January’s absence from Bomber lineup excites Edmonton’s Willis

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This article was published 12/10/2014 (4070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Edmonton Eskimos pass rusher Odell Willis couldn’t believe his good fortune here Sunday morning when he was informed by reporters that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had just announced that their starting left tackle Glenn January will not play against the Eskimos here Monday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium.

“Stop pulling my leg,” Willis replied.

Informed that their was no leg-pulling involved and that January had been taken off the 46-man roster today because of a bad back, Willis was asked what he knew about January’s replacement at the critical left tackle position — Jarvis Jones.

“I never heard of him,” said Willis. “It’s going to be interesting without January because he’s one of the guys who keeps it together and he keeps them going. He keeps them motivated up front, even when things are good or bad.

“If he’s out, that’s a big blow for them out front… With him being out, it might be a little tough.”

The Bombers already had the most porous offensive line in the league even with January in the lineup — they’ve given up a league-leading 52 sacks — and the loss of their starting left tackle won’t help their cause against an Edmonton pass rush that is second in the league in sacks this year.

Put it altogether and Willis was asked if he was drooling at the prospect of facing the Bombers tomorrow. “Yeah, I kind of am,” said Willis. “It might be special.”

Willis was until this season best known for his 2011 season as the self-proclaimed ‘Mayor of Swaggerville,’ the ferocious Winnipeg defence that led the Bombers to the Grey Cup game that year.

Claiming he couldn’t defend against the run, the Bombers coaching staff eventually gave up on Willis and he was traded to Saskatchewan prior to the 2012 season. The Eskimos in turn signed Willis as a free agent prior to the 2013 season.

But it wasn’t until this year and the arrival of defensive guru Chris Jones here as Eskimos head coach that Willis put together what is shaping up to be the best year of his entire career.

He’s second in the CFL with 11 sacks, plus he’s got 25 tackles, a fumble recovery and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a TD the last time the Eskimos faced the Bombers.

Put it altogether and Willis was making the pitch here this weekend that he deserves consideration this season as the league’s most outstanding defensive player, right alongside B.C.’s Solomon Elimimian — who is en route to setting a new CFL record for tackles — and Saskatchewan’s John Chick — who leads the league in sacks with 14.

“Solomon — he’s just got a bunch of tackles. He’s a good player though, great player,” Willis began. “John Chick — great player too, he’s got sacks. Odell Willis? Great player, sacks, forced fumbles, picks, touchdowns, two of my turnovers have gone for touchdowns…

“Depend on how y’all vote, but maybe we can get in there.”

Jones, who coached Willis in Calgary in 2009 at the start of Willis’s CFL career, was asked how the flamboyant and often flaky 29-year-old from Mississippi native has evolved over the years as a player and a person.

“He’s seeing that the things I used to tell him a long time ago that used to drive me crazy, he’s seeing now that I was right and he was wrong,” grinned Jones. “He’s a good player. Like I say, he’s not perfect still — don’t get me wrong. But from what he used to be in Calgary to where he is now, it’s a long way.”

The Bombers and close to two dozen fans are on a charter flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton Sunday afternoon. The team will make head coach Mike O’Shea and select players available to the media here later Sunday afternoon.

email: paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek