Don Landry
CFL.ca
When all is said and done, we will be able to look back on 2011 as the year where all slow starters can point to for hope. Because 2011 will be the year that the B.C. Lions started the season with five straight losses, yet still won the Grey Cup.
It’s hard not to make that prediction, based on what we now see in front of us. There is just one slight caveat I need to put on this prediction and it has to do with Mike Riley and the ghosts of Grey Cup ’88. I’ll touch on that a little later in this column, but for now, let’s deal with the present.
No slight against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They’ve had a terrific season, complete with sending old Canad Inns Stadium to the football heavens with a historically typical Blue Bomber win. The dismantling of the visiting Hamilton Ticats was something to behold, defensively speaking.
But taking on the incredibly hot B.C. Lions will be something entirely different. Where exactly are the Lions a vulnerable team?
They aren’t, is the answer.
Sharp and balanced on offence, bruising and confusing on defence and letter perfect on special teams. That is your 2011 B.C. Lions.
Go down the list of tangibles and see how many check marks you must place squarely in the Lions’ column.
Quarterback? No question. Travis Lulay may very well be named the Most Outstanding Player this week and he looked every bit the part in his virtuoso performance in the Western Final. He’s poised, unflappable and makes all the right decisions. And he can get out of jail as well as any running quarterback in the league, including Buck Pierce.
Running back? I’ll buy that you might give the edge to the Bombers, even with the loss of Fred Reid. That’s because Chris Garrett has stepped in beautifully. Talk about virtuoso performances. His 29 carry, 190 yard day against Hamilton was the single most important reason for Winnipeg’s Eastern Final win. But, to expect anything close to that against British Columbia would be wishful thinking. Led by the ever-present Solomon Elimimian (98 tackles during the regular season despite missing two games at middle linebacker) the Lions’ defence will be very difficult to exploit on the ground.
Over on the B.C. side of the ball, running backs Tim Brown and the still emerging Andrew Harris have given their team a dimension they didn’t have early in the season: A viable running game. If Winnipeg has the edge here, and that’s quite arguable, it’s a very slim one.
Receivers? The Bombers have game breakers. Rookie Clarence Denmark has made his name quickly as a top-flight pass catcher who can make tough catches in traffic, take some punishment and keep grinning. We all know just how explosive Terrence Edwards can be. The big guy, Greg Carr, is a drive-stretching possession receiver who’s very tough to handle. Add Corey Watson to the mix and, no question, it’s a very good unit.
But B.C’s is just as good, with the ageless Geroy Simon and the spectacular Arland Bruce dominating, as they did the Eskimo secondary in the Western Final. Between the two of them they had 10 catches for 188 yards and a touchdown against the Eskimo D. Behind them are, perhaps, less capable receivers than what Winnipeg can boast, but not by much. When it comes down to the difference here, it’s who is firing the ball their way. Lulay gives B.C. the edge.
On special teams, the Lions merely have the guy who seemingly can’t miss. Paul McCallum continued the best placekicking season in CFL history on Sunday by going 4-for-4 against the Eskies. His pinpoint punting job was masterful as well. (It should be noted that Winnipeg punter Jamie Boreham had an exceptional day against Hamilton, keeping the ball out of the hands of Ticats returner Marcus Thigpen time and time again.)
In the end, most of the check marks fall the Lions’ way. Those that don’t, such as running back and defence, well, those seem to come out pretty much a saw-off. For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to pull the upset, it’s simple: Their defence has to have its very best day of the year.
Now, that could very well happen, which leads me back to that caveat.
GREY CUP 1988: A BLUEPRINT FOR THIS YEAR’S BOMBERS?
In 1988, I was a young Ottawa radio employee, thrilled that I’d landed there because the Grey Cup Game was to be held at Lansdowne Park. I got luckier, still, when the Blue Bombers upset the heavily favoured Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Final at Exhibition Stadium. That meant the young buck in Ottawa would cover the game as a national reporter, what with head office in Toronto deciding not to send someone out once their team was punted.
The Lions, with Matt Dunigan slinging and David Williams catching along with running back Tony Cherry romping, were big favourites. So, as the East reporter, it looked like I was shouldered with the task of following, and reporting on, the eventual losers all week.
As the week went on, I started to get a different kind of feeling. I recall, clearly, that the Bombers practiced crisply and confidently and in a very businesslike fashion. The Lions, while very impressive, looked a little bit loosey-goosey to me. Perhaps a little over confident. By the end of the week, I was sure it would be a closer game than most thought. And an interview with Bomber Head Coach Mike Riley then convinced me his team was poised for an upset.
For my final pre-game report of the week, I decided to focus solely on the coach and what might make him believe his team could do it. I met with him in the lobby of the Chateau Laurier Hotel, where Riley gave the young reporter a good twenty minutes of his time. No small consideration since I arrived unannounced and called up to his room, stammering out a request to talk with him even though he was enjoying what little personal time he’d been afforded all week. (Personal note: Mike Riley remains one of my favourite CFL people of all time. His football savvy seemed to be matched by his graciousness.)
Riley was quiet, confident and at ease. He closed the interview by saying something to the effect of the B.C Lions being a very good team, but that he believed they matched up well against them. As we parted and he walked out of the hotel to take in the nearby Grey Cup Parade, I knew the Bombers could win.
You know what happened?
On a windy and unseasonably warm day (14 degrees at kickoff), the Bombers snuffed out a Lions’ drive when lineman Mike Gray intercepted a tipped Dunigan pass deep in Winnipeg territory late in the fourth quarter. And they hung on for a 22-21 victory. The Bombers fairly well shut down that high-powered Lions offence while needing very little from an ordinary quarterback (Sean Salisbury) to win the day. Coupled with tremendous kicking by the best against-the-wind punter I’ve ever seen, Bob Cameron, Winnipeg got what it needed to pull the upset.
So, yes. My head tells me to take the Lions and to be confident with that pick. Too powerful and too hot to be stopped at this moment. However, I carry a tiny bit of reservation based on another moment in time.
Winnipeg just may have a chance if they can conjure the ghosts of Grey Cup ’88.
