Two of the Riders' players commanding plenty of attention at today's media availability in Edmonton were slotback Chris Getzlaf, whose 109 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches were key to Saskatchewan's West Final win over Calgary to set up this matchup, and punter Eddie Johnson, whose status as "The Most Interesting Punter In The World" is only growing firmer by the moment. Both had some interesting things to say. For Getzlaf, one of the key topics was the strength of Montreal's defence."Across the board, they're really good," Getzlaf said. "They don't really have a weak spot in their defence."
He said the physical presence Montreal brings on defence can make it tough to run routes against them.
"They have strong DBs," he said. "They're able to block you pretty good, which hinders you a bit."
Getzlaf isn't particularly intimidated, though. He's confident Montreal will play well, but he's sure he can raise his own game to match them.
"They're going to win some plays, I'm going to win some plays," he said. "That's just football."
One storyline sure to be a hot topic this week is the weather. It's around -14 degrees in Edmonton today, with the wind chill making that feel like -28 or so. It is predicted to warm up slightly by Sunday, with a recent forecast of -8 by kickoff. Getzlaf said the weather can have an impact, especially for receivers, but he doesn't expect it to play a huge factor this weekend.
"From what I hear, it's supposed to warm up, so I don't think it will affect us much at all. It should be similar to last year," he said. "Obviously when you're cold it's harder to catch the football, but you've just got to find a way to keep your body warm and make plays."
A crucial key to Saskatchewan's success so far has been the depth of their receiving corps. Andy Fantuz led the league in receiving yards this season with 1,380, and Weston Dressler was eighth overall with 1,189, but Getzlaf, Cary Koch, Jason Clermont and the now-injured Rob Bagg all had spectacular moments. Getzlaf said the Saskatchewan offence is always aware of what a defence might do, and their depth allows them to spread the ball around if certain receivers are heavily covered. He said that's why he saw so many passes against Calgary.
"In our previous game against Calgary, they put [Brandon] Browner on Fantuz and rotated a safety, sometimes two over to help him out," Getzlaf said. "You've got to know as a receiver that they're going to be doing man to man coverage on you, and you've got to win that."
Much of Saskatchewan's depth has come from Canadian receivers, with Getzlaf (brother of NHL star Ryan), Fantuz, Bagg and Clermont all counting as non-imports. It's rare to see that amount of Canadian talent at one position on one team. Getzlaf said part of it's excellent scouting and player evaluation, but part of it has to do with how the Riders support each other.
"I think a lot of it has to do with who they bring in," he said. "It's a tribute to the guys in the locker room that we talk so well together and work so well together that it helps to bring guys up in the system."
Getzlaf played two years of CIS football with the Regina Rams. He said he was thrilled to hear that the CIS Vanier Cup will be held in conjunction with the Grey Cup in 2011, as that should lead to further recognition for the university game.
"I think that's cool," he said. "I think that will bring more publicity to the CIS, which it needs. The CIS over and over is producing more players now, and I think the level of the game is getting more respect."
Getzlaf said he thinks the quality of the CIS product has improved since his time with the Rams, which ended when Hamilton drafted him in 2007. He made the jump to the CFL quite quickly, dressing for his first two games with Hamilton and then sticking on the practice roster all year with first Hamilton, then Saskatchewan.
"I think it's a better league now," Getzlaf said. "I only got to play two years in CIS, but I think it's growing year after year and producing more players that can come up and actually contribute."
Saskatchewan punter Eddie Johnson, native of California, asked why it's called the Grey Cup: "I'm assuming the cup would be grey."
Johnson's sense of humour certainly doesn't seem to be affected by the cold too much, and he doesn't seem too unhappy about it in general either. The forecast calls for temperatures of 16 degrees Celsius in Laguna Beach Sunday rather than the chilly ones in Edmonton, but Johnson said he's happy to be here instead. He said he's counting on his mustache to keep him warm, even if he has to keep pulling ice out of it.
Most of the Riders' players were being entirely serious most of the time, but Johnson was having a blast and delivering jokes right, left and centre.One of his best was about his arrival in Regina, which he claimed was due to a Craigslist ad.
"It said punter for hire, with stache, will travel," Johnson said.
I somehow doubt that's exactly how Johnson got here, but he's certainly proven to be a capable punter while with the Riders (even if he wasn't quite able to pull off a game-winning single). He definitely has plenty of personality, too, and he was even combing his mustache on camera today (and parting TSN's Ryan Rishaug's hair as well). He's growing the 'stache for Movember to raise funds for prostate cancer research, but he said it has on-field benefits that help his punting too.
"With the 'stache, the ball gets scared."
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