By Elliotte Friedman,
CBC Sports
So, here’s what’s happened in the aftermath of the best game in the CFL so far this season. One player was suspended. Two more were fined. Referees were given new instructions on how to handle melees. And, Eric Tillman, who likely ruined his friendship with Wally Buono, also contributed $1,000 to the league’s Grey Cup party fund.
That can buy a lot of Cosmo martinis, even with Toronto’s ridiculous bar prices.
But there’s one thing that still needs to be addressed: are B.C.’s lineman actually dirty, or are other teams just jealous of their success?
I remember last year, meeting with Buono before an early season game. He talked glowingly (well, as glowingly as he talks about anyone) about his two new tackles, Rob Murphy and Jason Jimenez. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said the team needed an edge up front and the two of them were providing it.
He’s right about that.
The Lions are once again the class of the CFL, in my opinion the league’s best team even without their top two quarterbacks. Even though defences don’t really respect Jarious Jackson’s arm, Joe Smith is making a charge toward the Most Outstanding Player Award. So how does a guy become the league’s leading rusher despite a questionable passing game?
One of the major reasons is the Nasty Boys up front.
But their success doesn’t come without complaints. You’ve heard Rahim Abdullah. You’ve heard Adam Braidwood. I understand what Tillman’s doing. He’s playing a mind game, knowing the road to the Grey Cup goes through Vancouver. What I’d like to know is if there’s a valid complaint.
So, I asked someone without an axe to grind. A former player who dressed for both B.C. and Saskatchewan. A budding taco entrepreneur and occasional CFL on CBC panellist named Daved Benefield, who is a pretty intelligent guy even though he spells his first name incorrectly.
“For the most part, they’re not (dirty),” Benefield said. “There are a few things I don’t like – such as pushing people who are standing around piles, and hands to the face. But they’re generally just very aggressive, and you want that.
“Also, they’re bigger than so many of the guys they face. So, the defensive linemen are going up against bigger and more aggressive guys. You’re going to get beaten up. You get frustrated. You’re going to say things.”
One of the most insightful comments on the issue came from someone who preferred to remain nameless. He said Murphy reminded him of James Curry and Angelo Mosca, “Two guys who had you beaten before you even played them. You heard so much about them and their so-called dirty reputation that you were too preoccupied to play them properly.”
(By the way, I didn’t really have an issue with what Murphy did last weekend. He prevented an escalation as much as anything else. It looked like John Chick would rather dive in a chemical vat than fight back.)
The general consensus is that the Lions go to the edge, look over it with a crooked smile, but generally step back. There are exceptions, which is why Sherko Haji-Rasouli is suspended this week – and deservedly so – but there isn’t a team that wouldn’t take B.C.’s linemen if a few somehow became available. As a matter of fact, one did in the offseason: Calgary, signing Bobby Singh. What did Tom Higgins want? A nastier O-line, of course.
But this is something the league should investigate closer. Look at the tapes and make a statement. Like every other line, they commit in-game fouls and get penalized for them.
But is there a systematic issue? Are they being taught illegal tactics? That’s what the CFL should look at.
Let us know if we’re dealing with cheaters or whiners.
Elliotte Friedman is the host of the CFL on CBC. Catch the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats live on CBC on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
