Steinberg's MMQB: The story of the year?

Pat Steinberg

CFL.ca

@Fan960Steinberg

Whether you cheer for the BC Lions or not, how can you not get behind Travis Lulay? Now almost 35 years old, Lulay is one of the most surprising stories of the 2018 season, and it’s also one of the most positive.

Since taking over for Jonathon Jennings, Lulay is 2-2 as a starter, which is notable knowing the path he’s traveled the last few years. Just think about all the reasons Lulay could have said goodbye to football. From just an injury standpoint, you could argue the cosmos have sent him multiple messages in recent years. And yet, Lulay keeps on putting in the time and commitment needed to truly return as a contributor and not just a mascot.

Since 2013, Lulay has run into an absolutely rotten run of bad luck. It started with a shoulder injury that season that led to Lulay missing six games and having surgery at its conclusion. That same shoulder injury also caused him to miss a good chunk of the following year, too, until the injury seemed to finally be in the past.

So when Lulay suffered a torn MCL about midway through the 2015 season, you can imagine how much of a gut punch that must have been. To make matters more difficult, Lulay’s injury coincided with the emergence of Jennings and relegated him to backup. With the way Jennings was trending, it seemed like that demotion might be permanent.

So let’s fast forward to last season. Lulay spent the entire 2016 campaign as backup to Jennings, but the 2017 season saw BC’s young pivot run into some issues. As such, Lulay got another chance to start some games and made the most of it. In fact, Head Coach Wally Buono installed him as the number one guy for Week 12.

But, once again, Lulay was blindsided by bad luck and missed the rest of the season with another knee injury. Some thought that was going to be the final straw; Lulay required surgery on a torn ACL and was looking at a difficult road back. Knowing he was set to back up Jennings again this season, was all that work worth it?

For Lulay, the answer was resoundingly yes, which brings us to today. He signed a one-year contract in the off-season and, after a rough start for Jennings, got another starting opportunity in Week 4 against Winnipeg. Ever since, Lulay has played well: his completion rate is up over 62 per cent, while he’s thrown five touchdowns against three interceptions in four games.

Now let’s not forget during all this time, Lulay has been the consummate pro. He’s entered the last three seasons decidedly second on the depth chart, but has embraced that role and served as a great teammate to Jennings. Sure, Lulay wants to play; he’s a competitive guy. In saying that, though, there’s been no hint of discontent through all of this.

That was proven to me when Lulay went through this past off-season. To return from ACL surgery and sign a one-year contract to essentially enter the season as the number two told me everything I needed to know: Lulay is playing for the right reasons.

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I have no idea how the rest of the season is going to go for Lulay and the Lions, but they looked good in a 31-23 win over Edmonton on Thursday night. Lulay has given BC’s offence a shot in the arm and for the first time all year guys like Manny Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham look like legitimate threats.

What I do know is this: Lulay has earned every bit of praise he’s garnered in the last few weeks. He’s bided his time, played well, and if there’s anyone who deserves a little bit of good mojo, it’s him.

What’s next?

I was stunned like the rest of the CFL world over the weekend when I learned the Saskatchewan Roughriders released Duron Carter. Coming off a bye week, and a strong performance in his last outing, I was expecting Carter to become a larger part of Saskatchewan’s attack in the next few weeks. Instead, we’re talking about the total opposite.

It was a shocking decision, mainly because Carter had just returned to the Riders’ offence after playing defensive back for a good chunk of the season. He was productive in his return to receiver, too; Carter caught three passes for 59 yards a touchdown in a Week 8 loss to the Eskimos.

I don’t know what precisely led to this decision, and I’m not sure we ever will know the whole story. All we can do at this point is try to figure out what comes next, both for the player and the team. I will say this, though: I’m far more interested in the latter than I am the former.

That’s not meant as a slight to Carter at all. I am intrigued to see where he ends up, but it’s a little less uncertain, mainly because we’re talking about one of the best pure athletes on the planet. If he wants to keep playing football this season, Carter will find a home. In fact, early reports have four teams already interested in his services.

I am absolutely fascinated as to what this means for Saskatchewan, though. Losing a player like Carter leaves a big hole for the Riders, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. I felt shifting him back to receiver for Week 8 was an overdue move in the first place, because Sask has struggled so much offensively this season, specifically in the pass game.

Right now, the Riders just don’t have a ton of aerial weapons. Naaman Roosevelt leads the team in receiving with 256 receiving yards in seven games, which barely puts him in the league’s top 30 in that category. Saskatchewan receivers have accounted for five total touchdowns this season, including one from Carter. Do they have the personnel to make up for losing such an impactful piece?

I like Roosevelt a lot and I think there’s a lot of potential in rookie Jordan Williams-Lambert. But right now, the Riders aren’t getting consistent quarterback play, so they need all the help they can get when it comes to targets.

Is there a contingency plan? And if so, what does that plan look like? Chris Jones has denied working out Terrell Owens had anything to do with this decision, so is there another shoe to drop here? Or is Sask feeling confident in what they have in the fold right now? The next few weeks should be a lot of fun to watch.

Quick hits

Johnny Manziel is 0-2 as a CFL starter, but he did take a step forward on Saturday night. I liked two things in particular from Manziel in Montreal’s loss to Ottawa. First, he got Ernest Jackson into the game and targeted him frequently, which I think is important. Second, he pulled the ball down and ran when there was nothing there. Knowing how Manziel tried to force things in his first start, that was a significant improvement.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are certainly consistent. Once again, the Bombers lead the league with 11 interceptions after finishing on top in that category each of the last two seasons. This Winnipeg defence is formidable: they force turnovers and are almost equally as good stopping the run as they are the pass. Now 5-3, don’t sleep on the Bombers for a home playoff date.

Steinberg’s MMQB: The story of the year?

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

Pat Steinberg

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