Bombers’ Elliott faces big test against stingy defence
WINNIPEG — Sometimes it’s hard to separate the PR from the BS, but it was, in all likelihood, a little bit of both when B. C. Lions head coach Mike Benevides declared the Saskatchewan Roughriders the best football team in the land on a trip to Regina last month.
The ’ Riders, perhaps emboldened by Coach Benny’s declaration, went out and defeated the Lions 23- 20, but much has gone right for them since then.
Benevides made another presumptive call earlier this week on Joey Elliott, when he pumped the inflator on the Winnipeg quarterback’s helmet to the point where air sacks were bursting.
“He’s the best quarterback in the league in terms of how he performed last week,” Benevides told reporters. “He was outstanding, and he did a heck of a job against the Hamilton team.”
In his first start this season, only his third in the CFL, the former Purdue Boilermaker completed 33 of 43 passes for 406 yards and a touchdown in a 32- 25 win over the TigerCats, a team — it must be stated — not known for its defensive prowess. Plus, the Tiger- Cats had six turnovers to the Blue Bombers’ none.
Nonetheless, Pal Joey is the flavour of the week in the Winnipeg, after fans at Canad Inn Stadium chanted his name “Joey, Joey, Joey” as the saviour who rescued their team from the fate of a 1- 6 record.
Tonight, the resurgent — if one victory counts as a surge — Blue Bombers face the CFL’s best defence in the B. C. Lions, a team which hasn’t allowed an opponent to score a touchdown since July 20. That’s four games and 13 quarters ago. The Lions, in fact, have allowed only two touchdowns in the last 58 possessions by opposing teams since July 14.
Best quarterback in the league? Elliott might have to be all of that, and a little more tonight.
“That’s nice a compliment,” Elliott responded, when apprised of Benevides’ comment. “Somebody must have watched a lot of film on me. But to compare me to other guys in this league ... to Anthony Calvillo ... no shot. He’s time- trusted.”
“Swaggerville” not only left town when its self- styled mayor, defensive end Odell Willis, was traded to Saskatchewan, but the feeling also evaporated some time ago in Winnipeg. After roaring off to a 7- 1 record to start the 2011 season, the Blue Bombers have gone 6- 13 since then, which includes a 34- 23 loss to the Lions in the 99th Grey Cup game at BC Place.
Elliott, with his raspy voice, gunslinger mentality and general cockiness, helped recapture a vestige of that lost bravado against the Tiger- Cats.
But one swallow of success does not a season make, and if Elliott can’t come close to turning in a similar performance against the Lions, he could become just another horse on the Blue Bomber quarterback carousel.
Nominal No. 1, Buck Pierce, is close to returning from a foot injury, Alex Brink, who forms the No. 2 and 2A backup combination with Elliott, is itching to return after unceremoniously being relieved of his post, and then there’s Justin Goltz, the No. 4 quarterback. Goltz hasn’t played a down this season for the Blue Bombers. But the way things have gone in Winnipeg, don’t bet that won’t change.
“I’m trying to stay patient,” Goltz said. “Opportunities have arisen for some of the young guys here. You have to prep every day as if you’re going to get your chance. Last week, Joey got his shot. I think we’re all aware of the situation here.”
The “situation”, as Lions fans well know, is Pierce, the former B. C. quarterback who gets bucked more often than a one- armed bronc rider. If Elliott can stay healthy, and be productive, might the Blue Bombers consider him the best option going forward? We’ll see. For now, Elliott is not thinking about the future. He’s only concerned with the present and the past.
In 2009, as a senior at Purdue — the only time during his college career when he started for the Boilermakers — Elliott excised the stinger from a 1- 5 start with some tremendous individual performances. He threw for 22 touchdowns, more than 3,000 yards, helped topple the No. 7- ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and beat Michigan in the Big House, the first time Purdue had won in Ann Arbor since 1966.
Does he reflect on an underdog parallel between the Boilermakers and the Bombers?
“It happens all the time,” Elliott said. “We [ Purdue] were 1- 5 and we missed three wins, literally, on three plays at the end of a game. But we beat one of the top 25 ranked teams. We were a solid bunch of seniors and we stuck together. Our goal was to have one big win that year — and we upset Ohio State.”
Now, as a pro, he has patiently waited his turn, as he did as a collegian, to showcase himself.
The Lions are not Ohio State. But tonight they’ll substitute as Buckeyes in the eyes of Joey Elliott.