It was fitting, just right, that Jeff Johnson and Bryan Crawford put their football skills together against the Montreal Alouettes last week to give the Argonauts a huge play on special teams.
Johnson, at the line of scrimmage, saw how the Alouettes were lining up and called for a fake punt. Crawford took the snap directly, wheeled around to his left, and broke down the field for a 42-yard gain.
Just one play, but it brought to light the importance of Johnson, the longest-serving Canadian Football League player on the Argos roster, and Crawford, the special-teams captain, to the unit.
And Johnson, a 33-year-old native of Toronto, expects more of the same from the group as a whole.
“We had been practising it from the beginning of the season, so I knew everyone was on the same page,” Johnson said. “We had the look a couple of times, so I told the guys to be alert, keep your ears peeled back and get the wax out, because I might call it.
“It worked beautifully and it’s a rewarding thing, but it starts from everybody understanding what they are doing, and that starts with our (special-teams) coach, Mike O’Shea. He has done a great job trying to parlay what the big picture is.
“Sometimes the special-teams guys fly under the radar, but we have a system where I believe special-teams guys are going to be in the limelight a lot this year.”
For Crawford, a 28-year-old Hamilton native who missed the Argos’ most recent Grey Cup title in 2004 by one season, the run was the longest of his career.
In fact, Crawford’s season-high for rushing was eclipsed, as he had run for no more than the 35 yards he collected in 2006.
“It’s nice to get credit now and then, but when it comes right down to it, all the guys wearing jerseys know what you do on daily basis,” Crawford, the Argos’ special-teams tackles leader with nine, said. “I have just been a special teamer for the six years I have been here, and I really enjoy that role. I take a lot of pride in the performance of the unit as a whole and get really bothered when we don’t perform well.”
Like Johnson, Crawford pointed to the hiring of O’Shea, another Canadian, as a crucial decision by head coach Jim Barker. O’Shea isn’t happy simply with putting his unit on the field and expect that it blocks and tackles properly.
“Osh thinks beyond what is the average,” Crawford said. “Everybody draws up returns and schemes, but he thinks to the next level — what else is there we can do, what are some of the other wrinkles we can accomplish.
“He also puts the trust in his players to execute the job and be able to respond on the fly. Some people, coaches or players, go into a game and play passive, especially on special teams.”
But O’Shea wouldn’t be giving players such as Johnson and Crawford the green light if he thought there was a strong possibility that tricks such as the fake punt would fall flat.
“He believes in us, so what is there to hold you back?” Johnson, in his 11th CFL season, said. “It helps everybody’s confidence, and you can just go out and make the call.”
Johnson has started to think of life after football and talks to his wife, Kelly, about the possibility every off-season that the end of his career could be around the corner. He’s just having too much fun to take thoughts of retirement seriously.
“I go out and run around on a field, and I get a cheque at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “Only a few people get a chance to do something like this, and I will do it as long as I can.”
terry.koshan@sunmedia.ca
