Argos’ Isaac won’t change his game
Brandon Isaac will pay up and move on.
But what the Argos linebacker will not do is change his aggressive style in light of an undisclosed fine for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Winnipeg quarterback Buck Pierce last week, which left the veteran pivot cut, concussed and out of the game.
“If I tone it down and I miss him and he throws a touchdown, who’s fault is it? It’s (mine) for not being aggressive enough,” Isaac said after practice Thursday. “I can’t do that.
“What I can try to do is lower myself a little more when I’m ap- proaching the quarterback because it’s a quarterback-driven league,” said Isaac, in his first season with the Argos after two years in Calgary. “But I’m still going to be aggressive because that’s who I am.”
Isaac rushed at Pierce and hit him in the face mask with his helmet just as the quarterback threw a pass late in the first quarter of Toronto’s 29-10 win Saturday.
The linebacker was assessed a 15yard penalty but wasn’t ejected from the game.
Winnipeg players were furious with the hit, two being fined for retaliatory shots on Isaac and another having to pay up for post- game comments about it. Pierce told Winnipeg media earlier this week he thought Isaac intentionally tried to hurt him with what he labelled “a cheap shot” and “dirty.” Argos head coach Scott Milanovich refused to comment on the fine but defended Isaac in the face of criticism from the Bombers’ coaches and players. “I know better,” Milanovich told reporters. “I’ve spent time with the young man and I know what kind of teammate he is and what kind of young man he is. “And there was absolutely no intent for him to injure that guy last week.”