Oh, and defensive end Chima Ihekwoaba, whose injury history is certainly of concern to CFL personnel folks, is out for at least a month with a banged-up shoulder.
Laurier's next two games are against McMaster and Ottawa, plus their October docket includes Guelph and Queen's. The Golden Hawks have gone at least 6-2 every season since Gary Jeffries was permanently hired as coach in 2003, but it might be hard to continue that streak.
Armchair offensive coordinators have already picked a lot of nicks with Laurier's playcalling (could a computer model help?) ... and now they might have to go with a first-time starting QB, left-hander Evan Pawliuk.
As the Record noted:
"... Evan Pawliuk, put up Thompson-esque numbers (that’s not a good thing) on Saturday, completing seven of 17 pass attempts for 94 yards and a pick."Using the injured QB's name as an adjective, that kind of hurts.
Irony: A few months back, it was tempting to joke that Laurier was a talented team with an unsettled situation at quarterback, just like another purple and gold-wearing team, the Minnesota Vikings. Then the Vikings got Brett Favre and the joke didn't seem as funny.
A little trickeration
Incidentally, Waterloo isn't suffering from a lack of imagination on offence. It scored a 75-yard touchdown vs. Laurier off a "bounce lateral." That's basically where a swing pass is intentionally thrown backwards and short of the receiver, who tries to gull the defence into thinking it was an incomplete forward pass. He then scoops the ball up and throws downfield, similar to the double pass.
Some would say it's one thing to have a play where a non-quarterback is the passer, but having one that tries to trick the defence into thinking the play is over is a little chintzy. What do coaches say, though? "Play to the whistle."
Related:
News goes from bad to worse for grid Hawks (Christine Rivet, Kitchener-Waterloo Record)
Kitchener-Waterloo Record
ReplyDeleteWhoa, careful, it's the Waterloo Region Record now. They already hate us enough in Cambridge.
From the article: "I didn’t see a large contingent of students from the University of Waterloo at the game," [Peter] Baxter said. "Maybe they just got used to watching games at their own field."
This is a nice little dig, actually, at Waterloo's fans. They won't walk ten minutes for a free-admission game; walking 15 for a $5 game is really just too much to ask.