Doug Brown has seen the look many times before, and he expects to see it again: the look of a former Winnipeg Blue Bombers player relishing a chance to stick it to his old squad.
The veteran defensive tackle remembers facing ex-Bombers quarterbacks Khari Jones and Kevin Glenn after they left Winnipeg, noticing the extra zip in their game, the added revelry in their touchdown celebrations. Thus on Saturday, he expects to face a fiery Steven Jyles, who was traded in the off-season and is now the starting quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts. Brown anticipates Jyles to be "like a lover scorned" in his first crack at the Bombers.
"You face a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder, and that competitive edge can be a real dangerous deal," Brown said. "I don't think he'll admit it to you, but I think we all know."
The Bombers stumbled to a 4-14 season last year, and Jyles was 3-8 as their starter in relief of Buck Pierce, who was sidelined with knee and elbow injuries.
This season, Pierce is back at the helm and has the Bombers atop the CFL at 8-3, thanks largely to roster improvements that started to take shape in 2010.
Brown says Jyles was one of those players continually maturing, and wonders if the Argos are about to reap the rewards.
"That's the only thing I've ever wondered about Steven when we traded him away, was we saw the maturation and progression and how guys improved and benefited from the experience," Brown said. "Now, we're going to see first-hand, Steven Jyles operating under the same conditions."
Jyles says he doesn't have redemption on his mind this week against his old team, nor does he have any sour feelings about the trade. But he says Winnipeg's struggles give him insight on helping his new team persevere through an awful 2-9 start.
"I believed in that team last year, I knew they were a good ball team," said Jyles, who is getting his third start with Toronto. "Being in that situation last year taught me what I have to do better to win the close ballgames. That's the situation I'm in here."
While the Bombers have a new defensive co-ordinator and a new scheme, Jyles is familiar with Winnipeg's personnel and their strengths. Having practised against defensive end Odell Willis, Jyles thinks he may even have a good sense of how to disrupt the cadence of the CFL's sack leader.
"He has paid his dues," Pierce said. "He had a good season last year, and he's a capable quarterback. Everywhere he's been, it just hasn't worked out, so I'm glad to see him get his shot."
While the Argos season has been a big disappointment so far, Jyles is looking at it through fresh eyes, a guy getting his opportunity with his fourth CFL organization.
"I'm in a great situation here. I'm finally being given a chance that I've been looking for since I got to the CFL. I took it as, 'Hey, maybe this is what I've been waiting for.' "
Rachel Brady