Kicking butts and taking names

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This article was published 25/07/2018 (2656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re judging by the usual metrics, there’s nothing special about Blue Bombers defensive tackle Cory Johnson’s season.

After six games, the 26-year-old native of Columbia, S.C., has five defensive tackle and no sacks. As a rookie in 2017, he registered five sacks and 20 tackles in 16 games. But the numbers really don’t tell the story.

“He’s dominating up there, getting triple-teamed all the time so for a second-year guy to make an impact like that, it’s big,” said fellow sophomore Jovan Santos-Knox, a linebacker, Wednesday afternoon. “We know we’re needed and we carry ourselves like that.”

Rival offensive co-ordinators are scheming to deal with Johnson, whose disruptive influence and ability to occupy blockers has been evident to Santos on the field and in the film room. The extra attention is well earned.

“He’s seen (the triple teams) before but you can really see they’re dialing in on our interior (defensive line) because they’re such a force out there,” said Santos-Knox. “They’re not letting Poop (Johnson) get free. They didn’t know who he was last year but now they know who his is. He’s not getting free upfield rushes or one-on-ones. They know they’ve gotta double or triple (team) him because he’s that dominant. That’s a testament to how much he’s grown over the full year.” 

The gregarious Johnson, a member of Winnipeg’s three-man defensive tackle rotation that also includes Drake Nevis and Jake Thomas, isn’t short on confidence. He practically oozes swagger.

“Last year I cause a lot of trouble on the inside because I was new to the league,” said Johnson. “So I guess now on the inside, they know I’m going to make some trouble so they can’t just let me run free. One-on-one, if you give me five one-on-ones, I’m winning four.”

The difference between Johnson now and the rookie model comes down mostly to experience.

“Last year, I’d have like 10 mistakes a game compared to this year where I have none,” said Johnson with a laugh.

Head coach Mike O’Shea is thrilled with Johnson’s improvement. The 6-2, 283-pounder has helped to kickstart a Winnipeg defensive unit that looked vulnerable in the opening three games of the regular season.

The Blue Bombers have been tough on the run and are getting better with their pass defence, owing in large part to a powerful pass rush supplemented by the consistent work of defensive ends Tristan Okpalaugo, Craig Roh and Jackson Jeffcoat.

“It’s just a guy who’s in his second year so I do believe he’s limited his number of mistakes quite a bit, he’s on point quite a bit more,” said O’Shea. “His pursuit level is through the roof, he’s running all the time during the play and after the ball is thrown. His motor has increased quite a bit.

“So if you’re in the right place more and you’ve got a higher motor, you’re going to have more effect on the game. I’m not so sure that position produces a pile of stats, so it might go unnoticed.” 

Johnson has raised his play and he also talks a good game on the field. His approach is very basic.

“Most times I talk when somebody say something,” said Johnson. “It’s like a pride thing. I can’t let them talk because they trying to get in my head. I try to be the bully ball… Yeah, I get into a lot of players’ heads and I can tell I get into their heads.”

RAISING THEIR GAME

The Blue Bombers held Toronto to 173 net yards on offence and 22 yards on the ground in Week 6. What do they have in store for the Argos in Friday’s rematch at Investors Group Field?

“We’re going to have to do what we did last time, get pressure on (quarterback James Franklin) and make him throw it deep,” said Santos-Knox. “He likes to throw check-downs, too, so it’s hard to say, but we’ve got great guys in the secondary so I’m confident that if he throws it deep we’ve got it covered.”

Santos-Knox and defensive back Brandon Alexander have become key contributors after taking on heavy workloads as rookies.

“I actually talk to Brandon about it all the time, how night-and-day different from last year it is,” said Santos-Knox. “From seeing your reads, the game’s just slowed down so much. That’s a testament to our coaching staff and the vets we have a round us.”

Winnipeg’s defence is allowing an average of 317 net yards of offence and 19.8 offensive points per game, good for second in the CFL in both categories. Santos-Knox credits the pass rush.

“We can flow more because we’ve got guys up there causing chaos,” said Santos-Knox, who is fourth in the league with 29 tackles. “That’s what they do… Craig (Roh), Tristan (Okpalaugo) and Jackson (Jeffcoat). No O-line wants to see those guys.”

Added O’Shea: “I think we’re consistently getting more pressure. I don’t know if that adds up to more sacks but I don’t know that we should worry about those stats. The look and the feel of pressure is more important.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca  Twitter: @sawa14