Drew Willy may have been named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week following his clubs 45-21 victory over the Toronto Argonauts, but the quarterback got strong support from both his offensive line and another eye-opening surprise in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence. Swell Bottle Sale Canada . Nic Grigsby was superb in his CFL debut in Week 1, and the 25-year-old feels hes just getting started. "As the game went on my game started to come back," said Grigsby, who ran for 122 yards on 21 carries and added a pair of catches for 17. "It got a little slower. I still got a lot of stuff to get better on — just some little things and detail that coaches got on me about to be a better player and have a better game." The Bombers O-line opened up some wide lanes in the run game against the Argos. Winnipegs young tailback has history with one lineman in particular, who pulled from the right tackle spot to be the lead blocker on a couple big Grigsby gains up the middle. "Me and (Dan) Knapp, we went a long way (back)," said the University of Arizona product of his new favourite blocker. "We played against each other in college. He went to Arizona State, my rival, so when we got here in camp we bumped heads a little bit — not bumped heads — but just, you know, the rivalry-type stuff. But now were on the same team. Were in the same boat, and hes pulling for me and everything. I love them guys up front." The head coach isnt taken aback by Grigsbys impressive debut in the slightest. "Nope, didnt surprise me. Hes been steadily getting better all the way through camp," said Mike OShea. "My concern maybe early on was, he might not have taken advantage of every hole that was there, and now hes through it. It was just a matter of him getting comfortable with his vision, with his reads, and the CFL field — the size of it, I think. But hes done well." OShea is enamoured by Grigsbys ability to adapt and pick things up quickly. That goes double when youre protecting a lead late in the game. "One of the things thats impressive is, when were running that last three minutes and we have the ball and youre asking a guy to stay in bounds and slide, you know? For years and years and years American tailbacks come up here, they get in their first game and run out of bounds when we want that clock to run. You tell them and they still do it. But right away, I tell (Grigsby) once, he was sliding in bounds all the time making sure that clock kept running. Obviously hes an intelligent football player and took that instruction, basically in a three-second conversation, and applied it." With running back Will Ford still working to get back into game shape after a hamstring pull, and Paris Cotton out for a few weeks with a knee injury (hes been wearing a heavy brace in light on-field workouts during practice), Grigsbys fight to stay healthy enough to play has also impressed the coaching staff. "Its as good as its going to get right now," scoffed Grigsby playfully. "Everybody is banged-up and bruised. Nobodys at 100 per cent, I dont care who you are, (even) if youre a quarterback. Its day-to-day of getting better. Get your body in the cold tub, getting the therapy, and come ready to play. "You know youve got to be durable in this league. Its all about growing and depending on yourself to actually do the extra little things thats going to keep you on the field." This week sees another challenge, in that the Blue Bombers will try to prepare for their Week 2 opponent — the expansion Ottawa Redblacks — having minimal game film to study. Ottawa had a bye in Week 1. "Were going out there blind to the eye other than what the base preseason games are. And a lot of teams keep preseason really base," said Grigsby of the "vanilla" offence the Redblacks have shown. "Our coaching staff did a great job putting (video) cut-ups of the (Redblacks) coaches that they have now and what they did in the past, so were going to use that to our ability. Come game time there is that adjust-on-the-fly and be ready to go." NOTES: Eleven-year CFL veteran Korey Banks asked the team for his release this week after not securing a job in the teams starting lineup. The club has placed him on the suspended list indefinitely and flown him home to Atlanta... Mike OShea says he doesnt want to tinker too much with a lineup that looked pretty solid in Week 1. National cornerback Donovan Alexander may be ready to return following a calf injury, but Matt Bucknor will continue to start at field corner... Tailback Will Ford (hamstring) may be ready to go as well after missing both preseason games, but Nic Grigsby will start with the ball... Defensive backs Alex Suber (hamstring) and Marty Markett (high-ankle sprain) both still need time to recover and are again out this week... Slotback Cory Watson suffered a hamstring injury in the first half Thursday night and didnt return to the game. The 30-year-old will miss a week, at least, and it appears fellow national receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino, who hauled in a touchdown pass in Watsons second half absence, will start in his place... Defensive tackle Zach Anderson has missed some significant practice time this week with a heel contusion. OShea says he should be ready for the game... Another defensive tackle, Bryant Turner, has been excused from practice this week for the birth of his daughter. The 2013 Eastern All-Star is expected to play against Ottawa. If either Turner or Anderson are unable to go Thursday night, Kashawn Fraser is an option to come off the practice roster and dress. Swell Bottle Marble Black .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. Swell Water Bottle Sale Canada . - Kyle Wood and Barclay Goodrow scored second period power-play goals to provide all of the scoring for the North Bay Battalion in a 2-0 victory over the Erie Otters in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at [email protected]! Hello Mr. Fraser, In the Leafs and Pens game Wednesday night, it appeared that Evgeni Malkin pushed Leaf netminder Jonathan Bernier into the net before putting the puck in. Should this have been called goaltender interference resulting the goal being disallowed? Thank you!Andrew Shirtliff --- Hello Kerry, Was the game-tying goal by Malkin a good goal in your opinion? It looks like he pushed Bernier into the net with his forward motion before slapping the puck in the net. Not sure what the rule book says here and would like some clarification. Thank you! Ryan Sneek, Toronto Andrew and Ryan (and a vast multitude who submitted a question on this same play, I thank you), Evgeni Malkins game tying goal should have been disallowed by the referee(s) on two counts. (i) The puck slid under the pad of Leafs goalkeeper Jonathan Bernier as he established a butterfly position and made the initial save on Sidney Crosbys skate to stick redirection at the top of the crease. The puck remained trapped under Berniers pad (did not continue to slide toward the goal) constituting not only a "save" but a frozen puck with players crashing the crease. The whistle should have been blown to stop play in this instant or at the very least "intent to blow the whistle!" In fairness, a quick whistle was an unlikely option since the referee in the corner had a severely obstructed view looking through the backs of Crosby, and Leaf defendders Paul Ranger, Carl Gunnarson and Nazem Kadri. Swell Water Bottle Canada. What followed was a clear violation of rule 69 - Interference on the Goalkeeper. (ii) Rule 69.3 states, "If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed." (See also 69.6 - In the event that a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puck by an attacking player after making a stop, the goal will be disallowed) Evgeni Malkin used his stick intentionally and deliberately to push Berniers pad off the covered puck and in the process deposited both Bernier and the puck into the net. A conference should have been conducted by the four officials (standard operating procedure) and concluded from their various angles that goalkeeper interference had occurred and Bernier and the puck were illegally deposited into the net. While a minor penalty could have resulted to Evgeni Malkin for his deliberate and intentional contact with Jonathan Bernier (69.2) an argument could be made that Malkin was digging for what he thought to be a loose puck and no penalty would result. Either way (penalty or not) a clear violation of goalkeeper interference took place and the goal should have been waved off. This dirty goal is just another example for the ongoing need to allow the referee(s) to conduct a video review when goalkeeper interference is suspected. If a Coachs Challenge was allowed, Randy Carlyle would have rightly tossed the flag instead of just blowing a gasket to no avail. ' ' '
