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Henry Burris' return continues with Redblacks' win that locks up first in East

Henry Burris' return continues with Redblacks' win that locks up first in East

It's been quite the roller-coaster year for quarterback Henry Burris and the Ottawa Redblacks. Burris started the season as the starter, then got hurt, lost his job to Trevor Harris when he returned, stepped back in when Harris got hurt, lost the job again and then got it back again. Meanwhile, the Redblacks have looked like the league's best team at times and its worst at other times, and they were just 7-8-1 heading into Saturday's game against Winnipeg. Burris came up big there, though, throwing for 338 yards and leading Ottawa to a 23-10 win over the Bombers, which secures first place in the East for the Redblacks, gives them a critical first-round bye, and means they're just one playoff win away from a second-straight Grey Cup appearance.

Just last week, this didn't look so easy for the Redblacks. Their 39-36 overtime loss to Hamilton not only meant both clubs had seven wins, but also gave the Ticats the tiebreaker between the clubs (thanks to winning by three points; Ottawa only won by one point the preceding week thanks to a late kneeldown instead of pushing for a touchdown, which could have been a crucial missed opportunity if both teams finished the same in the standings). The Redblacks were still one point up at 7-8-1 versus 7-9, but the Ticats only needed to be to be one point better than them over the season's final two weeks to take first place and the bye. Hamilton lost 39-36 to Edmonton in a potential playoff preview Friday night, though, and that meant that Ottawa's victory Saturday was enough to clinch the East.

This was also a big moment for Burris, who's had an incredible year of ups and downs. He won the league's Most Outstanding Player last year after a career season, and was set to be the Redblacks' starter this year even after they signed Harris in the offseason (the initial plan was for Harris to apprentice for a year, then take over in 2017). After Burris was hurt in the season's first game and Harris started dominating, though, the focus quickly shifted to the younger quarterback. Burris didn't always take that well (his "tell all those guys at TSN to shove it!" rant was memorable), but over the last couple of months, he adapted well to the role of a backup, focusing on helping Harris and preparing himself in case he was called upon again. Burris has often used criticism as fuel, and as he told CFL.ca's Don Landry this week, it's still motivating him:

“As athletes, we always try to find that extra little something to get us going, to pee us off and to really get our blood boiling,” he says, as we discuss the lingering effects of what he feels to be unfair judgements. He’s not sidetracked by the emotion of it, he insists.

“I can deal with that in the moment but still keep the focus to go out there and do the job in the second half.”

...Why, I ask, does that kind of thing even matter anymore? It seems that Burris is ticked at what he sees as the inconsistency between people saying, simultaneously, that he’s a Hall of Famer but also not a candidate to be the main man right now. For him, those concepts do not or cannot co-exist. Burris is not interested in be fitted for a jacket while he’s still content to pull on a jersey.

“If there’s any little tidbit that’s there, when, somebody in the media says ‘Burris can’t (do the job), it’s time for them (the team) to move on’ but in the next breath they say ‘but he’s a bona fide Hall of Famer,’ I’m just, like, okay, you’ve gotta make up your mind. If I’m a hall-of-famer, then why do you want me out of the game?”

“Does it bother me? No. Does it make me laugh? Yes. But do you use it as motivation? Heck, yeah. As an athlete you have to do that. When people say ‘you can’t,’ that’s part of athletics. When you go out there and you get it done, in your heart, you may not have to say it but I can tell you probably a hundred per cent of athletes will say ‘I told you so,’ but they just don’t have to say it vocally.”

There are a couple of conflated concepts there (being a Hall of Famer is a career award, being the best choice to start right now is a little different, especially when you're 41, have been up and down this year, and have an incredibly talented backup), but if Burris is still finding inspiration to play better from critics, good for him. He was solid Saturday, completing 23 of 33 pass attempts (69.7 per cent) for 338 yards (albeit with an interception) and also rushing for a touchdown, and he'll likely be Ottawa's starter in the postseason. That first-round bye could be critical for them as well, as it means they only have to play one playoff game to get to the Grey Cup. If Burris can come through in that one, good times may yet be ahead for both him and the Redblacks.