THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Doug Brown said what Steven Jyles wouldn’t.
Jyles will face his former Winnipeg teammates Saturday night for the first time since being dealt to the Toronto Argonauts in March. The veteran quarterback was very diplomatic in his praise of the Blue Bombers and said redemption won’t be on his mind when the two teams meet at Rogers Centre.
“No, not at all,” Jyles said Friday. “Of course you’re going to feel you really want to beat these guys because you played there but my thing is to get a win and I wanted to get a win last week against Saskatchewan.
“It’s a great opportunity for us because that team is the best in the league right now and we have to come out and prove we’re better than our record shows. I don’t have any hostility toward those guys, I don’t hate any of those guys, it’s part of the game.”
But Brown, the Bombers’ veteran defensive tackle, said Jyles will definitely be fired up to face his former team.
“He won’t admit that to you but I think we all know and can expect that,” Brown said. “I have all these scary, traumatic memories of players that used to play for the Bombers that we’d go and face and they would just kick the crap out of us.
“There’s something about leaving Winnipeg, it’s like a lover scorned and all they want to do is rub it in our face. The guys with more decorum won’t admit that to you but you can tell in their eyes and see it out there on the field that they want to lay the boots to you. He won’t admit it but we know that’s the case.”
The six-foot-eight, 290-pound Brown, in his 11th and final CFL season, cited linebacker Brian Clark and quarterback Khari Jones as former Bombers who always enjoyed sticking it to Winnipeg. But Brown’s most painful memory was longtime starter Kevin Glenn returning to Canad Inns Stadium to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 37-19 season-ending 2009 win that eliminated the Bombers from playoff contention.
Adding insult to injury, twice Hamilton players celebrated interception returns for touchdowns by piling into a boat located in the corner of the end zone and pretending to be fishing.
“The biggest one was Kevin Glenn, that’s where all that stemmed from,” Brown said with a grin. “The smile he would get on his face every time he put some points up on the board against us and saw his doggies jump in the boat in the end zone, let me tell you, nothing more sickening than seeing that smile of satisfaction.
“To face a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder and that competitive edge can be a dangerous deal for you so we’re going to have to have our wits about us and be disciplined.”
Discipline hasn’t been a problem for Winnipeg (a league-best 8-3 after posting league-worst 4-14 mark last year). The Bombers are not only the CFL’s least penalized team but have also forced a league-best 39 turnovers.
Winnipeg is also coming off a 25-23 win over the defending Grey Cup-champion Montreal Alouettes to improve to 5-0 against East Division rivals.
Toronto (2-9) is last in the division, having lost three straight games and nine of 10 after opening the season with a road win in Calgary. The Argos are also 0-5 within the East Division.
Jyles is 0-2 since becoming replacing Cleo Lemon as Toronto’s starter after spending the first nine games recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. He’s completed 37-of-66 passes for 474 yards and a touchdown and has also run 14 times for 128 yards.
Argonauts.ca columnist Don Landry breaks down Week 13 as the Argos look to avenge their home opener loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Click here to watch video.
But the six-year CFL veteran had three turnovers in last week’s 30-20 road loss to Saskatchewan (two interceptions, one fumble), with Chris McKenzie scoring on a 33-yard interception return in the final minute.
Jyles was 3-8 as Winnipeg’s starter last year in relief of incumbent Buck Pierce, who missed most of the 2010 season with knee and elbow injuries. Jyles finished 196-of-318 passing for 2,804 yards with 19 TD strikes against just seven interceptions but also fumbled eight times, losing five.
“He’s a very athletic quarterback . . . a very capable guy and a threat,” Brown said of Jyles. “I hate playing quarterbacks who can run and throw, I like them to be simple and be able to do one or the other.
“That’s always a headache and he knows what we bring.”
What Winnipeg brings is an aggressive, swarming defence. The Bombers are tops in the CFL in sacks (35), fewest yards (308 per game) and passing yards (241.1) allowed.
Toronto’s offence is ranked last in scoring (20.5 points per game), passing (232.6 yards) and total yards (325.3 yards). But the Argos are tops in rushing (109.3 yards per game), averaging a league-best 5.9 yards per carry.
And Argos coach/GM Jim Barker said Jyles’ mobility will be an important factor against Winnipeg.
“They have the best pass rush in the league . . . that’s what they do,” Barker said. “If you think you’re going to sit in the pocket against that team and have success you could very well be in for a long night and we understand that.
“Steven’s mobility is a great advantage there. He’s ready to take this team to where we’re trying to get and I’m excited every time I go out to watch him play.”