Dave Chidley/CFL.ca
The theme of opportunity is one of the driving narratives baked into all sports, especially football.
It can be seen both as a celebration of hard work counterbalanced with the unfortunate reality that it is often the result of injury or poor play from another athlete who at one point also found a way to break through into the professional ranks. All right, that last sentence does sound like a C+ level undergraduate thesis statement. But when I look at the two Saturday games for Week 6 of the CFL season, I see so many situations where players have a chance to take that first step to making a name for themselves, to leap ahead on their respective team’s depth chart or to explode and become the next star right in front of our eyes.
I have highlighted one player from each team for both Saturday’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Ottawa REDBLACKS and Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders contest. Some of these players caught our attention this past week or have been slowly growing in stature since the start of the year. In each case these individuals could be on to something special, if given the proper opportunity to succeed.
RELATED
» Steinberg: Team standouts at the quarter mark of ’23
» Prediction Time: CFL.ca writers’ Week 6 picks
» Power Rankings: Some rare calm water
» MOP Watch: Who is Costabile leaning towards?
» Player Grades Presented By PFF: Who was the best of Week 5?
Greg McCrae | Winnipeg Blue Bombers
How did I just find out that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers jack-of-all-trades nickname is Nighthawk? If you have the nickname of a potential future Marvel movie vehicle you have to be good on the football field, right?
McCrae saw limited in action in 2022 with 37 total touches. It’s hard to stand out on a team with as many stars as the 2022 Bombers had, but that could all change, especially after the display of athleticism we saw in his 191 all-purpose yard day in Winnipeg’s 24-11 win over Calgary last week.
My question is this: how do you define a player who was listed as a running back on the team’s roster but was used as a slotback against Calgary? Winnipeg trailed Calgary for most of that first half until McCrae turned around Stampeders’ defensive back Branden Dozier easily beating him for a 68-yard touchdown that would tie the game at 11.
The former University of Central Florida star showed off his versatility, replacing one of the game’s best returners in Janarion Grant with a 102-yard missed field goal return that was part speed, part vision and all smarts and instinct. It’s one thing to get past 300-pound linemen Ryan Sceviour in the end zone to start your return; it is an entirely different matter to patiently wait for your blockers to do their job as you shuffle your way across the field making multiple players miss.
McCrae looked like he was darting through a busy mall near Christmas while not knocking anyone’s bags over in the process. Quick aside, massive bonus points to defensive end Julian Howsare for staying with the play and making the very downfield tackle to deny McCrae a second touchdown in that game. If McCrae’s productivity drops it won’t be because of ability. The guy’s been dynamic since his collegiate days. It will be because of all the talent on the Bombers’ roster. Between Dalton Schoen, Brady Oliveira, Nic Demski and Grant there are only so many chances to shine. I think it’s fair to say that when his number is called it will make for must see TV.
Mitchell Picton and Shawn Bane Jr. | Saskatchewan Roughriders
Remember the idea that the celebration of the new guy making an impact usually means the misfortune of someone else? In the case of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it’s all the receivers on the injured list.
Losing players like Jake Wieneke, Derel Walker, Kian Schaffer-Baker and Juwan Brescacin is going to hurt any passing offence and also can partially explain why the team had a measly three points until late in their game against the Edmonton Elks last week.
These injuries have opened the door for Picton, a player just born for this role. How could anyone not be rooting for the Regina-born receiver who learned his trade as a member of the Regina Rams football team? Against the Elks, Picton led all players with 76 yards on four receptions and was the only Roughrider to make it into the end zone. While not exactly a fresh face to the CFL scene, his 43 receptions in two years coming into this year does not exactly make you conjure up images of Ray Elgaard (attention under 40 crowd: Google this name! You’ll thank me later). This is his fourth year with the team and 2023 feels like Picton’s breakout year after an ankle injury limited him to 11 games in 2022.
As for Shawn Bane Jr., he is the team’s leading receiver with 286 yards and I wonder if he can make the leap from “fantasy darling” to consistent receiving threat week-in and week-out.
Dustin Crum | Ottawa REDBLACKS
Did you really think I wouldn’t include a quarterback on this list? I promise not to write anything stupid and say, ‘Oh hey, look here’s another quarterback who was super productive in the Mid-American Conference just like Nathan Rourke!’
Let’s be honest: of all the names on this list, Crum has the longest shot of turning into something special this year. There really aren’t that many examples in CFL history of a quarterback with so little reps in the off-season/pre-season suddenly turning a team’s season around. He did a more than admirable job stepping in for Jeremiah Masoli with the REDBLACKS trailing the Tiger-Cats 9-0. His solid completion percentage and 91 yards rushing was more than offset by his three total turnovers, but he also came within two yards of a potentially game-tying touchdown.
Did I include Crum on this list in an obvious attempt to manifest immediate success for the second-year quarterback? Maybe. Am I focusing on the 2021 MAC MVP because I need to get my mind off of the Jeremiah Masoli injury? 100 per cent, yes. I can’t think of a more difficult spot to be in than making your first start against Willie Jefferson, a now healthy Jackson Jeffcoat and Celestin Haba but that is what’s in store for Ottawa’s fourth different starting quarterback (reminder: we’re in Week 6!). As a realist, I don’t expect much early success but that doesn’t mean I won’t be wildly interested in seeing what this quarterback with a degree in aeronautical systems of engineering technology from Kent State University can do on the field.
Dedrick Mills | Calgary Stampeders
Mills is the most accomplished name on this list, after putting up 459 rushing yards on a gaudy 6.9 yards per carry last year as the best backup running back in the game behind Ka’Deem Carey.
On Friday night when it looked like the Calgary Stampeders were going to upset the Bombers, it was because of the work done by Mills and his 74 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter helping propel the Stamps to an early 10-1 lead. For Calgary’s offence to survive the Jake Maier growing pains, Mills has to be the focus.
This is not to say Calgary needs to adopt a mid 1970’s NFL-style ground-and-pound offensive identity, but Mills needs to be right at the top of the league in total touches. Mills has a chance to be something far more than a feel good story. If he continues at this pace, he could end up being the best running back in the game.
His current 5.8-yard average is the best in the league among running backs and in three games his 91 yards per games is a CFL best. The last time these teams met, Mills finished with 88 total yards and I bet we see even greater production this Saturday night. What I wonder about is if Mills continues to dominate, what will that mean for Carey, the league’s leading rusher in 2022? Does the team go back to Carey when he is fully cleared to play? Do they slow play it to allow Mills to continue to cook? Mills has the opportunity to become a legitimate star, but what does that do the established star? I guess we’ll find out.
