THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — The nickname Swaggerville has not been heard much in the leadup to the Grey Cup game.
But the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defence that adopted the name as a sign of their skill and determination to stuff every offence in the CFL says Swaggerville is alive and well inside their locker-room, even if they don’t shout it out to the world any more.
"Oh yeah, it still lives, it’s just something we don’t talk about publicly any more," cornerback Jovon Johnson said Thursday. "We just let our play speak for itself."
Any hope the underdog Bombers have of upsetting the B.C. Lions in the Grey Cup game at B.C. Place on Sunday will likely rest on the defence’s ability to stop Lions quarterback Travis Lulay and star receivers Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce.
Winnipeg certainly had the defensive numbers to crow about this season, leading the league in 12 categories, including 55 sacks and 25 interceptions.
When the team that went 4-14 in 2010 started this season 7-1, the name Swaggerville was on everyone’s lips as a rallying call. But it faded away as the Bombers went 3-7 down the stretch.
Johnson, who was named the league’s outstanding defensive player Thursday, said the nickname actually dates to 2009, but didn’t become public until the team emerged as a winner. Then it was put on Mute.
"It became somewhat of a distraction," said Johnson. "It was all fun when it started.
"But after a while, with all the attention to it, all the other teams took notice and they got mad and it was just giving everybody extra motivation to play against us."
Among other bests, the Bombers allowed their opponents the lowest average yards of offence per game at 301.1, the fewest yards per pass at 7.1, the fewest passing yards per game at 223.1 and lowest percentage of pass completions at 56.7 per cent.
Winnpeg’s defence starts with the line, where six-foot-eight Doug Brown crowds the middle so that rush ends Odell Willis and Kenny Mainor can chase down quarterbacks. Willis tied with Hamilton’s Justin Hickman for the CFL sacks lead with 13 while Mainor had eight.
"They get pressure on the quarterback and that allows us to do what we do on the back end," added Johnson. "It’s hand in hand. We help them get sacks and they help us get picks. We’ve got the perfect blend of defence."
Sharing the spotlight is the secondary, with Johnson, Jonathan Hefney, Alex Suber and Deon Beasley along with safety Ian Logan. They form the league’s most respected unit.
The Bombers don’t feel they will skip a beat with Beasley starting in place of Brandon Stewart, who injured an ankle in Winnipeg’s 19-3 victory over Hamilton in the East Division final.
"We haven’t lost a guy because Beasley started games this year," said Hefney. "He picked off a pass the last time we played (B.C.) for the game-winner, so we don’t lose anything when he comes into the game."
It will likely be up to Hefney to cover Simon, the crafty B.C. veteran who was second in the league to Montreal’s Jamel Richardson with 84 catches for 1,350 yards, for an excellent 16.1 yards per catch.
Johnson believes that Hefney deserved the nomination as defensive player of the year over himself.
"He’s been tremendous," said Johnson. "He plays the game with such high intensity."
The first job will be to stop Lulay, who has been on fire in the second half of the season. The Lions quarterback is most dangerous when he slips out of the pocket and either runs the ball himself or finds someone like Simon downfield.
For Johnson, winning would bring a second Grey Cup ring, but the first that he would cherish enough to keep.
He sold the one he got as a non-playing member of the 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders on eBay. He said it fetched $10,000. He put it up for auction, at a starting price of $2,500, because he felt he hadn’t earned it.
"Another reason I sold it was that going into the Grey Cup they put me on the practice roster, so going from a chance to make $16,000 to only making $500, that’s a big difference," he said. "I needed some compensation for not playing in the game."
He doesn’t recall who bought the ring.
"Some guy from Calgary, I think," he said. "It didn’t matter who got it, I didn’t feel I was part of the organization, and for them to put me on the practice roster going into the Grey Cup game, it was like a slap in the face to me. So I just felt no need for it.
"I have other rings. I won two Big 10 championships in college (with Iowa). Every other team I’ve been on I was a part of except for Saskatchewan."
Johnson will keep the ring if his Bombers beat the Lions.
He said things soured in Regina when he got into an argument during practice with Riders offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice, now his head coach in Winnipeg. He said the coach didn’t like that he wasn’t allowing receivers to make catches during offensive drills.
Johnson said now they get along fine.
"We’re definitely on the same page now," added Johnson. "When he first got the job as head coach he called me up. We talked it over and left it there. We’ve grown so much more now that we’re together and on the same page."
