waters.
Acting!
Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. JEFF MATHEWS IS ONE TOUGH SON OF A GUN
The Montreal Alouette quarterback suffered what appeared to be a super-painful injury to his throwing hand during his team’s loss to Ottawa on Friday night. It was the kind of pain that had him repeatedly looking down at the digits of that hand to ensure they were all still there and still somewhat in place. He stayed in, called a play, and fired a pretty good dart over the middle with that hand throbbing like the subwoofers at a Nicki Minaj show.
On the very first play of the game, he had his ankle rolled up on. He was repeatedly knocked around in the pocket all night long but he hung in. Then, late in the contest, after going through all of that and with the outcome no longer in doubt, Mathews got horse-collar tackled AND tagged with a high hit on the same play, at the same time, yet bounced up and trotted right back into the huddle.
Jeff Mathews showed his determination and character on Friday night. Doesn’t he finally deserve to be a team’s number one guy for a stretch to really see what he can do?
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Run Jeff Mathews and Mike Reilly straight at each other at full speed, just to see what happens. It’s the kind of experiment that would really capture the interest of scientists from all over the planet. I’ll take my Nobel prize in physics, now, thank you.
2. THE HIPPO. IT’S A WINNIPEG THING
Hey, @Wpg_BlueBombers, @andrewharris33 … what IS this called?? 😂 Solomon Elimimian seems perplexed as well. #CFLGameDay #CFLcelly pic.twitter.com/62HQYWvQqD
— Don Landry 🏈 (@CFLLandry) July 8, 2018
Andrew Harris fought his way into the end zone from five yards out, just as the second quarter was getting underway. As he got to the goal line, he blasted through one defender while a couple more were trying a last ditch grab from behind. Harris got to his feet, and trudged along in celebration, a bunch of his teammates following him, bent over, lumbering along in unison. Look, I can’t do it justice by describing it.
Click here and have a look for yourself.
TSN’s Chris Cuthbert followed it up with: “We don’t get all the translations for the touchdown celebrations.” Yeah, I thought. That’s a pity. I crave an answer.
I tweeted at the Bombers and they replied with a link to a Harris post, where he showed a GIF entitled “Hippo gets attacked by lions, couldn’t care less.” That hippo really couldn’t care less, as suggested by the title. Just keeps on trucking.
Truthfully, when I first saw the celebration I sensed a “West Side Story” Jets vs Sharks kinda vibe about it. And I couldn’t help but hear the opening bars of “Billie Jean” as I watched the replay. How wrong I was. Of COURSE it was “the Hippo.”
Now it all makes sense. But I doubt that hippo could successfully hurdle Anthony Orange.
3. YOU CAN’T ROTATE YOUR QUARTERBACKS AND EXPECT OFFENSIVE CONSISTENCY
Everybody knows that, right? That’s why we just never really see it. Years ago, the late great Leo Cahill tried that with the Argos and quarterbacks Greg Barton and Joe Theismann and the experiment evaporated pretty quickly. So, Chris Jones’ decision to wheel Saskatchewan quarterbacks Brandon Bridge and David Watford in and out on a head coaching whim did not provide for an aerial masterpiece, with the Riders attempting more rushes than throws and gaining two more yards on the ground than through the air.
You can argue that it was a success in that the Roughriders won the game, 18-13 over the Hamilton Ticats but that might have been due more to red zone defensive efficiency and a terrific touchdown run by Marcus Thigpen than anything else. Hamilton piled on the yards all night but could not score a major.
Bridge, like most quarterbacks, is not a fan of the set up. “You make the best of it, that’s the cards we were dealt,” he said, post-game. “It’s strange, I have never been involved in that, it’s hard to get into a rhythm, but I can’t control that.”
For his part, Jones seems not to want to continue the carousel, saying, “We’re going to keep grinding until we figure it out.”
Don’t know about you but I take that to mean that the coach wants somebody to grab hold of the job so that the shuttle service can be discontinued.
4. HANG ON. YOU CAN ROTATE YOUR QUARTERBACKS AND EXPECT OFFENSIVE CONSISTENCY
The return of Matt Nichols, complete with him blowing kisses to the crowd when he was introduced (friendly Manitoba, indeed) was almost a total success, once he got the pent up energy out of his system and ceased with the overthrowing.
Nichols looked good after missing the first three games of the season with a knee injury, but Winnipeg’s first half offensive burst was powered by more than just his pivotal contributions. Young Chris Streveler was brought in for short yardage situations and left in after collecting first downs, and had a fine time zipping in a couple of passes as the Bombers cruised to a 28-10 lead at break time.
Somewhere, Chris Jones watched and whispered to himself: “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
Not that there is any risk of Winnipeg going full-on with their own version of musical pockets. However, they have signalled to the rest of the league that teams must beware; Winnipeg’s third-and-short QB will do more than just plunge forward and then trot off the field.
5. THERE’S A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX
Play number 71 of the Argos/Edmonton game might leave some football fans feeling a little cold.
Facing third and eleven from the Toronto 40-yard line, Edmonton placekicker Sean Whyte lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt. Except that instead of hammering at the uprights, he chipped the ball toward the sideline with a trajectory just past the line of scrimmage. Linebacker Korey Jones, in for protection, had circled behind Whyte and was onside as he reached up and got a hand on the ball before it went out of bounds. It went into the books as a six yard gain. Edmonton ball. First down.
Wait. What? But it was third and eleven.
When you’re onside, the ball needs only to cross the line of scrimmage before you can go get it and no matter the yardage, it’s a recovered kick, with a fresh set of downs.
From the CFL rule book, Article 9 – Recovery Of Own Kick:
“The kicker or an onside player may recover the kick across the line of scrimmage, in which case the ensuing down shall be first down whether or not the original yardage has been gained.”
You may recall Ottawa’s Brad Sinopoli trying to pooch-punt a ball just over the line of scrimmage, last season, where he could have recovered it and secured fresh downs for the REDBLACKS even though he’d have covered the ball about fifteen yards or more short of the first down marker (it was second and 20 at the time). The team he tried that against – coincidentally, the Argos – recovered the ball so there was no head-scratching result. Well, outside of people everywhere asking “why’d he do that?”
The loophole remains. Conceivably you could face third and 109, pull off a doink kick and get a first down at your two yard line. I think defences that have put an opponent in a pickle deserve better.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Sure, the result of that play does have me feeling hollow, like the time George Costanza refused to give his Trivial Pursuit opponent credit because “Moors” was misspelled as “Moops” on the answer card. Technically, George was on solid ground but c’mon. However, I do not overlook that the Eskies executed that play beautifully. Jones’ effort to go get it, making sure he got a touch, was sensational. Whyte’s kick was a surgical strike.
AND FINALLY…
William Powell. William freaking Powell. All day. Every day.
