Burris was never an option
Retired Grey Cup hero shoots down persistent chatter he’s returning to team
No matter how many times Henry Burris says it, no matter how many times Marcel Desjardins says it, the questions persist.
Even though the Ottawa Redblacks are now minus their No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks — with both Trevor Harris and Drew Tate injured — Burris is not coming back to play.
Burris said it earlier this season with the Redblacks struggling and he’s said it again and again. Desjardins, the Redblacks GM, has also repeatedly said it’s not an option.
“It’s not going to happen,” Burris, the 42-year-old Grey Cup hero of a year ago who recently was added to the Wall of Honour at the TD Place Stadium, said Monday.
“I’m not coming back. There are multiple reasons. I owe the time to my family. My new team is Bell Media. There’s no need for me to come back.
“It’s not my team. It’s Trevor’s team, it’s Drew’s team, it’s Ryan (Lindley)’s team. It’s time to move on. I finally enjoyed a summer with my family, I’m loving it, being able to be at all my kids’ activities. For me, there’s no looking back, it’s full steam ahead.”
GROUND GAME
The Redblacks showed something Sunday in Montreal they haven’t been able to establish on a consistent basis this season: A strong running game. Ground and pound. William Powell, in and out of the lineup all season, rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries. Nothing spectacular, but each time his feet scampered for five, six, seven yards, the soul was being sucked out of the Montreal Alouettes defence.
Establishing that ground game, with a tremendous push from an offensive line that had Alex Mateas replacing injured Jon Gott at centre and rookie Evan Johnson starting his first game at left guard, was a big reason the Redblacks stopped the Als 29-11.
“We made it a focus to run the ball, use up some of the clock,” said Powell.
“Our offensive line, they’re a great group, they’re resilient, they’ve battled some injuries. They always work hard and find ways to open the holes for us.”
Too much of the season for Powell has been spent watching. Nothing serious, just nagging injuries. And if he’s not 100 per cent, the Redblacks have no problem going with Mossis Madu Jr. as its feature back.
While Powell has carried the football 89 times for 449 yards, Madu has 317 yards on 71 touches.
“Basically, there’s very little (difference between the two),” said Desjardins. “It’s nice to have two good options.”