Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
Hello, Stanley Bryant. I understand that when you were asked what your three wishes would be should a genie ever appear before you, your third wish was “an unlimited supply of sour cream glazed Timbits.” I like your style, Stanley. Not a bad choice, I suppose. But, have you never, ever had a butter tart?
Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. WALLY BUONO DOESN’T WANT YOUR PITY
Some of us were moaning a little about an objectionable conduct penalty levied against BC Lions’ defensive back Anthony Orange during Saturday night’s game in Calgary. Orange was on the scene as T.J. Lee broke up a pass intended for DaVaris Daniels on a second and seven from the Stampeders’ 33-yard line. That was a two and out – a big one, as BC trailed 18-10, late in the third quarter – but the Stamps ended up with a first down anyway. They ended up driving the field and taking a 25-10 lead. Orange had half-heartedly kicked the ball at the end of the play, nothing much really. Could it have been overlooked as being flag-worthy?
Some of us thought so, but Lions’ Head Coach Wally Buono wasn’t one of them, laying the blame at, Orange’s feet. Or, foot, I suppose.
“There’s certain things that are objectionable conduct,” said Buono, post-game. “That’s one of ’em. It doesn’t say how hard you kick the ball, who you kick the ball at. Those are decisions that are made on the field by players that help you lose.”
One small kick for a man, one giant hoof to the gut of a team’s chances of staging an upset.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: You don’t beat Calgary by kicking field goals. Buono said exactly that when he was asked about his decision to go for it on third and goal from the six-yard line, a little earlier during the third quarter, his team down by a score of 17-3.
2. IT MATTERS TO DELVIN BREAUX. ALWAYS.
Ticats’ defensive back Delvin Breaux is not at all interested in letting one slide here and there.
During Hamilton’s Friday night whopper over Montreal, Alouettes’ receiver T.J. Graham ran an out, diving back towards the football along the sidelines, securing a nifty catch in front of Breaux, rolling out with the ball in his hands.
Or did he?
Breaux immediately began, in animated fashion, to quarrel with the call and that led to a challenge flag being thrown by his coach, June Jones; a challenge that was won by he and Breaux. After further review… incomplete.
Crucial play? Crucial call? Crucial time? No, not in the least.
It was late in the fourth quarter, the Ticats were up 47-3, and Graham’s reception would have been good for a seven-yard gain at the Hamilton 43-yard line, bringing up second and three.
But Delvin Breaux knew what he saw. And he wasn’t having it, not on his watch. No matter the insignificance of the play in an already decided outcome. Delvin Breaux is a shutdown corner and that always matters to him. You don’t get a seven-yard reception hung on him when he knows you didn’t earn it. 7-3, 47-3… probably even if it was 147-3. It’s a no from Delvin Breaux. Period. End of story.
3. SO, THIS GAME AIN’T SO EASY AFTER ALL
Not that Johnny Manziel ever professed that such was the case. Many others did, however, and they were given a rather rude reminder that the CFL is actually a pretty damn good football league.
The most glaring mistake that casual football observers make, in my opinion, is that the talent gulf between the CFL and NFL is the same as the salary gulf. That’s an annoying myth that needs smashing.
If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you already know this, so this take away ain’t really for you, I suppose. It’s for the casual fan, or the self-professed “football connoisseur” who thinks there is no other gridiron caviar served up outside of the behemoth south of the border.
On Manziel, I was quick to give the ol’ “well, we’ll see” to those who claimed he’d merely take the field and roll to glory out of the gate. To those who now cry “what a disaster, he’s a lost cause,” I would say exactly what I said to the first group.
4. GATORADE CONTAINERS ARE PRETTY TOUGH
We all saw that on Thursday night, as Edmonton Head Coach Jason Maas, frustrated over his team’s execution miscues, stormed over to a Gatorade container and threw it down sharply.
But that container took his onslaught with incredible toughness, with no visible damage to it and its lid staying firmly in place, even after the impact, coming loose only a second later when Maas’ knee contacted it perfectly and knocked it off.
Last season, Maas went to war with a headset and won, splintering the thing in a fit of sideline frustration. The Gatorade container, perhaps well-prepared after witnessing last year’s explosion, held tight and won legions of admirers for its toughness and ability to bounce right back.
“I’m an emotional person and take it out” said Maas of his frustrations after the game. “And then (I) can refocus on something else.”
“That’s alright,” said the container during its own post-game scrum. “We all lose our cool once in a while and Coach Maas and I have already put this behind us. I’m just glad I was able to do all beverage containers proud by keeping it together. Literally.”
Asked if it was waiting vengefully for the day when its top would be loosened and its contents poured all over Maas at the end of a game, the container sheepishly smirked and said “that’s not something I’m thinking about right now.”
5. JAMES WILDER IS BACK
The rookie who stormed onto the scene midway through the 2017 season was having a stubbed toe kind of 2018, like all the Argos were. But it appears that the spinning, shoulder-lowering, hard-cutting running back is back in the groove, after a big performance against Ottawa on Thursday night. The week previous, Wilder hinted that a breakout might be coming, as he almost single-handedly led the Argos on a touchdown drive in a game where they were otherwise outclassed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Against the REDBLACKS, Wilder’s numbers were more in keeping with the rookie of the year’s style, as he finished with 17 rushes for 73 yards and 4 receptions for 42 yards, 34 of those yards coming after the catch.
And twenty of those after-catch yards came on a single touchdown in the fourth quarter, where Wilder displayed all of his acceleration and brute force as he bulled his way through three Ottawa defenders before tumbling into the end zone with a major that brought the Argos to within six points.
Maybe Wilder’s 2018 is going to turn out after all.
AND FINALLY... Armanti Edwards does kind of have a knack for surfacing in the clutch.
