Head 2 Head: Wroten/brown

Claude Wroten showed up more than two weeks late for Argonauts training camp, but that didn’t stop the former LSU All-American from being one of the most dominant defensive players on the field in the Argos’ 23-21 victory over the Stampeders on Friday night.  Playing in only his first CFL game, Wroten managed five tackles including two sacks, and helped limit Stamps RB Joffrey Reynolds to just 57 yards on 12 carries. 
 
A former third round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2006, Wroten has joined an Argos defensive line that already featured CFL all-stars Ronald Flemons, Kevin Huntley and incumbent end Ricky Foley.  Wroten’s addition to the front four can present major matchup problems for the opposition.  He is talented enough to command double teams and, when that happens, it opens up one-on-one situations for one of the other linemen, or forces the tailback to step up for a block.  Also, if teams choose to go one-on-one with Wroten, he showed last week that he has a very good chance of winning that battle.
 
This week, Wroten will be matched up against an offensive line in Winnipeg that surrendered five sacks against the Tiger-Cats in week one.  With five returning starters, however, this is the same Blue Bombers offensive line that paved the way for RB Fred Reid to lead the league in rushing with 1,396 yards in 2010.  Led by all-star guard Jason LaBatte, the Blue Bombers’ offensive line will be key to the team’s success this season.

While Claude Wroten is a new member of the CFL this season, Doug Brown has been one of the best defensive linemen in the league for nearly a decade.  At 36 years old, Friday night’s game against the Tiger-Cats marked the beginning of Brown’s 11th season in the league, all as a member of the Blue Bombers.  Not surprisingly, Brown opened this year with an outstanding performance, making five tackles including one sack. 
 
The seven-time all-star is similar to Wroten in terms of his ability to disrupt the offence, but the comparisons should stop there.  Wroten relies on his explosiveness and athletic ability, while Brown, at 6’8”, is a mountain of a man who uses his strength to bully his way through opposing offensive lines.  It is extremely difficult to handle Brown with just one lineman and double teams are usually necessary.  Even with the extra attention, Brown picked up 49 tackles in 2010, good enough for third-best amongst all CFL linemen.  The Blue Bombers’ defence, as a whole, had 51 sacks last season and much praise should be directed towards Brown, their veteran leader.
 
This Friday night, Brown will be going against an Argos offensive line that returns in its entirety from a year ago.  The Argos are seeking an improved performance from a unit that allowed a hefty 48 sacks in 2010.  The group did a solid job in week one, giving up just one sack to the Stampeders, but they will undoubtedly have their hands full in week two against Brown and the rest of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.