What’s on the menu?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2015 (3073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First it was the breakfast of champions. Then it was a feast for kings.

To kick off Day 2 of festivities leading up to Sunday’s 103rd Grey Cup in Winnipeg, the Ottawa Redblacks and Edmonton Eskimos, the two teams vying for this year’s big prize, were treated to sit-down meals as part of an annual tradition where players get fed and members of the media get the chance to pick their brains before the big game.

First up were the Redblacks, winners of the East Division championship with a 35-28 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week, who filled their plates — and their faces — with a buffet of morning treats.

The Eskimos, who earned their ticket to the Grey Cup following a 45-31 win over the Calgary Stampeders in the West final, took part in a Thanksgiving-style lunch. With the chance to talk with a number of players and coaches, here’s some of the best stuff to come out of the day.

A HUMBLE BUNCH: It’s not every day you see four players on one CFL team eclipse 1,000 receiving yards.

In fact, it’s happened just three times in the CFL’s long history. That third team was the Ottawa Redblacks, who this season had Chris Williams (1,214), Greg Ellingson (1,071), Ernest Jackson (1,036) and Brad Sinopoli (1,035) all reach the 1,000-yard mark.

Besides perhaps defensive backs, receivers can be some of the cockiest groups in professional football. All week, the Redblacks have been asked about their extraordinary feat.

“For us, it’s an expectation. When you do something that you don’t expect, that’s when you get excited about it,” Ellingson said. “You’re not excited about a big catch or a guy getting 100 yards, you’re just hoping to get the win. It’s how the outside world looks at it, the production. If we had this production and didn’t win all these games, it wouldn’t really mean much.”

GROWING UP: Eskimos defensive end Odell Willis admits he’s grown up since his time in Winnipeg. Willis, once the self-proclaimed Mayor of Swaggerville, the name the Bombers gave their defence while putting up big numbers during the 2011 season, admitted Thursday he’s a different person now.

“I was always all about me,” he said. “I used to think if I could go and get four or five sacks we’ll win, but it’s been proven you can’t. As I got older, just sitting back and looking and just listening more than when I was running my mouth, I learned a lot of things.”

Edmonton head coach Chris Jones said he met with Willis before he became a member of the Eskimos in 2013, just to make sure the two were on the same page.

“He knows the things he can and can’t do with our football team. It’s one of those things where the first couple years in the league he had a lot of things he had to learn,” said Jones. “Now that he’s grown and matured somewhat, he knows when he can be Odell and when he needs to be a really good football player.”

FALLING INTO PLACE: Things certainly seem to be working out for former Bombers offensive lineman Chris Greaves. Greaves, who was traded to Edmonton midway through the season, said the move came as a bit of a surprise, but he carries no ill will towards his old club.

“You just never think it’s going to happen to you,” he said.

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Not that there’s much to complain about.

After all, he’s back in Winnipeg playing in the biggest game of the season.

And he’s not the only guy who has benefited from being deemed disposable by the Bombers this year.

Ettore Lattanzio, a defensive lineman who was released by the Bombers just months after the team took him in the fifth round of the CFL Draft, is currently on the Redblacks practice roster. The native of Ottawa has two tackles and one sack this season.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

   Read full biography