Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca
While there were a ton of standout performances in Friday’s overtime thriller between Edmonton and Saskatchewan, there was one that stood taller than the rest. Adarius Bowman’s three-touchdown, 141-yard performance was outstanding to watch and cemented one thing firmly: he is the most impactful receiver in the CFL right now.
King of the mountain
There are a bevy of great receivers in this league right now, but it’s tough to find one who can impact the game on as many levels as Bowman. With his size, physicality, speed, and precise route running, Bowman really does have the total package right now. And, with Eric Rogers down south and S.J. Green done for the season, the crown of the CFL’s best receiver is Bowman’s for the time being.
Let’s just take a look at Edmonton’s thrilling 39-36 overtime win over the Riders a few nights ago. Bowman’s night was a perfect showcase of all the different ways he can impact a football game. We’ll use a few different examples.
Bowman’s first touchdown was a nice example of the more glamorous parts of his game. In the latter stages of the second quarter, Bowman ran a great route, made his cut, turned on the burners to create some separation, and turned a second-and-long situation into a 56-yard major.
Later in the quarter, though, it was Bowman’s hard-nosed brand of football on display. With the Eskimos down by 12, quarterback Mike Reilly engineered a great drive starting at his own 32 and ending with Chris Getzlaf’s first touchdown in green and gold. But the two passes in traffic hauled in by Bowman were what set everything up.
On successive plays, Reilly targeted Bowman in tight coverage and got him both times, first for 24 yards and then for 15. In both cases, Bowman knew high-impact contact was coming, but made sure the play was made. Bowman’s ability to absorb, and sometimes initiate contact adds another crucial element to his makeup.
Then there’s Bowman’s final major of the night. His 31-yard catch in the fourth quarter didn’t really look like anything special because it looked fairly easy. In reality, though, it was a really good example of just how hard Bowman is to defend.
Ed Gainey was the Riders DB burnt by Bowman on that play as the former slipped trying to track the football coming in. It wasn’t an easy assignment for Gainey, though. Much like going up against most other opposing DB’s, Bowman had a significant height advantage here; in this case, it was four inches. Trying to cover Bowman once he gets behind you while the ball is coming in is tough to do, and Gainey ended up being rendered fairly helpless.
I just gave you three different examples of how Bowman can impact a game all coming from the same night. We are blessed with some incredible receivers in this league, but right now no one can change the course of the game from that position on any given down quite like Bowman.
Signs of improvement
Look, the way Saskatchewan lost that aforementioned thriller on Friday is going to be tough to swallow for a little while. But through two weeks of the season, the 0-2 Riders are definitely an improved squad from the mess that was 2015. No, they aren’t there yet, but these things don’t happen overnight.
The biggest reasons for optimism right now come on the offensive side of the ball. Yeah, the Riders failed to get the yard they needed in overtime, but what we saw prior to that letdown was pretty impressive.
First and foremost, Darian Durant is back. After missing virtually all of 2015, Durant has looked as good as he’s ever looked through his first two outings. He’s got a ton of zip on the ball, he’s making good decisions, is using incomplete passes strategically, and he’s connecting with crisp, precise throws. Helping Saskatchewan’s quarterback along is a nice little array of weapons so far.
» WEEK 3 TAKEAWAYS: Something is brewing in Regina
The Riders showed life for the second straight week despite a Week 3 loss (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
Durant has spread the ball around nicely so far. He hit six different receivers in week two against Toronto and upped that to seven on Friday night in Edmonton. While Durant has been a big part of that variety, we’re also starting to see a few potential nice weapons emerge.
This group of Riders receivers was relatively unknown coming into the season, but we’ve seen some nice individual performances so far. Naaman Roosevelt led the way at home against Toronto and looked dangerous at times against the Eskimos, too. But it’s newcomer Ricky Collins who has caught most eyes thus far.
After reeling in four passes for 56 yards in his CFL debut, Collins caught his first professional touchdown in Edmonton and led Saskatchewan with 115 receiving yards. That’s a pretty solid first impression for a guy most football fans had never heard of prior to this season.
Collins played two years of JuCo football in Texas before playing NCAA Division Two ball at both Midwestern State and Texas A&M University-Commerce. After spending a year on the injured list with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Collins landed in Winnipeg before finally landing with the Riders right before the season. The way he’s played so far, Durant might keep making his name less and less obscure.
Saskatchewan still has a lot of things to work out defensively. The Riders have been burnt on way too many deep routes through two weeks, for instance. No one in Regina is going to be happy about an 0-2 start, but I honestly think things are looking up. Right now, at least we know this team can put up some points.
Tip of the hat
This column was somewhat critical of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week. So, it’s only fair we give credit where it’s due. The Bombers started off Week 3 with a fairly dramatic, and a very much needed, 28-24 win over Hamilton. More than anything else, Winnipeg’s first win of 2016 lifted a huge weight off of one man’s shoulders.
I don’t know if Head Coach Mike O’Shea was going to lose his job had the Bombers started the season 0-3. But you could just tell how much of a relief it was for that team as it kneeled down to finish the game on Thursday night. It was a much deserved, win, too.
Defensively, all Winnipeg did was force fumbles, and it was fitting to see them win the game by doing just that in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. And yes, the Bombers gave up some yards through the air, but they were very good stopping the run. Winnipeg allowed just 44 yards on the ground in a game that was fairly close for the final 20 minutes or so.
Drew Willy did the job at quarterback and was more effective than in prior weeks because he was able to stay upright. Winnipeg did a much better job protecting Willy against the Tiger-Cats, and that needs to be something we see more of going forward.
Finally, Andrew Harris looked like the guy we’re used to seeing. Harris was his dual threat self for really the first time this season and he finished with 104 total yards. Harris showed flashes in Winnipeg’s first two games, but he was a threat all night long in Hamilton and that was good to see. We named him our fantasy starting running back during the off-season and what we saw on Thursday was why.
One win hasn’t saved the season for the Bombers, the same way losing a pair of games hadn’t sunk it. It was nice to see them win a game they really needed to win, though. I’ve been very critical of this team in this column, but that’s only because I want it to succeed. As such, I was happy watching the Bombers do just that on Thursday night.
