BISHOP TAKES QB
Sack streak at six games
If you listen to DeVone Claybrooks, you can thank the guys who gum up the middle on the Calgary Stampeders’ defensive line. According to Rich Stubler, it’s due the defensive backs’ coverage.
Freddie Bishop III is fine with either rationale.
“Hey man, a lot of things have to go right for a guy to get sacks,’’ chortled the third- year defensive end. “Coach Claybrooks was right AND Coach Stubes was right. It all works together.’’
It’s been working so well for Bishop this season that, between he and Charleston Hughes, they’ve become the fiercest pair of bookends in the league with nine quarterback sacks apiece.
The 25- year- old Bishop has in fact recorded one in each of his last six outings, hopeful of rudely greeting Mike Reilly and extending that skein on Saturday against the Edmonton Eskimos.
“As a former player, it is definitely in the back of your mind,’’ Claybrooks, in charge of the D- line, said of the streak. “But a lot of things about sacks you can’t control ... and that’s why sacks are overrated.
“But he’s got a good streak going and the best thing about it is that he’s doing it within the schematics of the defence. He’s not taking a chance on his own. He’s doing it within the realm of what we’ve asked him to do and that’s what’s been the pleasant part.
“We’ve always known that he was that type of player. That’s why when the opportunity arose to let him grow and take a step up and become a starter, we jumped at it because we know what we had in him. He’s only scratched the surface because he’s still trying to grow and learn the position himself. The sky’s the limit for the kid.’’
Bishop’s progression has indeed been meteoric. Last season, playing in the shadow of Shawn Lemon, he appeared in 10 games for the Stamps, recording three sacks. He has, needless to say, slipped into that role seamlessly.
“It’s beautiful,’’ he concurred. “I’m just trying to be successful, trying to be the best I can be and just busting my hump to get to the quarterback. Luckily, I’ve been blessed with a great defensive line that can help me get there.
“Across the board you just have to respect us. With me on the edge, Charleston on the other edge, Micah ( Johnson), Junior ( Turner), ( Derek) Wiggan ... you have to respect everyone on the line. With that being said, we’re all rushing and we’re all hungry, so it’s eventually going to come free.
“Sometime they’re going to run my way, let him ( Hughes) free. Sometime they come his way ... everybody eats.’’
Claybrooks gets to see and work with first- hand a formidable line which has just become more finely-tuned as the season has evolved. And in Bishop and Hughes, he has a dynamic duo.
“Stats- wise, I think we’ll be the only ones who end up with two guys in double digits ( sacks), before it’s all said and done,’’ he pointed out. “But they do a good job of rushing together in tandem. But the guys on the inside make it work and the guys on the outside get all the glory and come up with the goofy dances.
“The guys who don’t get the glory are the guys on the inside that do all the grunt work, that make sure they look so pretty.
“A lot of guys focus on Charleston, but with the guys we have inside and Bish on the outside playing at the level he’s playing, you pick your poison and that’s why we’re humming up front.’’
With other guys getting into the action — Johnson has three sacks, as does backup Brandon Boudreaux — the Stamps have moved to second in the league in that department with 38, second only to the Ottawa Redblacks’ 44.
The next challenge is to corner the quick- footed and equally quick- witted Reilly.
“Mike Reilly’s a great quarterback,’’ praised Bishop. “He knows how to work the pocket, he’s elusive, knows how to get away from guys.
“We’re going to do our best to try and keep him in the cup and get after him, let it not be easy back there.’’
When the opportunity arose to let him grow and take a step up and become a starter, we jumped at it because we know what we had in him. He’s only scratched the surface ...
Weights, the bike and the Downwardfacing Dog.
That’s the new exercise regimen for today’s football player. Or even some of the old- timers. Quarterback Henry Burris, after his recordsetting performance last Thursday, credited yoga for keeping him in the finest form at 40.
Seems the Calgary Stampeders are in on that wave as well.
The offensive line makes yoga classes a ritual and that’s a visual in itself ... 6- foot, 300- pound- plus guys in Happy Baby Pose.
“I think the benefits are it keeps you flexible, it keeps your muscles released,” suggested left guard Shane Bergman. “It allows you to bend in positions you don’t normally; when you’re on the field, your body is able to adapt and you’re able to bounce back from a hard hit.”
Jon Cornish is another discipline.
“The benefits are infinite,” the running back proclaimed. “Watching Henry Burris play over the last few weeks, because I’ve been watching him more closely, I realize that he has been doing something for his mental game. Football players, you go to practice, you go to games throughout your life and nobody ever tells you do anything other than get in the game plan and work out, practice harder.
“It’s so easy to have a limited perspective when those are the only things you’re told to do,” added Cornish, who pointed out how beneficial yoga and meditation were to Phil Jackson and both his Chicago Bulls and L. A. Lakers. “So a few years ago I wanted to diversify my game. I know Joffrey Reynolds always did yoga and it was part of his longevity.
“Yoga was created as a preparation for meditation. You have a relaxed body, your mind will relax naturally. That’s the part that plays in my life. I use it to relax myself, where my mind is fluid and open to things that can happen in a football game.”
There are myriad poses, some easier, some a real killer.
“Back home, there’s a day where it’s difficult and a day where it’s relaxation yoga,” explained Bergman. “So I like the relaxation yoga the best. When you go to the difficult one, I’m the only pro athlete there and there are a lot of people who can do those positions that I can’t do.
“Myself personally, I just do what she says to the best of my ability. I don’t really feel the zen or whatever it’s called.”
Cornish, in contrast, has — just as he has on the playing field — a definite goal. “I’ve been working on getting in full Lotus for a long time,” he noted. “I have big legs and inflexible hips — at least they were inflexible — so I seek by the time I’m 40 to get into a full Lotus.”
TORONTO DATE UP IN AIR
As of Tuesday, it still was not determined where the Stamps would meet up with the Toronto Argonauts, who have already been displaced once because of the Blue Jays’ playoffs. Last night, the Argos switched their home game against the Redblacks to Ottawa.
Their date with the Stamps, Oct. 17, is expected to be moved to Hamilton. Head coach/ GM John Hufnagel will take it as it comes.
“I don’t think the wind will be as bad as the last time we were there,” joked Hufnagel.
ANDERSON, RICHARDSON WELCOMED
The Stamps made some personnel moves on Tuesday. Added to the practice roster were international receiver Joe Anderson and international defensive back Shaquille Richardson. Released were international quarterback Austin Dodge and national defensive lineman Brandon Tett.
The Stamps will retain the rights to Tett, who was chosen in the 2015 supplementary draft.
Anderson played nine games in two seasons with the Chicago Bears, as well as a month with Hamilton in 2014. Richardson, a fifth- round selection by Pittsburgh in the 2014 NFL draft, attended 2015 training camp with Winnipeg.