Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Arland Bruce III (R) breaks free from Donovan Alexander (5) and other Saskatchewan Roughrider defenders on his way to a second half touchdown during Canadian Football League action in Regina, July 31, 2010. REUTERS/Fred GreensladeFRED GREENSLADE/Reuters
Arland Bruce finally feels comfortable as with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, his bitter split with the Toronto Argonauts left behind for good.
Though Bruce had a more-than-decent season with Hamilton in 2009, after being shipped down the highway by former Argos head coach Bart Andrus last July, he wasn't immediately able to dismiss the sting of the departure.
"Last season, it seemed I had a gorilla on my back - the whole season," said Bruce, who enters Friday's contest in Toronto as the CFL's leading receiver (45 catches, 744 yards in seven games). "When someone talks bad about you, that kind of settles with you.
"I had to recall why I was up here, and this year, training camp was like a refresh button for me. The players and the coaches accepted me and it was like I was given a second chance for something I didn't do. It was fun at training camp and I've been moving forward ever since."
As he gets set to face his former team for the first time in 2010 at Rogers Centre, the 32-year-old seems every bit at home in black and gold.
He's already put together one of the most impressive back-to-back performances by a receiver in CFL history (16 catches, 272 yards against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 5; 11 catches, 197 yards against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 6) and has established a true chemistry with Ticats quarterback Kevin Glenn.
When Bruce arrived in Hamilton, Glenn was the backup to Quinton Porter. After a switch was made late in the season, Glenn carried the starting role into training camp which allowed him to continue getting in sync with Bruce.
"It's like a relationship," Glenn said. "When you spend time with someone, that relationship starts to build. It dates back to last year [with Bruce] starting to know how he thinks and him getting to know how I think."
Hamilton has been moving the ball well through the air this season, but the Tiger-Cats ground game has been a work in progress, with running back DeAndra' Cobb hitting season-highs of 22 carries and 86 yards last week at Winnipeg.
The Ticats had to shift some bodies along the offensive line early on, but seem to have those problems solved.
"Cobb is ready to breakout any time and we understand what kind of running back he is," Argos head coach Jim Barker said. "We'll be ready for them to run the ball right at us."
While Hamilton (3-4) has had more success throwing the ball than running it, the Argonauts (5-2) have had the opposite experience so far this season.
Running back Cory Boyd may have caught opposing defences off-guard during the opening weeks, but at this point he is getting plenty of respect.
"He's been playing well and that offensive line has been playing well," Hamilton linebacker Markeith Knowlton said. "We've been practising hard and watching film and we'll put a little bit more towards the run game."
Even in a game where Boyd doesn't run wild, his presence appears to opening things up for the passing game as teams are forced to bring players to the line of scrimmage to defend him.
It's allowed the Argos to pull out some trick plays, such as last week against the Montreal Alouettes, when quarterback Cleo Lemon handed off to Boyd, and he turned and threw back across the field to the wide-open Lemon.
"If you watch it on film, it's a thing of beauty because everyone sucks to that side," left offensive tackle Rob Murphy said. "If Cory could throw, it would have been a touchdown. [The run game]is great because even if you're not getting the push the first couple of quarters, by the end of the game, they are so worn down it breaks the will of the defence."