103rd Grey Cup: 5 things to watch

From a veteran quarterback knowing he can expect surprises, to kickers wanting to prove themselves and head-to-head battles in the trenches and in the receiving corps, here are 5 things to watch in today's Grey Cup game.

Henry Burris: expecting the unexpected

The veteran quarterback leads the Ottawa Redblacks into the Grey Cup game Sunday night against Edmonton at Investors Group Field. Burris, the CFL's outstanding player this year, spent the week practicing his club's offensive game plan but knows he'll see a different wrinkle or two from Chris Jones, the Eskimos head coach and architect of the league's stingiest defence.

"I mean, the guy sits in his room, I don't know if he even sleeps, but he comes up with something," Burris said following Ottawa's walk-through Saturday. "He tries to find little keys and he works his defence off of your tendencies and tries to find ways to take away your strengths and make you work towards your weaknesses.

"Especially with the personnel he has he can pretty much do a lot of things and come up with different types of schemes and stuff like that. Making our adjustments on the sideline and at halftime are going to be critical."

There's precious little Burris hasn't already seen over his 16 CFL seasons. The 40-year-old was nothing short of brilliant this year, registering a league-record 481 completions while being the leading passer (5,703 yards).

Ottawa also led the CFL in offensive yards (386.3 per game) and passing yards (322.6) while also scoring a league-best 18 rushing touchdowns. Edmonton counters with a defence that allowed just 18.9 points per game and 245.2 passing yards per game, both league lows.

Jones has a well-earned reputation as a defensive guru and somewhat of a riverboat gambler, having won three Grey Cups as a defensive co-ordinator before assuming the top job in Edmonton in 2014. Jones has been very imaginative in his blitz and coverage packages and in the West final opted to go for a two-point convert after the Eskimos' first touchdown in their 45-31 victory over Calgary.

Jones said he might unveil a different look or two defensively Sunday but not anything his club hasn't used before.

"I can tell you this, it won't be anything that we haven't done before," he said. "But it may be from six weeks or eight weeks ago.

"I try to when we get to a game like this it's already something they've heard before so they have a comfort level that they've run it and executed it before so we can play at a high level."

Kickers

Edmonton's Sean Whyte and Ottawa's Chris Milo are in the Grey Cup after being released by their original teams. Whyte spent four years in Montreal but was let go during training camp before joining the Eskimos in September. Milo began his fifth season with Saskatchewan — winning a Grey Cup with the Riders in 2013 — before being cut in July and signing shortly after with the Redblacks. Whyte has made 24-of-26 field goals (92.3 per cent) since arriving in Alberta while Milo has hit on 32-of-36 attempts (88.9 per cent). Whyte made all 14 converts he tried while Milo finished 34 of 38.

Redblacks defensive line vs. Edmonton offensive line

Ottawa got to the quarterback a league-high 62 times this season and allowed a CFL-low 70.8 yards rushing per game. Justin Capicciotti led the Redblacks with 12 sacks to finish third overall. Edmonton's offensive line finished fifth in sacks allowed with 47 but quarterback Mike Reilly is a very good runner and his mobility allows him to escape defensive pressure to either buy time, to look downfield or head upfield for costive yards.

Ottawa receivers vs. Edmonton secondary

Redblacks' quarterback Henry Burris was the CFL's outstanding player with a CFL-record 481 completions and league-leading 5,703 yards. But as impressive, was Burris's ability to fully utilize his receiving corps as four Ottawa players — Chris Williams, Greg Ellingson, top Canadian Brad Sinopoli and Earnest Jackson — cracked the 1,000-yard plateau. That makes it hard on a defence to concentrate on a single receiving threat although Edmonton was the toughest team to pass against this season.

Edmonton receivers vs. Ottawa secondary

Simply put, Edmonton's receiving corps are big. Adarius Bowman (six foot three, 217 pounds), Canadian Shamed Chambers (six foot three, 219 pounds), Mate Shoehorn (six foot two, 210 pounds) and CFL top rookie Derek Walker (six foot two, 185 pounds) all present match-up problems for a Redblacks' defensive back field with only one player listed over six feet. But what Ottawa lacks in size it makes up with in terms of speed and an eye for the ball as it finished tied with Hamilton for the league lead in interceptions (26).