It was one of the more memorable chapters in Lions history. Every year from 2004-07, Wally Buono’s squad finished atop the West Division and hosted the division final, winning a total of 52 regular season games in that span. Also over that span, they occupied 20 spots among CFL All-Star selections. But heading into 2006, you knew it was crunch time. They needed to hoist the Grey Cup in order to get that collective monkey off their back.
As the CFL’s Grey Cup On Demand portal enters the new millennium with games from 2000-09, we decided to take another look at a very impressive 2006 squad that was all business after a tough Grey Cup loss in 2004 and stunning collapse from 11-0 to start 2005 to 12-6 and a crushing defeat in the Western Final at home to Edmonton.
Quick side note. During Grey Cup Unite week last November, we chronicled the 2000 Lions Grey Cup story with a virtual reunion featuring Damon Allen, Lui Passaglia, Sean Millington, Jamie Taras, Carl Kidd, Robert Drummond and Daved Benefield. If you missed it then, you can re-watch below. It was a lot of fun!
On we go with 2006. One of the biggest storylines of this exciting era was the quarterback ‘controversy’ between Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers. After Printers parlayed his Lions success to a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2005 season, it was once again Dickenson’s team and there would be no distractions. Once again though, Dickenson battled through injuries and the Lions offence needed both Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson to hold down the fort. The squad was a machine.
With offensive weapons such as Geroy Simon, Jason Clermont and new running back Joe Smith to go along with defensive pieces such as Brent Johnson, Dante Marsh, Ryan Phillips, Otis Floyd and Javier Glatt (more on him later), it didn’t take long to establish this squad was the team to beat. But they still had to get that monkey off their back….
Monkey Off Their Back: Lions Stifle Alouettes
After a 13-5 regular season and 45-18 thumping of Saskatchewan at a raucous BC Place in the Western Final, Dickenson and company had a date with the Alouettes. The underdog Montreal squad led by Anthony Calvillo was also looking to get their own monkey off their back. After winning it all in 2002, the Alouettes lost both the 2003 and 2005 Grey Cups to Edmonton while dropping the 2004 Eastern Final on home turf to the Toronto Argonauts.
Both the Lions and Alouettes were model franchises in this era of the CFL but only one of them would be hoisting the Grey Cup on a cold and windy day at Winnipeg’s Can Add Inns Stadium.
After the defence forced a two and out for Calvillo to start, the Lions offence went to work. Dickenson opened with four straight completions and then scrambled for a 12-yard run to help set up Paul McCallum’s first field goal of the day. Three points and plenty of yardage on the opening series. Good tone-setter. McCallum would then hit field goals on the next two Lions’ possession- the third set up by a sack and forced fumble by Aaron Hunt deep in Alouettes territory- to give the heavily-favoured Lions a 9-0 lead after one quarter. Better than coming away with nothing, but you knew they would have to punch one into the end zone sooner rather than later before Montreal snatched some of the momentum back.
RELATED: 2006 Win Was Vindication For Dickenson
It would come in the form of backup running back Ian Smart who scampered 25 yards to the house for what would be the Lions’ only major of the game. Not a bad story for a guy who had been cut by Montreal earlier that season. McCallum’s fourth field goal of the game later put the Lions ahead 19-3 at halftime. After the break, it was the defence that had to deliver the knockout punch.
Glatt’s Goal Line Stand
This victory definitely wasn’t an oil painting. But it also epitomized what this era of Lions football was all about. Tough, fearless and willing to pay whatever price. For the defining moment of the franchise’s fifth Grey Cup win, we fast forward all the way to late in the fourth quarter with the Lions leading 25-12. Calvillo had the Alouettes second and goal inside the one-yard line when Glatt would make the play of his career: leaping across the goal line to force a Robert Edwards fumble that was recovered by Floyd. Knockout punch delivered!
Final score, Lions 25 Alouettes 14. With Grey Cup-tying record of six field goals, McCallum was the game’s Most Valuable Canadian while Dickenson earned MVP honours with his elusive first Grey Cup victory as a starter. It was a monkey off everyone’s back indeed.
Photo: Frank Gunn/CP
Other Observations From 2006 Grey Cup Re-Watch
- We always seem to give the broadcasters love in these recaps and we’re not ashamed to do it again here. Mark Lee and Chris Walby were an underrated duo in the booth. This would be the second to last Grey Cup game broadcast on the CBC and they always seemed to have an abundance of great talent. This duo worked well together. I always loved Walby’s energy. Especially loved his bit at the start where he rips up his piece of paper to demonstrate all of the Lions stats and accolades meant nothing going in. He was right and thankfully; the group was focused on the big prize.
- Let’s talk about that Lions offensive line. Pure dominance and nastiness up front. I’d put the group of Rob Murphy, Jason Jimenez, Angus Reid, Kelly Bates and Sherko Haji-Rasouli up against any starting offensive line another CFL team has ever trotted out. Just look at some of the holes being created for the running backs. Big enough to drive a truck through.
- Smith was the featured back in this game and it’s a reminder that sometimes Buono’s risky roster moves paid off. Early that season, he cut ties with starter Antonio Warren in a move that raised some eyebrows. Not everyone always agreed with his roster decisions. But he proved right in the case of Joe Smith getting promoted.
- The broadcast crew notes that by the 10-minute mark of the opening quarter the Lions had already used all three QBs. That was an interesting component to Jacques Chapdelaine’s offence during this time. There would be designed plays and packages for Pierce- like the pitch to Smart for his touchdown- and Jackson was the short-yardage specialist.
- Speaking of the offence, it’s somewhat of a shame Simon never scored a Grey Cup touchdown as a Lion. But this also speaks to just how solid a receiving corps. this team had. Taking away Simon only meant the Alouettes had Jason Clermont, Paris Jackson and Ryan Thelwell to deal with. Wow…
- Back to Glatt’s heroics for a moment. It would not have happened if not for some great defensive line penetration on the play before when Hunt stopped Edwards short of the goal line.
- Was Edwards’ knee in fact down before the fumble as indicated by the broadcast crew on replay? Potentially. At any rate, it’s weird now to watch old games where every score and turnover wasn’t automatically reviewed. From the naked eye, this would have been a tough call for the replay official to overturn. Montreal coach Jim Popp certainly wasn’t confident as demonstrated by the fact he picked up the challenge flag.
- You can tell it was still very early in Marsh’s career as he was still sporting the dreadlocks. How awesome was that ‘Lockdown U’ secondary of him, Phillips, Korey Banks and Barron Miles?
- Bates breaking the Cup. The big man will never live that moment down!
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com