Hello, Dohnte Meyers. That fourth quarter catch of yours against Hamilton was simply scrumptious; a layout, toe-drag-along-the-sideline masterpiece. Hang it in the Louvre? Nah. Re-name the entire museum in your honour. THEN, hang it in there.
Here are the Week 2 takeaways.
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THEY ARE BIRNAM WOOD, COMING TO DUNSINANE, ON EVERY PLAY
You’re a CFL quarterback playing the Montreal Alouettes.
You take the snap, you look up, and it appears you need a machete to get through that jungle.
In Week 2 it was another game, another night of Montreal’s giant redwoods on the defensive line putting their blocking counterparts on roller skates and raising their ginormous limbs to alter a pivot’s perspective and throwing mechanics.
In their 39-18 win in Ottawa on Friday night, REDBLACKS’ quarterback Matthew Shiltz had a devil of a time negotiating that fray.
Couple of sacks, couple of tackles for losses, an interception, and a pass block — by the appropriately named Shawn Oakman — that landed nicely in the arms of defensive back Wesley Sutton, who ran it in for a major from 45 yards out.
These days, a quarterback can’t see the forest for the Montreal defensive line.
HE HAS VERY STRONG HANDS AND HE UNDERSTANDS LEVERAGE
That takeaway headline comes to us from Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris, who said it in a postgame interview on TSN.
He was talking about receiver KeeSean Johnson, who very nearly singlehandedly marched the Roughriders for the winning major, late in the fourth quarter, in Hamilton on Saturday night.
On a touchdown drive of 70 yards, Johnson had 69 of ’em, on four catches including a 15-yarder for the score. He followed up with two more catches for 28 yards on the next drive, one that put the Riders into range for a field goal attempt that would’ve iced the game for them had kicker Brett Lauther not been suffering though the real-life conjuring of a stress dream. (MID-TAKEAWAY BONUS TAKEAWAY: Lauther’s been there before, he’ll get through this)
You’ve basically shut down Samuel Emilus and Shawn Bane Jr. and Kian Schaffer-Baker are out of Saskatchewan’s lineup? That’s nice, but number three has very strong hands and he understands leverage. So you’ll need to deal with that.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Does it seem like Hamilton’s Stavros Katsantonis is everywhere? Seriously, turn around and look behind you. There’s a decent chance he’s standing right there.
A SECOND PHILPOT HAS ENTERED THE CHAT
Hey, Tyson, your brother Jalen has arrived.
Calgary’s Jalen Philpot had his best game as a pro on Saturday in Toronto, pulling in six catches for 117 yards, including 42 yards after catch.
Two of those catches went for more than 30 yards — both in the fourth quarter — including a 33-yard stunner that put the Stampeders inside Toronto’s 20-yard line with a little over two minutes to play while nursing a seven point lead.
With Reggie Begelton on crutches after suffering a first quarter injury, Philpot’s apparent emergence as a consistent money guy couldn’t come at a better time for the Stamps.
“I do feel like he’s highly motivated,” said Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson of Philpot after the win.
Yeah. He ran over a guy on one play.
Are we in for an epic sibling rivalry season?
THIS GAME IS EASY
Well, it must be.
When Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira went down with a shoulder injury early in Thursday’s game against the BC Lions, you may have wondered if the Blue Bombers could survive, offensively, considering that the backup, Matthew Peterson, hadn’t recorded a pro carry previously.
But the 24-year-old Canadian tailback looked like a dominating vet, lugging the rock a very Oliveira-like 23 times for 130 yards, including a breakaway 38-yard major in the second quarter.
“He’s very conscientious,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea of Peterson after the game, which would’ve set off a nation-wide “Understatement Alert” if such a thing existed.
Things won’t always go so smoothly for Peterson, of course. But for Week 2, at least, it sure seemed like football is a breeze for him.
WELL, THEY OBVIOUSLY HAD A MUCH BETTER CAMP
Winnipeg’s victory over BC showed us a team that looked very different from the one that started off last season at oh-and-four.
If there were suspicions that the Blue Bombers had a “meh” training camp in 2024, those suspicions were confirmed a year later by Coach O’Shea in his postgame media conference.
“The guys were tuned in more,” said O’Shea of this year’s camp as compared to the last. “I think we pushed ’em pretty good.”
The difference? “I just think it’s the amount of quality work that they put in,” said O’Shea.
“You don’t (merely) put the time in. You frickin’ give it everything you’ve got. Then you have a chance to win.”
O’Shea went on to say something that the Bombers might be able to use as a season-long credo as they search for a sixth straight Grey Cup appearance. “It’s not impressive. It’s expected,” he said.
Make the T-shirts.
AND FINALLY… Do you think Ka’Deem Carey is looking forward to Friday night?
