NEW CFL EJECTION RULE PUT TO USE IN WEEK 2
Former Elk booted after taking pair of objectionable conduct calls
In the off-season, Derrick Moncrief left Commonwealth Stadium in free agency.
This time, the Saskatchewan Roughriders coverage linebacker was escorted from the premises by striped officials midway through the third quarter of Saturday's game against his former Edmonton Elks team.
Moncrief was ejected from the field following a confrontation with ex-teammate David Beard, whom he threw a punch at, connecting with the face mask, before getting in the face of one of the officials.
That led to a pair of objectionable conduct penalties after the same play which, in today's Canadian Football League, will see the offender get turfed. It was the first time the new rule was enforced and didn't take long, just Week 2 of the season, for it to happen.
“It's just something that you have to get used to and, as players, you've got to show a little bit of constraint. You've got to have some discipline,” said Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones. “We had one (roughness penalty at the same time). As coaches and players, we've got to keep ourselves under control and the discipline aspect plays a factor.”
Beard was also flagged for his involvement, albeit video replay showed any physical contact he made was simply brushing Roughriders arms away from him.
“I've got a lot of respect for Moncrief as a teammate in previous years. Him being here in Edmonton, he did a lot of good things for this club,” Beard said, before being asked what caused the post-play ruckus. “I couldn't tell you exactly. We were bumping around on the pile a little bit and he got pretty excited.”
WALKER HEALTHY
Star wideout Derel Walker is back practising after sitting out Saturday's game against Saskatchewan.
Despite coming off a down year along with the rest of the 3-11 Elks, where he only caught half of his 88 targeted passes and was kept out of the end zone, Walker entered this season as the CFL'S active leader in receiving yards per game (77.1) and receptions (5.4).
In his absence Saturday, slotback Kenny Lawler posted 149 receiving yards and a touchdown on 12 catches, setting the high-water mark for his team on the season, so far.
“He's an awful good player,” Jones said. “When he was available in free agency, we targeted him as a guy that we wanted to go get and he's a guy that certainly, over the first two weeks, has performed at a very high level and if we can maintain that and other guys can maybe match getting toward his level, then all of a sudden we'll be playing pretty good.”
In getting their two big receiving guns back together for Saturday's Battle of Alberta, the Elks are looking for their new onetwo punch to continue evolving in their aerial attack.
“It's yet to be seen because we didn't play very good anywhere in Week 1 and then, last week, D-walk was out,” Jones said of a 59-15 loss to the B.C. Lions to open the season. “So, we're certainly hoping these guys can stay healthy because teams that stay healthy and stay on the field are the teams that have a lot of consistency and have success.”
RADIO GA GA
Longtime colour analyst Dave Campbell will sit out for a second week in a row under COVID protocols. Last week saw play-byplay voice Morley Scott pair up with former Elks long-snapper and Grey Cup champion Ryan King on the 630 CHED game broadcast, while Saturday's game against the Calgary Stampeders will have Scott joined in the booth at Mcmahon Stadium by former Elks offensive lineman Blake Dermott.
In and out: Starting RT Colin Kelly (ankle) was out Wednesday along with LB Enock Makonzo (knee), while RB James Wilder Jr. (shoulder) saw limited participation in practice ... The Elks signed OL Justin Renfrow, who played seven games at right tackle last year ... DB Anthony Hoskins was released ... Not appearing on the team's daily injury report but absent once again was DT Jake Ceresna, who was pulled from the lineup following Friday's walk-through session because of injury. “He's dealing with a shoulder situation,” said Jones, who didn't go into detail as to what happened. “I'm really at a little bit of a loss.” ... The Elks have also cut receiver Shai Ross, whose athleticism has been on display over social media throughout the past couple off-seasons, with videos of him dunking an Oreo cookie in a glass of milk mid-flip and performing a standing backflip with a weighted barbell going viral, well surpassing the 2.5-million mark in views. “Shai's a really good athlete,” said Jones, who didn't want to cut the 28-year-old native of Winnipeg. “We were going to move him to the practice roster. He chose not to, so unfortunately there wasn't a spot for us to keep him.”