Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
The most exciting play of this past weekend … that’s easy, Jovon Johnson’s 118-yard missed field goal return that gave Winnipeg a double digit lead they would not relinquish in their 27-17 victory over Edmonton. The play was so exciting that Rod Black‘s voice actually cracked during the return. (Second time that happened during the game) I never would have believed a man with the vocal chops like Black would sound like a 13-year-old boy; but hey it was a great return by Johnson.
After the shock of seeing Mike Kelly express that emotion that we humans like to call “happiness” I realized just how rare returns like the Johnson TD have become.
Fans have grumbled about the lack of scoring in the Canadian Football League in recent years. Of course part of the problem is simply the cyclical nature of the development of quarterbacks. But what about the lack of explosive plays in the return game?
Counting Johnson’s touchdown there has been only five touchdowns all season long via the return game. From 2006 till the present there has been an average of just six return touchdowns per season. Compare that with the four seasons previous (2002-05) where the league saw an average of nearly 17 scores.
Watch any contest and the return game is filled with holding and illegal block penalties. Now maybe I’m overreacting a bit considering the amount of Argonaut games I’ve seen this year, but the drop-off in return touchdowns is massive in those two four-year spans that I described above.
The question is what has led to the decline? I think part of it is a lack of dynamic playmakers. Dominique Dorsey has just come back to the Argonauts and there just aren’t that many Gizmo Williams, Keith Stokes, Winston October or Bashir Levingstons in the CFL right now.
What about the special teams coaches? I certainly am not qualified enough to say that coaching is the problem but all the penalties do make me wonder about the level of discipline out there on the field.
So until the next wave of great return men start dominating what can the league do to help? I say it’s time for the CFL to loosen up on special teams penalties. If the refs consistently look the other way on wide receivers going offside (happens on every play … while I have absolutely no data to back this up I believe that former Ticat Chris Davis is the league offside leader) why can’t they act like every WWE referee and miss the odd illegal block or holding call?
One quick meeting between Mark Cohon and the refs would lead to a lot more points being scored based on this strategy. The power is in your hands commissioner.
Speaking of simple changes – can we have at least one camera follow around Eskimos right tackle Patrick Kabongo all game? Next to the Johnson touchdown the best part of the Edmonton/Winnipeg game was the mini Kabongo montage. Watching him bounce up and down close to the Blue Bombers huddle like he was prepared to take on the whole team on his own was almost as funny as his touchdown celebrations.
Kabongo has to be the largest player in the league and he is not just a big guy playing football. His pass blocking technique is better than you would expect from a 6’6” 315 pound man. (By the way there is no way Kabongo is only 315 pounds. Shame on you Esks.com, didn’t your mothers tell you it’s rude to lie?)
This is a guy the league and TSN need to do a better job showcasing to the public. His college career is littered with off the field achievements, honours and awards. He is becoming one of the better o-lineman in the league, not bad for a guy who spent his collegiate career at Nebraska playing on the defensive line.
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