Maurice Leggett was holding court with a couple media members the other day when the conversation turned to Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.
More specifically, the discussion focused on Mitchell’s not-so-subtle swagger, that confidence that just seems to ooze from him. And it was at that point the old saying about respecting everyone, but fearing no one was referenced.
“I respect him,” began Leggett, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker. “I respect all players, but him especially. I haven’t been getting a lot of action (passes thrown to his side) this season. It’s a respect factor and I’m appreciative of it. And I respect Bo Levi because he’s like, ‘You’re elite. I want to try and beat you.’ I feel like he’s going to go at me a lot more often because everyone says I’m elite and he’s going to test it. He’s going to test it out and I’m going to test him out as well.”
“I know he’s going to bring it. I know he’s figuring out ways to scheme me. It’s a chess match. We have our own fraternity as players. We talk and it’s fun… it makes the game fun.”
There’s a lot at stake for the Bombers as they head into Calgary for a stiff test this weekend. They want to erase last week’s ugly effort in a 44-21 loss to the Ottawa REDBLACKS, and at the same time, re-establish themselves not only as a Canadian Football League contender, but a squad that could legitimately threaten the Stampeders rule of the West Division.
It all comes back to the weekly scrap for respect, in short. And nobody in the Bombers clubhouse plays the ‘fight-for-respect’ angle more often and more effectively than Leggett.
“I’m a fighter. From my life growing up I’ve always been like that, about proving everyone wrong,” he explained. “I have to look myself in the mirror every day and so that’s why I try and give it my all on each and every play, each and every game. That’s what I always want to do: fight for my team.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ll say this: there’s no switch. You’re playing football, so if you’re not there mentally, you’re not there. I look at it like you are putting in all this work and if I’m not ready to play then I’m wasting my time, wasting my teammates time, wasting my coaches’ time.
“This is how I feed my family. This is how I support my family. Mix that with your love of the game and then there’s nothing else to it.”
Needless to say – but we’ll say it anyway – Leggett never has any difficulty getting amped up for a game. And in that respect, it would be beneficial if his approach over the last few days might rub off on some of his teammates, especially after last week’s sloppy and indifferent effort against Ottawa.
“They’re elite,” said Leggett of the Stamps. “Very disciplined. We have to make less mistakes than they do. It’s regular season and we’re still fighting for a playoff position and they’re in our way right now. That’s how we see it. That’s the key factor for us in the game: make less mistakes than they do.
“A must win? I feel like every game is a must win. I feel like we should go undefeated and win every game, because if you don’t think like that then we’ll just play the ones that we know we can win and admit defeat. We’re not a submissive team. We just need to expect to win every game, every play… not just every game, but every play. Expect to win, no matter how hard it is we have to find a way to get that ‘W.’”
BOMBER REPORT | August 23, 2018
NEW EDICT FROM CFL HQ:
The CFL announced Thursday a rule change, indicating it’s ‘relaxing its standard for touchdown celebrations by removing the blanket prohibition on the use of props.
“The stakes in our league are very high and the intensity level is second to none,” said Commissioner Randy Ambrosie in a release. “But at the end of the day, football is a game and it should be fun for players and fun for fans.”
What this means is, effective immediately, props can be used in a TD celebration – provided they aren’t hidden in a player’s uniform or in the padding around the goal post, and that they are not demeaning or discriminatory or simulate the firing of a weapon or ‘unduly’ delay the game. The league will still prohibit any TD celebration that applies to the broader standards and rules for objectionable conduct, including unnecessary contact with the officials, throat slashes or any action ‘with a sexual connotation.’
All of this is to say that the TD celebration by Darvin Adams of the Bombers which should have been called a penalty last week, but was not – he grabbed a TSN camera and began to film teammates – would now be allowed. Although, the league did add this in its revision:
“… players who choose to use a prop such as a hand-held television camera or other private property assume liability should that property be damaged.”
Over to you, Mr. Adams…
“It wasn’t like I was taking it from him, he gave it to me,” said Adams with a grin. “We were just having fun and went with the flow. I was just trying to get my guys on the screen. It’s anything to ignite our team and give us more juice and have more fun, because that’s what we’re about.”
Adams said he wasn’t aware that what he did last week would have been a penalty.
“I would never try and put the team in jeopardy to get a penalty,” he said. “We’re trying to be a penalty-free team, even though we also want to have fun and do our thing. We want to be penalty free and smart.”
Clips of Adams’ nap-time TD celebration from a year ago still occasionally pop up on highlight or ‘best-of’ videos. And the veteran receiver insists there is no pre-planning involved.
“That wasn’t even planned, either,” he said. “That just happened in the spur of the moment. I don’t know… whatever comes next might just come out.”
The final word on this comes from Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, who was asked if he would now encourage his players to be creative in their TD celebrations.
“Does it look like I encourage guys to do that?” he said with a chuckle. “I want them to do whatever is best for their teammates. If that means having fun, then have some fun.”
OUCH UPDATE:
The Bombers held a closed practice on Thursday, but expect Manase Foketi to replace Jermarcus Hardrick at right tackle. It will mark Foketi’s first game action since 2016.
“We’ve seen it on a regular basis for a long time: he’s extremely athletic,” said O’Shea of Foketi. “He’s a starter that happens to be behind a starter. We feel very confident in him. We like him, that’s why he’s been around here for so long. We’re fortunate he’s stuck around for so long. There’s nothing we’re looking for to see if he’s got it or doesn’t have it – we know he’s got it.”
TOUGH NUT TO CRACK:
The Stampeders continue to be the toughest team to score against, yielding just 15.2 points per game and ranking first in fewest yards allowed overall and against the pass while ranking second to Hamilton against the run.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Matt Nichols. “Obviously, you don’t have those kind of defensive stats… that’s not a fluke. They’re a very talented, veteran unit. Same D coordinator for a few years and when you have that continuity, they just play so well together.
“They do a lot of things that other teams mess up from time to time and give you a freebie. They just seem to never mess up and you’ve got to earn everything you get against them, that’s for sure.”
