Head 2 Head: Owens Vs. Lewis

Lining up on the other side of the ball, is the hurdler Nik Lewis.  Lewis is the recent recipient of a contract extension that will keep him in a Stamps uniform for the foreseeable future and he comes into the game second in the league in receiving yards with 484 and is on pace to equal if not surpass his career high of 1,262 yards.

Lewis, who leads the CFL with seven touchdown receptions, has had many highlight reel catches this season including a few high hurdles and a game-winning TD grab in overtime.  His seven TD’s makes him the highest scoring non-kicker in the CFL.  Lewis is also prone to have big games as he has two multi-TD games and only once this season has he been held under 60 yards receiving.

Where Lewis really flourishes is in clutch situations as he has emerged as one of the most reliable receivers in the CFL.  This is most notable on second down where he is blowing away the rest of the competition with 17 second down catches for first downs.  These big gains in clutch situations are made possible by his excellent yards after the catch ability, ranking fourth in the CFL in that category with 203.

It will be crucial for the Argos secondary to be very attentive to Lewis’ whereabouts on the field.  While there may be no way to shutdown Lewis entirely, mitigating the damage will be crucial in securing a “W”.

When we last wrote our H2H in week two against Calgary, the focus was Special Teams with Chad Owens and Larry Taylor.  Since then, Owens has emerged as not only a return threat but a reliable target for Ricky Ray in the passing game.  Owens currentely sits as third in the CFL and leads the Argos in receiving yards with 465 on 35 receptions and three three touchdowns, well on his way to surpass his career high of 70 receptions for 722 yards set in 2011.  His 465 yards on 35 receptions is good for 13.3 yards per receptions and 77.5 yards per game.

Owens combined statistics through the first six weeks of both the 2010 and 2011 season do not even compare to the stats he has achieved to date. Through the first six weeks of both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, compiled 33 receptions for a total of 349 yards. 

The 5-foot 8-inch, 180-pound dual threat also ranks at the top of the CFL in combined yards (1460). Owens is also among the top rertuners in the CFL as he is sitting at second in the league in kick return yards (599) and punt returns yards (357) heading into Saturday’s game at Calgary.  

After six weeks of football, Owens is on pace to be the second player in CFL history to record 1,000 yards in receiving, kick returns and punt returns. The last player to do this was Michael Clemons in 1997. Owens, who is currently averaging 243.3 yards/game, is on pace for his third 3,000 yard season and could potentially hit the 4,000 yard mark if he averages 211.6 yards/game here on out. 

Chad has also developed into a security blanket of sorts for Ray as he has become his go to receiver on second down.  Owens is tied for fourth in the league in second down receptions for a first down with nine through seven weeks.

In his last meeting with Calgary, Owens had a huge day finishing with 231 combined yards receiving and via returns.  Look for Owens to attempt to repeat that performance against Calgary on Saturday.