How Redblacks' receiver Geno Lewis can offset impact of Tiger-Cats star receiver Kenny Lawler

Article content

For the Ottawa Redblacks to enter their bye week with a much-needed victory in a game on which their season might hinge, they have to prevent the CFL’s top receiver from beating them for the second time in eight days.

And they have to do it with a second starting cornerback gone from their injury-depleted secondary.

Recommended Videos

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

How Redblacks' receiver Geno Lewis can offset impact of Tiger-Cats star receiver Kenny Lawler Back to video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

But there is a game within the game that could go a long way in determining the outcome of the Redblacks’ showdown with the East Division-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats at TD Place on Sunday evening.

It also features Kenny Lawler, who is either Hamilton’s most dangerous offensive weapon or ranks as 1A with quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.

In five games, Lawler has 30 catches for 578 yards, which not only leads the league but is more than 200 more yards than the next most productive receiver (Winnipeg’s Nic Demski) of those who have only played five games.

With seven touchdowns, he already has set a career high in touchdowns for one season.

In the Tiger-Cats’ 23-20 victory over Ottawa last Saturday at Hamilton Stadium, Lawler caught six passes for 95 yards and a pair of TDs.

The first one, on a spectacular 44-yard scoring hook-up with Mitchell, was against air-tight coverage provided by corner C.J. Coldon, who will miss the second of the back-to-back series with an ankle injury.

Coldon will be replaced on the boundary or “weakside” of the field by Alijah McGhee, who was filling in for injured corner Adrian Frye (knee) on the strongside.

Stepping into Frye’s job this week will be Deandre Lamont, who is usually a halfback and will be playing his first game of the season after missing the first six with a hamstring issue.

But while McGhee will be tasked with covering Lawler, Redblacks receiver Eugene (Geno) Lewis also sees himself with a prominent role.

He wants to be the pass-catcher people are talking about after the game.

“We’re both Top 3, Top 4 in the league,” Lewis said Saturday after his team’s walk-through. “He’s a great player. He’s one of the best players in this league. He’s one of the top receivers. I look at me and him as being in a different category, because we’ve been doing it for so long and so consistently. Every time I play him and he plays me, it’s a competition, too. If I see him make a crazy catch, I want to make a crazy catch too.”

Last week, Lewis had seven catches for 128 yards, but he was kept out of the end zone. But having the better numbers was a small consolation to him, as Hamilton moved into first in the East Division with a 3-2 record and Ottawa dropped to last in the CFL at 1-5.

“At the end of the day, he got the win …. whoever wins, it’s kind of like, oh yeah, they did this and they did that,” said Lewis, who ranks fourth among CFL receivers with 422 yards on 30 catches while sharing the league lead in targets with 52 but only describes his season as “solid” so far. “I think you’ve got to put it in perspective. If you ask other receivers, they would be like: ‘I wish I had 52 targets’. (But) obviously we’re not winning, so personally, I don’t think it’s a good season, whether I’m having a good season myself or not. I’m going to do what I do regardless. On every team that I’m on, I still do what I do, but I’m trying to find a way to do that and win at the same time.

“You can have all the yards, you can have all the touchdowns, you can have all the individual accolades and all that stuff, but if you lose the game and you’re happy after that, I don’t really respect that, because we still didn’t do enough to win. You’re just worried about the individual part. I get it, I get how it helps people and this and that, but for me, I just want to keep doing my job, and I want to keep being able to make the plays that I can.”

And on Sunday, not only does he want to make one more game-defining play than Lawler, but it feels like he has to if his team is going to snap out of a three-game losing streak that, if it’s allowed to grow, could lead to a disastrous 2025 for the Redblacks.

How does Lewis see the role he and Lawler play in paving the way for the rest of the CFL’s receivers?

When the Tiger-Cats attacked free agency over the winter by signing Lawler, a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber, to a two-year deal, the Redblacks kept up with the Joneses by inking Lewis, who had been with Edmonton, a week later.

According to 3DownNation, Lawler is the top-paid receiver in the league with a deal that has a maximum value of $303,000 per season.

Lewis is listed as sixth, with a maximum value of $226,000.

In between at third is Justin Hardy, a five-season, 33-year-old Redblacks vet who opted to re-sign in Ottawa rather than test the free agent waters.

Hardy, who was second in the CFL with 1,343 yards and is regarded as the best possession receiver in the league, reportedly has a maximum value salary of $232,000.

Lewis says he and Lawler now have to live up to the responsibilities with others who play the position.

“For me and Kenny, that’s how we keep the wide receiver position going, like where the market is and things like that,” he said.  “It’s up to us to keep doing well, so we can keep helping these young guys, these young receivers, keep getting money. That’s part of what it is. We want to make sure that, as a collective group, a union, as a receiver group, we want everybody to get money too, and keep getting more money. That’s what this is about, and that’s how you can tell if you’re getting better. That’s how you can tell who you are as a player. That’s how you can compare yourself individually, and that’s how you know you can help yourself when it comes to negotiations and stuff.”

What keeps Lewis awake at night?

Apparently, the two or three very catchable passes that slipped through his hands in the first third of the season.

“I’ve got a couple of drops (and) I’ve got to definitely take them out of the season,” he said. “That’s something that nobody can tell me but myself. That’s all me, that’s just about focus, just about locking in, and just playing the game. So at the end of the day, I’m going to do what I do, like if I’m top three, top five in the league right now.”

Do the drops stick with Lewis? Seems like it, as he brought up the topic without being asked about them.

“I brought it up, but y’all were thinking about it,” Lewis told the three reporters in the scrum Saturday. “Nobody forgets about it. I did bring it up, but I’m saying I could tell people are thinking about it. People all see it, so it means they think about it, but they don’t want to say nothing, because it might come off mean.”

How does one of the league’s best receivers drop a ball that hits him in the numbers?

“That’s what I said. How did I drop it?” said Lewis. “You can’t do that. They brought me here to not do those types of things, and I don’t expect to drop the ball. But I’ve just got to go out there, and say, man, and I can’t let one drop turn into three drops. If I had one drop on the day I need to have six catches. That’s how I look at it. If I have a drop, I try to find a way to forget that drop. I say, that’s fine, now I have to have a bigger play to forget their drop. I keep making up for it. So that’s how I do it.”

How does Redblacks QB Dru Brown view Hardy, Lewis and Lawler, whom he played with in Winnipeg?

“I got a lot of respect for all of them,” said Brown. “You see very similar things with all of them. You know, I think there’s a lot of talent in both (Hamilton’s and Ottawa’s) rooms. Not just those guys, but kind of looking all the way down, there’s a lot of talent. So it’s always fun to watch, maybe not when you’re playing them, but as the quarterback and them being on the same page, and the anticipation that can be seen on tape. It’s always kind of cool to see that. And I think that’s something that, despite the wins and losses, that’s something that I always love seeing. Growth in our room is being able to throw out well before they’re there, and them having an understanding of where they need to be.”

Where does Brown rank the catch Lawler made last week?

“It’s like the catch Justin made (in the same game), we kind of just moved along, because we’ve all seen it before. You obviously appreciate it in the aftermath. But you know, Kenny’s the same way. I’ve seen it a bunch of times. I remember throwing a terrible ball to him in practice, and he was able to come down with it, stuff. Justin and Geno do stuff like that. All those high-level guys, they do those things. You definitely try to appreciate it, because they’re special.”

How does McGhee view the challenge of defending Lawler?

“With a guy like Kenny, man, you know he’s going to go up for the ball, and you’ve just got to go up for the ball too,” he said. “You try to be as penalty-free as you can be, and just play the ball.

“Of course, I thrive on those challenges. Who wouldn’t want the ball to be coming to them? It’s an opportunity for me as well. To catch an interception, to get a knockdown, and to help the team out as best I can. So, of course, I love those challenges.”

What other changes are the Redblacks making?

As reported earlier this week, former Carlton Raven Justin Howell will come off the injured list to make his season debut as backup safety to American Bennett Williams, while Canadian Lucas Cormier starts at WILL linebacker. Canadian rookie Muftah Ageli (head) returns to figure in the mix on the defensive line.

On the offensive line, American Parker Moorer, who impressed at right tackle two games ago, returns to start at right guard ahead of veteran Canadian Dariusz Bladek. Former NFLer Easop Winston Jr., who was signed last week, will dress as the backup return specialist behind Kalil Pimpleton.

What does head coach Bob Dyce say about the importance of this game?

“Our mindset is, we need to win, and we’ve done everything to prepare to put ourselves in the best position to do that,” said Dyce. “I know these guys are hungry for victory. Coaches are hungry for victory. The city is hungry for a victory. Our plan is to have one out on the field here.”