Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
Henry Burris realizes the sand is running out of the hour glass of his football career.
That might explain why the veteran quarterback is so anxious to begin his 17th CFL season. Burris played a key role in the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ Cinderella march to the 2015 Grey Cup. Losing the final 26-20 to the Edmonton Eskimos made for a long winter.
“I’m definitely anxious to get going,” said last year’s CFL most outstanding player. “You come so close, you can actually reach out and touch it. Especially where we came from the year prior, to make it to where we did last year, it keeps that hunger.
“To get so close last year and be able to accomplish so much is a big reason why . . . I’m only motivated to be better than I was last year.”
Marcel Desjardins, the REDBLACKS’ general manager, appreciates the anticipation building as the rabid Ottawa fans wait for the new season to begin.
“Our expectations even last year were to win the Grey Cup,” he said. “For us that remains our objective.
“The only thing that might be a little different, coming off our inaugural season and a poor record, maybe people took us a little lightly. That won’t be the case this time around.”
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Ottawa stumbled to a 2-16 record in its inaugural 2014 season while Burris endured his worst season statistically in 11 years. The two-time all-star turned any doubters to believers in 2015 when he led the CFL with career highs in passing yards (5,693), completions (481) and attempts (678). That helped propel Ottawa to a 12-6 record and first place in the East Division.
Burris knows last year will be a hard act to follow but welcomes the expectations that have been placed on both him and the team.
“You embrace that,” he said. “If it’s a burden you are probably losing.”
The REDBLACKS underwent some changes in the off-season. Gone is Canadian defensive end Justin Capicciotti, who led Ottawa with 12 sacks; defensive back Jovon Johnson, who had five interceptions; veteran defensive lineman Keith Shologan; offensive lineman Colin Kelly; and wide receiver Maurice Price.
Desjardins expects players like Zach Evans, Jonathan Williams and Connor Williams, who were injured last year, to shore up the defensive line.
“We are going to have several changes on defence,” he said. “We also feel we had some key pieces here that really didn’t play last year who are going to able to step up.”
The offence managed to stay mostly intact. The biggest difference is Jaime Elizondo being hired as offensive co-ordinator, taking over from Jason Maas who was hired as Edmonton’s head coach.
Elizondo was the receivers coach with Toronto last season and previously was the Argonauts’ offensive co-ordinator. He also was a receivers and assistant special teams coach with Montreal.
Burris doesn’t expect Elizondo to make any major changes to Ottawa’s offensive scheme.
“It will be the same,” he said. “He will bring his wrinkles and add his flavor to the system.
“He understands this offence. We will make some adjustments and learn some nuances he is going to bring.”
“Coming off our inaugural season . . . maybe people took us a little lightly. That won’t be the case this time around.”
Marcel Desjardins
Desjardins said the offence will benefit from a third season of working together.
“The system is going to remain the same,” he said. “I see our offence continuing to progress.
“When you install a system in the first year, you’re not necessarily going to be able to do everything you want to do.”
The acquisition of free-agent quarterback Trevor Harris gives the REDBLACKS an insurance policy this season and a peak at what their future might be. The 29-year-old Harris threw for 4,354 yards and a league-high 33 touchdowns in 17 games for Toronto last year.
“Henry Burris has played pretty much complete seasons everywhere he’s been, but that’s certainly not the norm,” said Desjardins. “For us to know we have a bonafide guy ready to go if we need that, that gives everybody a very big sense of relief.
“The fact that both Trevor and Henry understand the situation makes it something we know will function well.”
Burris dismisses any suggestion of feeling pressure from Harris’s presence.
“I really don’t focus on that,” he said. “I know a lot of people are trying to throw the word competition out there.
“This is my 21st season (of football). The only thing I’m competing with is trying to win a championship right now. We are going to work together . . . and work toward making that championship happen.”
Burris has been in four Grey Cups during his career, winning in 1998 and 2008 in Calgary. Helping a young Ottawa team win a championship “would mean everything.”
“To share that with the kids, that’s why I play this game still,” he said. “To be able to win together, definitely in a city like Ottawa, that would be the icing on the cake for me. It would be the pinnacle of everything I have been trying to make happen.”
Whether a championship this year would be enough to convince Burris to retire is another question. Ottawa wants to host the 2017 Grey Cup; a game Burris would love to play in as a REDBLACK.
“It’s all based on how my body feels,” he said. “If my body continues to feel like it does right now, I should be able to play another couple of years without any problem.”
