Blue beasts bust out of cage

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This article was published 26/10/2009 (5807 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NFL Hall of Famer Deacon Jones perfected it and players have been chasing it like children chase candy on Halloween ever since.

The sack.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a couple of kids of their own on the defensive line who have quickly become a focal point with their speed and never-ending supply of energy.

Odell Willis and Phillip Hunt each had a pair of sacks in Saturday’s improbable blowout of the Montreal Alouettes as they chased quarterback Adrian McPherson all afternoon. If the Bombers are to have similar success in the rematch in Montreal this weekend, Willis and Hunt will likely have to find a way to tether the league’s best player in Anthony Calvillo and that’s an altogether different task.

Calvillo took the day off in Winnipeg while nursing a tender calf muscle, but after watching his club lose just their third game of the season and first to an East Division opponent, the odds-on favourite to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player will be thinking about revenge.

Willis, who has nine sacks and is just back of the league lead of 11 shared by several players, and Hunt — three sacks — might have enough game to give Calvillo some difficulty.

“They have to put three-on-two on the interior and then that leaves the tackles all alone on our defensive ends. I’ll take that mismatch almost every time. Our guys have great explosiveness, they play with great desire and they really gave (Montreal’s) tackles some problems,” said Bombers coach Mike Kelly, who watched his team move to 7-9 and stay locked in a second-place tie in the East with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the regular season moves into its final two weeks.

“If we see Anthony, we won’t let him relax and set up back there. We’ll ask our young guys to give him some trouble.”

Willis came over to the Bombers in a mid-season trade with the Calgary Stampeders says he and Hunt are having some fun.

“They’re a good offensive line and me and Phillip have big shoes to fill behind (injured veterans Fred Perry and Gavin Walls). We wanted to come out and play hard and you can see the results,” said Willis.

Willis, who has to be getting some attention for rookie of the year honours, has developed a unique sack celebration and has been uncorking it plenty of late. Following a sack, he squats down low and then takes his hands and mimes the sun coming out.

“That’s just letting the beast out,” explained Willis. “You let a beast out of the cage into the light, they’re just happy to see the daylight. They’ve never seen the light before. When you let it out, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Kelly, who has spent the last several days fighting a flu bug and was chugging Pepto-Bismol on the sidelines Saturday, said his rookies are having success, but have some work to do.

“They made a lot of mistakes but they’re going to make plays. They’re wound tight and they’ll make plays,” said Kelly. “These guys are really still learning where to line up. What technique to use. When to shuffle and when to explode. They just have to be a little more disciplined.”

Hunt said the importance of Saturday’s game gave him and Willis extra jump.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca