Derek Mortensen/CFL.ca
All athletes understand the importance of training. There are weights for strength and cardiovascular for conditioning. Dwight Anderson adds extra exercises for his particular talents.
“Everybody wonders how I talk and play,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back said with a grin. “I train my lungs for it.”
To say Anderson has the gift of the gab is an understatement. Anderson talks trash with the same determination and efficiency as the combines that harvest the fields outside of Regina.
No matter how cold it gets during Sunday’s 101st Grey Cup, Anderson plans on warming up the ears of some Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Anderson takes trash talking to another level, like Tiger Woods in golf and Sidney Crosby in hockey.
“I love it,” said the 34-year-old who was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
“I’m doing my job.
“I’m keeping you from getting the ball and you are getting frustrated and I’m telling you why. It’s fun and games out there. You just enjoy the game and that’s what I do.”
Ok. Let’s say Hamilton slotback Andy Fantuz goes up for a catch Sunday but Anderson knocks the ball out of his hands. What sort of casual exchange might follow?
“I don’t know if I can put that on tape,” Anderson said with a laugh. “It all depends how the game flow is going. Probably something that happened during warm-ups or something I might have picked up. Maybe ‘tell your coach not to put you on me anymore and you will be open.’
“I never sit back and predict what I might be going to say. I just know I have so much in the repertoire I can just come up with anything.”
Rest assured there are some rules. This is CFL football after all, not the Hunger Games.
Cracks about mothers are off limits. So are comments about wives, girlfriends and other family members.
“There are rules and guidelines,” agreed Anderson. “You don’t cross those type of lines. But everything else is free. You never know what might come out. I’m not saying everything is going to be rated PG.”
Anyone can have a big mouth. The real trick is backing your words with action. Anderson led the Riders this year with five interceptions, was second on the team with 53 defensive tackles, and was named a West Division all-star
“He’s very good at what he does,” said head coach Corey Chamblin. “Part of his game that makes him very good is him to be able to trash talk.
“He can stay in control. He gets the other team riled up. They play into his wheelhouse. Off the field he is a class guy.”
Rider wide receiver Weston Dressler felt the sting of Anderson’s tongue when the five-foot-11, 185-pound DB played for Calgary and Montreal.
“There were a few times when you wanted to go hit him,” said Dressler. “He can keep his mouth running and get under your skin.
“The biggest thing for him is he’s a good football player. He’s got good feet. He can cover pretty much any route you want to run on him. He doesn’t have any glaring weakness in his game. He’s a smart player. At times it feels like he can read your route before you want to break to your route. He’s a step ahead of you.”
Anderson began his CFL career with Hamilton in 2007. He moved to Calgary the next year and played three seasons with the Stampeders, before spending two years with Montreal.
In February he signed with the Riders as a free agent, joining a list of other big-name acquisitions like slotback Geroy Simon plus defensive linemen Ricky Foley and Jermaine McElveen.
“I knew I had a great opportunity to get to the Grey Cup,” said Anderson. “Saskatchewan already had a great team. It was just adding little pieces to it, completing the puzzle. It was different holes on the team that was needed to be plugged.”
After years of being the object of scorn at Mosaic Stadium, Anderson was overwhelmed by the support he received from the Rider fans.
“My first game was awesome, to not get booed,” said the seven-year CFL veteran. “Being around the community these last five months, you see the fan base is crazy.”
Anderson also experienced what it is like to live in the fish bowl of Regina when he was among three players who had aggravated assault charges laid against them following an August incident outside a downtown night club.
Anderson understands the expectations being heaped on the Riders as they attempt to win the fourth Grey Cup in team history while playing at home. He knows beating the Tiger-Cats won’t be easy.
“The last nine weeks have been a real plus for them,” Anderson said. “They have all their guys back in the offence and their offence is flowing. You can see they are clicking right now.
“Even from earlier in the year they are doing different formations and different things. “
Fiery and brash while playing, Anderson is funny and thoughtful off the field. He won a Grey Cup ring with the Stampeders in 2008 and realizes his chances of winning another are dwindling.
“Since 2008 I always thought I’d be back,” he said. “I got to a lot of finals but just couldn’t get over that hump.
“It sucked getting to the final then losing. This is hard. Come next year, who knows. I’m looking forward to enjoying every moment.”
