The performance of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive line in general – and right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick in particular – in Friday’s season-opening 42-31 win over Hamilton at IG Field has been recognized by the Canadian Football League.
Hardrick – aka “The Big Yoshi” – has made the CFL Week 1 honour roll on offense. Fellow starters Stanley Bryant, Geoff Gray, Chris Kolankowski and Pat Neufeld, along with backup Liam Dobson, were given the nod for top offensive line.
The CFL uses statistical information compiled from game footage and other data from new partner Pro Football Focus to base their selections on a weekly basis in the categories of offense, defense, and offensive line.
PFF gave Hardrick an 84.5 player grade based on Winnipeg’s ground game totaling 145 yards on 29 rushes, 30 total pass attempts for 21 completions, 354 yards and three touchdowns, 471 yards of net offense on 63 plays for a 7.5 yard average, and just one quarterback sack allowed.
Those results also factored into Bryant and Kolankowski being among the league’s best during the opening week of the schedule with PFF player grades of 80.1 and 75.5 respectively to give the Blue Bombers offensive line an overall grade of 78.0.
The top players for each of the nine positions are also cited for their efforts with honourable mentions on the weekly honour roll. Each offensive and defensive player must have participated for a minimum of 25 snaps to be eligible.
In addition to Hardick (offensive lineman), Zach Collaros (quarterback) and Brady Oliveira (running back) of the Blue Bombers are also members of the CFL’s Week 1 honour roll.
Collaros earned an 84.0 PFF player rating for completing 21 of 30 passes for 354 yards and three majors while Oliveira graded out at 70.7 based on 22 carries for 106 yards (5.3 average) and one touchdown. The former Oak Park Raider also had two catches for 58 yards.
Ciante Evans of Montreal gets the nod as the top performer on defense with a PFF player grade of 85.7 for his two interceptions, two defensive tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass knockdown in the Alouettes 19-12 victory over Ottawa.
The remainder of the CFL Week 1 honour roll includes: Eugene Lewis of Edmonton (REC – 79.7), Saskatchewan’s Anthony Lanier II (DL – 84.2), Avery Williams of Ottawa (LB – 77.9), Montreal’s David Cote (K/P – 77.9) and Kyle Wilson of Hamilton (ST – 92.0).
Week 2 of the CFL season begins Thursday night with Calgary visiting Ottawa in a battle of 0-1 teams.
The Blue Bombers visit Saskatchewan on Friday night in an early battle for what will likely be a share of the top spot in the West Division.
Coverage on 680 CJOB gets underway at 6 p.m. CT with the Pregame Show, followed by the play-by-play with Derek Taylor and Doug Brown from Mosaic Stadium in Regina at 8 p.m. CT.
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