The solution to stopping Arland Bruce III on Friday night might look pretty simple on paper.
In reality, though, it’s a lot more difficult.
Bruce leads the Canadian Football League with 744 receiving yards and has five touchdowns for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who will be at the Rogers Centre in four days for a game with the Argos that is being billed as Rivalry Night.
Argonauts cornerback Byron Parker never has played against Bruce, as they were teammates in Toronto until former Toronto head coach Bart Andrus made his biggest blunder of the 2009 season and decided Bruce was not a proper fit for the offence. (And as it turned out, Andrus was right.
Talented
Bruce was too talented for anything the Argos were trying to do). Bruce was traded to Hamilton that July.
“He is great after the catch,” Parker said.
“If you give him the ball at five yards, he is good at turning it into 10 yards, 15 yards, or a long run for a touchdown. We just have to wrap him up and get him to the ground and not let him get extra yards.”
Parker often had the job of covering Bruce in practice, so nothing Bruce is doing now is eye-opening.
“It’s Arland being Arland,” Parker said. “Is anybody surprised? Because I’m not. Since I have known him, he has always torn up the league.
“Making plays is something he does. I’ve just never had the chance to hit him before.”
— Koshan
