REGINA — Eddie Johnson enjoyed a superb game on Sunday — and a victory to boot.
The first-year Saskatchewan Roughrider punted nine times for an average of 49.1 yards, with two singles, in a 27-23 CFL victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He also averaged 69.4 yards on five kickoffs, one of which produced a 94-yard single.
"I definitely feel like this was my best game so far,'' Johnson said. "I still feel like I've got a lot of room for improvement.''
Johnson is averaging 43.5 yards on 37 punts and 68.5 yards on 28 kickoffs since replacing Louie Sakoda after three games. He had his longest punt (68 yards) and longest kickoff (94) of the season on Sunday.
"When you're a punter and kicker — especially a punter — you don't always feel like part of the team sometimes,'' Johnson said. "When you can do stuff that helps your team out, it just makes you feel like you're that much more part of the team. That's very nice for me to feel like that.''
The 29-year-old product of Costa Mesa, Calif., is also happy to have found a home after bouncing around the NFL and CFL. The six games he has played with Saskatchewan are his most in a season since 2003, when he played 14 games as an NFL rookie with the Minnesota Vikings.
Subsequently, he had NFL tryouts with the Cincinnati Bengals (2004), New York Giants (2005), Jacksonville Jaguars (2005), Washington Redskins (2006), Denver Broncos (2007) and Detroit Lions (2008) before spending two games with the Toronto Argonauts in 2009.
"There's nothing like playing,'' Johnson said. "Nothing else gives you that same sort of rush — that feeling. It's definitely something that I've missed over the last year or two.
"There's nothing like playing,'' Johnson said. "Nothing else gives you that same sort of rush — that feeling. It's definitely something that I've missed over the last year or two.
"If I'm going to go out and play and get a little nervous and have some butterflies before a game, it feels good to me. To be able to go out and also have success, it's even better. Every day is fun. I'm just taking it one day at a time and just enjoying myself.''
rvanstone@leaderpost.com
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© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-PostRead more: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Labour+Classic+best+game+Riders+Eddie+Johnson/3486868/story.html#ixzz0yoFxhNsE
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