Bombers tackle Masoli’s scrambling

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This article was published 26/06/2018 (2635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While rookie Chris Streveler is making headlines in Winnipeg, there’s another quarterback making headlines around the league.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who along with Streveler and the Calgary Stampeders’ star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was named one of the CFL’s top performers in Week 2, has been on fire lately — and is putting himself in the discussion as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

The Blue Bombers have the difficult task of trying to slow Masoli down Friday in Hamilton for their Week 3 matchup, something the Edmonton Eskimos were unable to do a week ago as Masoli connected on 19 of 29 passing attempts for 332 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in a 38-21 win. The 29-year-old in his sixth season with Hamilton also carried the ball seven times for 59 yards.

Dating back to last season, Masoli has seven straight games of passing for more than 300 yards and has a 12-3 touchdown to interception ratio in that time.

Masoli’s 12 touchdowns and 2,380 passing yards in his last seven outings is even more impressive when you compare it to the last seven games played by the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2017 — Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly, who has 10 touchdown passes and 2,351 yards through the air in his last seven games.

“He’s been doing a heck of a job at running their offence very effectively with a high-percentage completion rate,” Bombers defensive back Chris Randle said about the play of Masoli. “The amount of time he’s creating with his legs being mobile, it adjusts your clock as a defensive back. Your timing can’t be normal, you got to always anticipate that he can escape the pocket and have those receivers convert their routes. It’s an element that most teams don’t really give you without a quarterback like this. It’s a testament to how athletic he is and what they can do as an offence.”

But Masoli doesn’t just create problems for defensive backs; he can cause a lot of headaches for pass rushers. Jackson Jeffcoat, a second-year defensive end for the Blue and Gold, said if you can get your hands on Masoli, you have to make sure you wrap him up and take him down.

“As a pass rusher, you got to keep him contained. You can’t let him get outside the pocket because Masoli is a good quarterback, he’ll get outside and extend plays like crazy,” Jeffcoat said, who had seven sacks in 2017.

“You see it time in and time out on film and when we played him. A guy like that, you got to keep him contained in the pocket and make him beat you in the pocket.”

Masoli gave the Bombers trouble in their last meeting, as he led the Ticats to a 30-13 victory at Investors Group Field on Oct. 6, 2017. Masoli threw two touchdown passes, completed 27 of 33 attempts for 338 yards and rushed for 48 yards.

Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall said it should be a different story this time around if they can control the line of scrimmage and not give up any explosive plays, which is exactly what his defence did last week in Montreal in an impressive 56-10 thrashing over the Alouettes.

Hall said Masoli is going to frustrate his team at times by turning broken plays into positive gains, but he believes more often than not, his defence can keep those plays in check.

“Nine out of 10 times, we’re going to be there. If we can do that consistently and make him do that, can he do it every time for four quarters? I’m going to say no. We just got to make sure we’re in position and finish when we have the opportunity,” Hall said.

Streveler named one of CFL’s top Week 2 performers

The CFL announced Tuesday that Streveler has been named a top performer for his impressive performance in the Bombers’ 56-10 Week 2 win over Montreal.

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Streveler completed 22 of 28 passes for 246 yards, connected on three touchdown passes and rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts.

Streveler was one of three players acknowledged for their strong performance in Week 2, as Mitchell and Masoli were also recognized as top performers. Streveler and Masoli will meet for the first time this Friday in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field for the Tiger-Cats’ home opener.

Bombers Hall of Famer Jim Washington Passes Away

Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hall of Fame running back Jim Washington passed away on the weekend at the age of 66. Washington was a two-time CFL all-star and was named the Bombers’ most outstanding player in 1976 and 1977.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.