Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Hello, Almondo Sewell. That was… poetry. A pass pattern off a field goal fake? Soft hands and a turn so you could get YAC? Yeah, you got YAC stats outta that. And good ball security, surviving a big swipe from linebacker Dyshawn Davis? did I merely say poetry? Make that every sonnet ever written by William Shakespeare all balled up into one gigantic super-sonnet. That which we call a rose by any other name would be Almondo Sewell’s reception. (Exeunt)
Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. THE BC DEFENCE IS BECOMING A THING
The BC Lions’ defence came to the fore on Thursday night, giving us example after example after example of why we should conclude that the unit is coming together, ready to climb to new heights.
During the second half of the team’s 31-23 win over the Eskimos, the front four got tons of heat on Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly, while the secondary flew around with controlled – yet verging on reckless – abandon, knocking down passes, forcing turnovers and doing something that seemed unlikely if not impossible beforehand; clamping down on star receiver Duke Williams. The Duke got only four catches on the night, for 46 yards, and it wasn’t because Reilly didn’t spot him, either, targeting him eleven times. But with BC defenders either sticking to him or closing fast as the ball arrived (T.J. Lee and former Eskimo Garry Peters each had two of the team’s seven total pass knockdowns), Williams was for once dominated instead of the other way around.
Hey, Discovery Channel: If sharks get a whole week, the BC defence deserves at least a couple of nights dedicated to their predatory ways based on their Week 9 performance. And that’s WITHOUT Solomon Elimimian in the line-up.
2. OTHA FOSTER: HE IS ALSO BECOMING A THING. AGAIN.
At the apex of the Lions’ seek and destroy chart, we find strong side linebacker Otha Foster, who is fast becoming what we once knew him to be.
His tackles total from Thursday was a rather ordinary four, sure.
However, the former Eskimo and Saskatchewan Roughrider chipped in with a sack, a forced fumble (and a recovery on the same play) and had teammate Winston Rose not picked off a Reilly pass that Foster had batted away from the intended receiver, he’d have gotten a knockdown in the official stats pack, too. As it is, let’s give him an assist on Rose’s interception.
Foster was an integral, game-changing part of the Eskimos’ defence for two years, and an impressive piece of the Saskatchewan puzzle for one.
He spent most of the 2017 season under contract to the Baltimore Ravens, before returning to play just three games with the Riders last September, before injuries and the numbers game ended his season.
It was, then, made easy to kind of forget about Foster’s free range, search and destroy talents and when he signed with the Lions as a free agent last winter, you wondered just exactly what they were getting. So, he gave us a reminder with a dominating performance against Edmonton.
3. THERE ARE NO GET WELL CARDS IN FOOTBALL
That was the sentiment that Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris passed on, according to TSN’s Chris Cuthbert, when Harris was asked if he’d felt badly about Johnny Manziel’s nightmare of a debut with the Montreal Alouettes, coming in a 50-11 loss to Hamilton during Week 8.
“There are no get well cards in football,” Harris was quoted as saying, and he ought to know. He didn’t receive any after his REDBLACKS coughed up a 24-point lead in Toronto (also in Week 8), suffering a last-play, 42-41 loss to the Argonauts.
Even if he were to feel he could have reached out to the Als’ first-year pivot, Harris had his own stinging, emotional ailments to deal with, as did the rest of the REDBLACKS.
Worry about the new guy? Nah. Harris had his own ghosts to chase and he and his teammates did that, ringing up 587 yards of net offence in their win over Montreal on Saturday night, including a 69-yard TD drive that closed out the victory, with 15 seconds left on the clock.
Football player, heal thyself.
4. CHRIS RAINEY HAS A TIME MACHINE
Chris Rainey has a time machine and that time machine is in his ankles.
Watch it again. Watch his 79-yard punt return TD against Edmonton and pay particular attention to the cut he makes at BC’s 40 yard line. Not from the standard angle replay but from the one where the camera is in the end zone behind him. Edmonton special teams tackler Tanner Green has him lined up and then… poof.
The only plausible explanation is that Chris Rainey has a time machine in his ankles, jetting himself juuuust far enough into the future to make that happen. I mean, he’s not a fool, you know? Anything more than just a fraction of a second and we’d notice, so Chris Rainey sets his time machine to half a second into the future. That way, if the slo-mo replay looks a little funky, we just think there’s a technical glitch in the video. It’s brilliant, really.
Chris Rainey’s cuts are certified Prime by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency. Chris Rainey’s cuts prove Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Jewellers have updated their standards so that the diamond cut grid goes: “poor,” “good,” “very good,” “ideal” and now “Rainey.”
5. ONE OLD FOOTBALL ADAGE NEEDS AN ASTERISK
For generations, we’ve been hearing it. Again and again.
“Can’t win football games if you keep turning the ball over.”
Well, the Ottawa REDBLACKS turned the ball over six times during their 24-17 win over the Montreal Alouettes. So, I guess you CAN turn the ball over – lots, even – as long as you are turning it over on a night where you accrue almost 600 yards in offence and the other team’s offence can’t take advantage of your generosity. Or your defence keeps them from doing that. Your pick.
But adages are generally short and snappy, not long and involved, so I don’t hold out hope for my new adage – “Can’t win football games if you keep turning the ball over, unless you keep getting it back in quick order without the other team doing any damage and you keep racking up yards and they don’t and then you win by scoring the decisive touchdown in the dying seconds” – being adopted.
Try this new adage on for size: “Can’t explain football results with adages.”
No wonder coaches always want to check the film first.
AND FINALLY… Hands up if you DIDN’T think Adam Bighill would be a massive addition to Winnipeg’s defence. No one? Nobody? Not a single one? Bueller?
