Blue newbie hating on Argos

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/02/2009 (6274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quick take on Riall Johnson, the newest Winnipeg Blue Bomber, after a 10-minute chat with the man:

The 30-year-old defensive end, acquired from the Toronto Argonauts for middle linebacker Zeke Moreno and a sixth-round draft pick this spring, not only gets after enemy quarterbacks adeptly, he isn’t one to mince words.

And although he initially posted a message on his Facebook account suggesting he would rather retire than report to the Bombers, that knee-jerk emotional reaction was tempered Thursday. He will, in fact, not only report to the Bombers but was scrambling to find a schedule so he could circle the games against his old team.

"I look forward to a new start and playing with a new team," Johnson said from California. "Obviously, you can see the direction Toronto is going… maybe it will work out for them, but now they’re the competition and so I can be as pessimistic about them as I want. I really look forward to playing those guys. I’ve got to see the schedule… I hope we play them four times when the games count (three meetings, for the record — on July 24 and 30 and September 26), because I plan on racking up some good numbers against them."

Johnson spent parts of four years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals before heading north to the Argos, where he found his football rebirth. But last year, well, let’s just say it was a disaster for the former Stanford star — the first Canadian to lead the Pac 10 in sacks in consecutive years during his college days.

"In this business, one thing stays true: You’ve got to go where you’re wanted. Winnipeg is the team that wants me… I didn’t feel wanted last year in Toronto. It was a brutal year," he said. "What happened to me was not nearly as bad as what happened to other players. There were some players where I don’t think I’ve seen them so badly done by, by a team ever. I don’t really have many nice things to say about Toronto right now. What they did to a very good friend of mine, Orlondo Steinauer (who was released last summer), is unforgiveable."

Johnson’s departure from The Big Smoke, given his criticisms of management about the firing of Rich Stubler last year, isn’t all that surprising. But that will soon be in the rear-view mirror because the Bombers were absolutely thrilled to add him to their roster for his skills and the flexibility he provides with the ratio.

And perhaps Johnson can recharge his batteries in Bomber colours and find his love for the game again.

"The NFL wasn’t an enjoyable experience for me… the paycheques were great, but I wasn’t having fun," said Johnson, who had four sacks last year after registering 10 in 14 games in 2007. "In Toronto, I was making about one-third of what I was making before, but having five times the fun.

"But last year it became work again. It was the way we were losing last year. We knew what we were doing wrong, but nobody would fix it and no one was going to take the blame… But Toronto was a fresh change for me and it was what I needed.

"Maybe this is what I need again."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca