Willis fined for illegal QB hit
Eskimos defensive end argues he made a ‘textbook’ tackle
Odell Willis of the Edmonton Eskimos opted for humour Tuesday when he discussed his first Canadian Football League fine for an illegal hit on a quarterback.
“I could say some things, but it is what it is,” said Willis, whose previous CFL fines were over uniform issues.
“If that was my mom throwing the ball, I’d hit her the same way.”
The 29-year-old defensive end wasn’t penalized in Friday’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but was later punished by the league for an unspecified amount for what it called “a high hit” that left Ticats QB Zach Collaros crumpled for several minutes on the ground at Commonwealth Stadium.
“I’m not going to stop anything,” Willis said. “The only thing it’s going to make me do is do fundraising and car washes so I can help pay this fine.”
Asked how many car washes were required to pay the fine, Willis quipped: “As many as it takes.”
Willis, who has 52 quarterback sacks in 87 games with four CFL teams, said he’s never before hit a player face-to-face like he did Collaros. Still, he defended his actions.
“I feel like that was textbook,” he said. “I got my head across, shoulder. But unfortunately, they’ve got to protect the quarterbacks in this league because it’s a quarterback-offensive league.
“I just look at it as another clip they’re going to put on the tape as ‘How to protect the quarterbacks’ when they show it next season. I’m on all of them anyway, from Winnipeg to Saskatchewan. I guess now it’ll be, ‘This is how not to hit the quarterback, by Odell Willis.’ ”
Willis also pointed out that the quarterback is “essentially a runner” once he leaves the pocket, which Collaros did upon running to his right.
“I feel like if it was (Hamilton running back) C.J. Gable and I hit him like that, it wouldn’t be a problem,” Willis said. “But (Collaros is) a quarterback.”
In its news release, the CFL said video review provided “evidence of contact to the neck area” and determined that Willis should have been penalized on the play.”
“We have stressed to players and officials alike the importance of protecting the health and safety of our players in general, and the health and safety of quarterbacks in particular, as the game often puts them in exposed positions,” CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a news release.
“If that was my mom throwing the ball, I’d hit her the same way.”
Odel l Willis
Eskimos head coach Chris Jones didn’t want to publicly question the fine or hit. “The CFL has made its call on it, and that’s what we’re going with,” he said. “We teach (the players) not to lead with their headgear. There’s a certain area that they’re supposed to hit. We try to target that area and try to get the headgear off to the side.”
But Jones admitted that it’s a lot harder to hit the QB within the rules than it was when he first came to the CFL as a defensive line coach with the Montreal Alouettes in 2002.
“In ’02, you could hit him anywhere,” Jones said. “(Now) you have to be very selective as to where you attack the quarterback.”
“I hope he’s well,” Willis said about Collaros. “But it’s not going to stop my play. ... I’m just going to live on the edge and, if I have to pay fines and get car washes to pay my fines, I did what I’m going to do.
“But we’re going to play fast, aggressive and between the whistles.”
The hit and fine overshadows what was probably Willis’s best game since joining the Eskimos last season.
He also got to Hamilton’s two other QBs — Jeremiah Masoli and Dan LeFevour — for his first three-sack game since Oct. 2, 2010, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In addition, he could have had another sack on Collaros when he was deceived into thinking the ball had been thrown and let up.
Willis also had three defensive tackles, a forced fumble, and pressured LeFevour into throwing a late-game interception that Eskimos defensive back Joe Burnett returned 32 yards to set up Edmonton’s final field goal with 68 seconds remaining.
“You’ve got to stay consistent. What if that is the last game I get a sack and play like that, then it would be a terrible season,” Willis said. “You only have one good game.
“I’m looking forward to Ottawa and trying to take down Henry Burris because Henry Burris and Darian Durant are the two hardest quarterbacks in the league to take down.”
Willis missed the tail end of Tuesday’s practice after taking a bump on the side of his leg, but he says he’ll be able to play Friday’s 8 p.m. game against the Ottawa Redblacks at Commonwealth Stadium.
“I didn’t want to aggravate it no more. I’m good,” he said.
“We’ve got enough injuries as it is, so I just wanted to take precautions and come back tomorrow fresh and ready to go and have a great practice.”