Adam Gagnon
Sometimes writing this column is too easy. Instead of creating stories by watching games intently, the Monday Morning Quarterback has been fed all kinds of headlines to react to during, and after, Week 7 of the CFL season. Make no mistake, however…we still watched all 120 minutes of football being played and we are always glad to do so.
Risk and reward
| Boyd Arrives in Edmonton |
|---|
 CFL.ca has sideline-to-sideline coverage of Cory Boyd’s departure from Toronto and arrival in Edmonton.
» Video: Cory Boyd Addresses Esks Media |
Look, we’re not going to be breaking any news by saying the release of Cory Boyd (prior to Week 9, mind you) by the Toronto Argonauts was extremely curious, to go along with extremely surprising. You don’t hand the league’s leading rusher his walking papers without a good reason. The Argos clearly thought something was detrimental to their team, because football men like Jim Barker and Scott Milanovich don’t make decisions like this very often.
So, now, two questions have to be asked with this decision being final. First, what does Toronto do to make up for the loss of one of their most consistent offensive players?
It’s true, Boyd’s yards-per-carry average is down more than half a yard from his average the last two seasons, but he’s still an extremely effective player. When Boyd is healthy and on, he gives the Argos a much more well rounded and versatile attack.
From a strictly selfish viewing perspective, I’m a little disappointed to see how the Toronto offence didn’t’ evolve with Boyd being a part of a group of playmakers that includes Ricky Ray, Jason Barnes, and Chad Owens.
As of the time of this writing, the team hasn’t made any additions at the position, so it’s kind of left to the players on the roster. Chad Kackert will likely replace Boyd in the starting lineup with the chance to make the most of an unforeseen opportunity, and I think there’s a chance he might be alright.
First off, it’s not like the California high school star isn’t used to a heavy workload. In his senior year at New Hampshire, Kackert was on top of the depth chart at his position, racking up over 700 yards and 10 touchdowns along the way. He also showed some flashes of professional translation in his first CFL season last year, running the ball 57 times and averaging more than six yards a carry. He certainly has a shot to make a real impact.
The second question surrounds his new team, the Edmonton Eskimos, who verbally agreed to a contract with Boyd hours after Toronto let him walk. Is this the right move for them? The Eskies currently sit on top of the West Division at 4-2 and have won their four games by playing solid team football above all else. They aren’t lead by any one person on the field right now, and it’s fair to ask whether adding someone with a certain reputation, earned or not, is the right move. I tend to think it is.
Coming off a 28-20 win over the Roughriders on Friday night, the Eskimos are riding high and looking pretty darn impressive with wins in three of their last four contests. But, I believe the Edmonton offence needs to be more of a factor if they want to have a true shot at challenging for the Grey Cup in November. It doesn’t matter how much I extol the virtues of the JC Sherritt, T.J. Hill, Damaso Munoz and the rest of the Eskimos linebackers, because in most cases a defense can only carry you so far in an 18 game season.
Steven Jyles looked pretty calm and I thought made decent decisions on Friday night, and I also think Hugh Charles has done a nice job when called upon. But to add a player with the game breaking ability of Boyd to this offence is something I don’t believe they could have passed up, regardless of the innuendo that is out there.
| Locked’n Lewis |
|---|
Signing Nik Lewis to an extension was a no-brainer according to Pat Steinberg. |
Kavis Reed is a notoriously easy coach to play for, as most accounts seem to paint a picture of players being highly motivated by him. If the Head Coach can manage any distractions that might exist, this might be just what the Eskimos need.
No brainer
While the decision to release Cory Boyd dismayed many in the CFL community on Sunday, Calgary’s decision to sign Nik Lewis to a contract extension on Friday surprised absolutely nobody. In his ninth season, Lewis leads the league with seven receiving touchdowns and has been nothing but money for the Stampeders during their 3-3 start.
In fact, knowing the injury turmoil the Stampeders have had to do deal with early on this season, I don’t think they’d be sitting at .500 without the work of their leading receiver.
Four of Lewis’s seven touchdowns have come in the fourth quarter or overtime, and all but one have come in the second half. On top of playing his best football at the most important stages of games, he’s also been an easy target for Kevin Glenn to rely upon as he adjusts to being the starter in Calgary.
All in all, he was deserving of a raise after the season he’s put together, and after his tenure with the Stamps. However, it sure doesn’t sound like Lewis will be resting on his laurels with a fatter contract.
”The more money you get, the bigger the bull’s-eye,” Lewis told me on my show Friday afternoon. “There’s no guaranteed contracts, so I just have to continue to do what I’ve done and continue to get better, and then that’s my security.”
It’s a rather obvious way of thinking things when you see it written out like that, but I had never heard a high profile CFL player lay it out quite like that. Make no mistake, Lewis is a highly confident individual who knows the type of season he’s having, but I don’t think you can confuse that confidence for delusion. The biggest contracts are the easiest ones to chop when it comes that time, and it doesn’t sound like Lewis wants any part of that discussion anytime soon.
That contract extension capped off a pretty good 24 hours for the Stampeders, as they were able to even their record with an impressive 31-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday night. It was a game I was looking forward to for a number of reasons, not the least of which was Henry Burris playing his former team. While that storyline was fun to talk about heading into the matchup, it lost some relevance as the game played out and as Calgary really took control in the final 45 minutes or so.
Heading into the matchup, it was put up or shut up time for Jon Cornish after the Stamps running back made some critical comments about his protection following Calgary’s 34-8 loss to BC prior to their bye.
It was pretty simple for me: if you want to criticize the guys who block for you, you better put up a good performance regardless of the circumstances, and that’s exactly what he did. Cornish ran for a season high 170 yards and a touchdown, adding 47 more receiving yards on six receptions for a final tally of 217 yards of total offence.
The offensive line deserved a ton of credit, too. J’Micheal Deane made just his second start of the season, and this time the pressure was really on. Deane was tasked to make the move from left guard to right tackle and did a fine job. Taking his place at left guard was Spencer Wilson who was making just his first start of the season, and once again, the job was done admirably. All in all, under tough circumstances, the Calgary line opened things up nicely for Cornish, and the explosive runningback did more than enough to exploit them.
Sigh of relief
It sure was nice to see Ronnie Prude have some motion in his arms as he left the field on a stretch and in a neck brace on Thursday night. The Eskimos defensive back lowered his head to make a tackle in the third quarter of Edmonton’s game against Saskatchewan and gave the entire football community a lump in their throat while he lay on the field.
Sunday’s news from GM Eric Tillman about Prude’s release from the hospital allowed us all to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. All the best to Ronnie in his recovery and it sounds like we’ll be seeing him back on the field sooner rather than later.
