Receivers sing a catchy tune

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/10/2008 (6369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A more zany and eclectic collection of professional pass-catchers might never have existed in the CFL.

As long as group comic Derick Armstrong catches at least 10 yards worth of passes Saturday afternoon at Canad Inns Stadium versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, this receiving corps will complete a sub-.500 CFL season with three 1,000-yard receivers for the second consecutive year.

And before we pass on all the lovin’ to Armstrong, Terrence Edwards and Romby Bryant, we’ll offer the Yoda-like insights of Bombers defensive back Anthony Malbrough, whose locker is right in front of the catchers’ confab that extends from Edwards to Bryant to Armstrong to Milt Stegall to Arjei Franklin.

“If you want to see a good show, some good entertainment, start right here at these lockers and go down,” Malbrough chuckled Thursday. “It begins at Terrence Edwards and it ends at Arjei Franklin. All receivers. You see that. All receivers. It’s funny, though. The topics… it’s so many different topics, so many different arguments, and I just sit here and laugh.

“I might say something every now and then, but I promise, man, it’s the best entertainment in the locker room. Every day. Don’t miss a day.”

Bryant, the strong, silent rookie find of Bombers GM Brendan Taman, already has more than 1,000 yards receiving.

Edwards, the Montreal Alouettes cast-off, has his second 1,000-yard season in a row after finding a home here last season, although he probably won’t play Saturday. Armstrong, who has been hobbled by injuries, is only 10 yards — one catch, two for sure — away.

“Any time you can have three guys with 1,000 yards, that’s big,” said Malbrough. “And to see the way those guys interact, I’m not surprised that it happens so much because they feed off each other… in arguments, in good times and in bad times. That’s a good thing. It’s a special thing, especially two years in a row.”

And especially considering that Milt Stegall, likely in his final year, isn’t among the group.

His streak of nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons will come to an end. And quarterback Kevin Glenn hasn’t had the kind of season he had last year when he was the East Division finalist for Most Outstanding Player.

“Milt brings the Old Spice to it, he’s the dancin’ guy who gets it started for us,” Armstrong said. “Romby is a guy who doesn’t take anything, he’ll fight for you for every inch, he’s very feisty. Terrence knows all the stats of everybody, he looks at what’s goin’ on and that’s great. Arjei, who I mess with a lot, everybody does, he’s one of those guys that always preaches about doing right and not doing wrong.”

Edwards said every receiver in the game would like to hear they’ve reached the 1,000-yard mark. “I don’t know what it is about 1,000 yards, it’s just something that I think for every receiver, their personal goal is to do it and it looks good. It’s a compliment to this team because of the way we started out, the receiving corps has been consistent this year… I think Montreal is the only other team that will have three so it’s special for this team and for the individuals.”

chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca