Harris up to his old tricks

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This article was published 25/06/2019 (2266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trevor Harris swapped the red and black of the Ottawa Redblacks for the green and gold of the Edmonton Eskimos in the off-season, but the new look is eerily similar to last year’s version.

His calm demeanour and the precise dissection of opposing defences is into its eighth CFL season, and judging by some recent eye-popping output, the 33-year-old Eskimos quarterback is showing no signs of late-career decline.

On Thursday night, he will be Winnipeg’s problem. The unbeaten Esks and Blue Bombers will face off in a prime Week 3 matchup at IG Field.

“In terms of how their offence is run, there’s a ton of (run-pass option), there’s a ton of quick release — yeah it does pose a problem,” Blue Bombers defensive end Craig Roh said following the club’s closed practice Tuesday morning. “You have certain quarterbacks, like (the B.C. Lions’ Mike) Reilly, who hold onto it for a little bit longer. They let the routes develop a little bit more.

“Ever since (Harris) has been in the league, he’s dinked and dunked it down the field. He’s been really good at that and it definitely poses a challenge for us.”

Fellow defender Willie Jefferson has seen this movie before. It’s a three-step drop and the ball is usually out of Harris’s hands.

“Him being in Ottawa the last few years and playing with Edmonton, it’s not any different,” Jefferson said. “It’s just get the ball, know where the receivers are gonna be and try to get the ball where the receivers can make a play…

“I wouldn’t know if he has the quickest release in the league, but I know for him, he has the timing down with his receivers. Him going to a new offence and picking it up as fast as he has, getting the ball to his receivers the way he has, it’s a good look for him.”

In Ottawa, running back William Powell helped to set up the passing game. In Edmonton, veteran tailback C.J. Gable’s all-round game as a runner, blocker and pass-catcher also helps to diversify the Esks’ attack.

The members of Winnipeg’s defensive line are on high alert. Gable has a league-leading 265 rushing yards in two games.

“I think the approach is stop the run, have some fun,” Roh said. “You stop the RPO, you stop Gable coming downhill and then you get into second-and-long situations and that’s where we’ve got great guys, Willie (Jefferson), Jackson (Jeffcoat), myself. We can all get to the quarterback.”

Jefferson, who had a relatively quiet two-tackle performance in a 33-23 win over B.C. in Week 1, is very familiar with Gable’s work. Limiting the former USC runner has its problems.

“He’s pretty tough,” Jefferson said. “One of the better, bigger backs in the league. You’ve gotta get a hat on him and slow him down earlier… He’s one of those bigger backs, so he’ll try to run you over, but at the same time, he likes to cut it back, so you’ve gotta be ready to move.”

Safety Jeff Hecht added: “I think that’s obvious with how successful he’s been the first two weeks. They run a lot of their quick passes in play action off of him and if he can get going, it makes it extremely difficult for the linebackers and secondary inside to play those quick routes.”

Hecht, who doubled his career total with two interceptions against the Lions, said giving Harris something extra to think about before the snap is a must. So far, opposing defences have allowed Harris to complete 77 per cent of his passes, posting a whopping 10.0-yard average per completion with zero interceptions.

“We’ve gotta get lined up pre-snap, we’ve gotta give him different looks,” Hecht said. “He’s doing a lot of his work before the snap, getting rid of the ball quickly, getting it into the hands of guys who have been making a lot of big plays for them in the first two weeks.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14