CFL playoffs: Henry Burris key to Redblacks East final fortunes

The host Ottawa Redblacks (12-6) will defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) in the East final on Sunday at TD Place.

Welcome to the Henry Burris show, where everything the 40-year-old Ottawa QB does affects everything else and, if you need it, he can do a killer impression of a hoser.

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​Some folks this week have been trying to build a case for a Hamilton victory that revolves around a few repetitive points: Cats have a somewhat better defence, Hamilton can kill you off turnovers, and, erm, QB Jeremiah Masoli had a great fourth quarter against Toronto in the East semi.

The argument most in that nasty spot at the back of your mind is Burris himself, his 5-6 record in the playoffs, all those post-season losses to Saskatchewan while with Calgary years ago, and on like that.

In short, they're counting on Bad Henry showing up.

Could happen. Won't happen. This has been the year of Smilin' Hank, one that has cemented him not as a future Hall of Famer (he already was that), but as one of the greatest ever.

And the two-time Grey Cup champ has one heck of a defence working for him, something he didn't have in, say, Hamilton (2013).

Burris led his Redblacks to 12 amazing wins in just their second year as a franchise (I defy you to find a similar story), piling up an average of 433 yards net in those games. (Those six losses produced an average of 292 yards, not terrible in itself).

He also completed 481 passes (an all time CFL record), while the team had 499 (also a record). Note that his backups only had 18, so if Henry goes down, all bets are off.

Against the Cats in Week 20, the second of back-to-back wins that clinched the East, a bye, and hosting this week's final, Burris threw for six touchdowns.

Argument: Yeah, but the Kitties held Burris to only 12 points in Week 19.

Counter argument: Yeah, but Hamilton was able to come up with just six points vs. the Ottawa defence on the same day. And that was with Jeff Mathews, the second string QB, at the Kitty controls.

This week is will be third stringer Jeremiah Masoli.

Why has Burris been so good?

Because his GM Marcel Desjardins has been so good, bringing in a flock of excellent receivers to help (including Chris Williams, Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, Ernest Jackson), all of whom went over 1,000 yards.

And his QB coach, Jason Maas, has been so good, working with Burris to improve decision making, while proving you can teach a really old dog new tricks.

And coach Rick Campbell has been so good, channeling his dad Hughie by convincing his side they are better than everyone else, even back when those everyones sniggered at the very idea.

There's also an offensive line, though one that does toss an occasional clunker out there. And the running game hasn't lost a beat since Jeremiah Johnson went down in Week 15, as his replacement William Powell put up 392 yards in four games.

Ottawa defined itself as a club that might come along quickly last year when it's defence was competitive from the get-go. It's not quite as good as Hamilton's, but it's darn good, jumping again with the addition of Shawn Lemon at linebacker halfway through the season.

He has five sacks in nine games.

Then there's home field advantage. It will be cold, windy, perhaps even snowy on Sunday, with a bunch of wild men and women screaming their heads off in the stands. Ottawa seems inspired by this, going 7-2 on home turf.

They have too much for a Cats' team still using its third stringer at QB. Jeremiah Masoli won't handle it.

How this can go wrong

• Special Teams. Every Cats' game is the same thing – if returner Brandon Banks piles up the real estate, Hamilton can win. He did exactly that against Toronto, totally 198 yards as the Argos, for reasons that flummox, insisted on kicking to him. And, the Cats can cover kicks, as well.
• Hamilton's linebackers control things. Led by Simoni Lawrence, the middle man, they can shut down a running attack and force Burris into the long game, where a strong secondary lurks. Problem: Ottawa is good at the long game.
• Cats can run (combining C.J. Gable, and QB Masoli himself, who has legs – putting up 12 tries for 58 yards vs. Toronto), thus killing lots of clock and keeping the Ottawa offence off the field.
• Bad Henry shows up in the playoffs again.

As Hank might have said this week, "Ya' never know, eh?" Don't count on it.