Every CFL week includes enough highlights for fans to talk about until football returns a week later, and a few lowlights that keep fans shaking their heads. The LWOS CFL team takes a look with Three and out week one at the highlights and lowlights of the week that was in the CFL.
Three and Out Week One
Game of the Week: Edmonton Eskimos vs. Ottawa Redblacks
The game of the week was an exciting one that featured the defending Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos vs the team they beat in the Grey Cup, the Ottawa Redblacks, as Esks fans liked to call the Redblacks, Grey Cup “participants“. The game was an intense back and forth battle, with the Redblacks winning a nail bitter in overtime.
Early in the second half Henry Burris hurt his finger and did not return. Newly-signed Trevor Harris hit Chris Williams for a 71-yard touchdown to tie the game, on his first play as a Redblack.. Harris and Burris ended up torching the Eskimos secondary for a combined 543 passing yards on the day. The Eskimos defence last year was one of the best thanks to Chris Jones, but the offensive-minded new head coach Jason Maas let a staggering 45 points past his team on Saturday, including a 55-yard field goal by Chris Milo to tie the game late.
It was a classic CFL battle.
– Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91)
Player of the Week: Simoni Lawrence
Simoni Lawrence, who could be the early favourite for the Defensive Player of the Year, did not disappoint as he ruined the Toronto Argonauts home opener at their new stadium, BMO Field.
Lawrence had a game for the ages on Thursday night when he recorded seven tackles including two quarterback sacks. He also had one interception and one fumble recovery in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 42-20 win. Coming off a season in which he had 80 tackles, five sacks and two interceptions, Lawrence did not lose his stride and started the 2016 campaign with force. He was all over Ricky Ray and the Argos attack, and he was a huge reason why they only put up 20 points in front of their home fans.
– Casey Dulson (@Casey_Dulson)
Unnecessary Participation: Weston Dressler Injury
Winnipeg Blue Bombers star receiver Weston Dressler took a hellacious hit from Montreal Alouettes rookie defensive back Ethan Davis that knocked Dressler out of the game during the Bombers 22-14 loss to Montreal Friday night.
The hit happened due to the fact that Dressler was fighting for extra yards and was put into a vulnerable position for helmet to helmet contact. Was the hit avoidable if Dressler runs out of bounds and takes the yards he’s given, rather than turning up field and fighting for extra yards? To the average human being, the answer would be yes. Save yourself from injury and focus on the next play. But to a professional football player, they aren’t thinking of going out of bounds.
The Blue and Gold were facing a first and 25 and it’s guaranteed that Dressler, at that moment in time, is thinking about picking up any extra yards given too him in order to make the second down manageable for his team. We’ve seen plenty of players in the past turn the corner and fight for extra yards without suffering a helmet to helmet collisions, and football is a rough sport.
Dressler expected to get hit and he did. Football players can lose their jobs if they become ‘soft’ and run out of bounds, so don’t expect Dressler or anyone else to change their approach and aggression when fighting for extra yards.
It is unfortunate when collisions like that do happen, but football needs player who want to fight for extra yards.
Main Photo.
