Shane Ray won a Super Bowl ring on a defence featuring Von Miller.
The two remain close and Ray reached out to Miller when the sack specialist signed with the Buffalo Bills after earning his second championship with the L.A. Rams last season.
Ray, meanwhile, has taken his game on the defensive line of the Argonauts to a level that players of Miller’s ilk would appreciate by being a presence off the edge and attacking the backfield.
Ray enters this Saturday’s matinee in Ottawa having posted back-to-back games of recording a sack, a sign that he has finally found his footing in the CFL.
When he joined the Argos last season, Ray was a revelation during training camp, but he got hurt in the first quarter of his first game,
Injuries cut short his NFL career and they followed him through the 2021 schedule. He didn’t record his first sack in Double Blue until the East final loss to the Tiger-Cats.
At 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, Ray, when healthy, is an explosive player who is tough to block. And he’s finally been able to play injury free — a relative term in football at this time of the season when most, if not all, players are dealing with some kind of ailment.
“He’s healthy,’’ said head coach Ryan Dinwiddie of Ray. “He’s starting to hit his stride.”
Both the coach and player insist there’s another level that can, and will be reached, which can only help the Argos defence.
In winning two games in a row, the Argos feasted on a quarterback-poor Ticats team.
The Redblacks have also won two in succession and figure to provide the Argos with a bigger challenge.
Ray’s goal is to dominate the edge on every snap. He’s more than capable of having that kind of presence, the kind Miller had when he was named MVP of Super Bowl 50 in 2016, when the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10.
At some point this NFL season, Ray — a first-round pick of the Broncos in 2015 — is hoping to head to Orchard Park, N.Y., and watch Miller line up for the Bills.
He is also trying to arrange a reunion with another Broncos defender, DeMarcus Ware.
Ray is also looking to have Miller and Ware attend an Argos home game.
For now, though, his focus is on Ottawa and maintaining his current level of performance.
“When I’m healthy, I’m one of the best there is, no question,’’ said Ray. “But that’s just part of the game. Football is a tough game. You face a lot of injuries.”
Taking better care of his body was one of Ray’s off-season goals and he realizes he can only get better.
“I’m feeling as good as I need to feel,’’ said Ray. “You have to make the most of this (meeting) because it’s another divisional game and we need this game.”
The Redblacks upset the Argos in late July at BMO Field — their first win of the season with Caleb Evans as their starting quarterback.
Saturday’s starter will be Nick Arbuckle, Ray’s teammate last season until the Argos traded the QB to Edmonton midway through the season.
“A lot of respect to Nick,’’ said Ray. “The guy works super, super hard. He’s one of the first guys in (when reporting for work), one of the last guys out.”
Ray believes the Redblacks are a better passing team with Arbuckle at the helm.
“He’s playing at a really high level,’’ added Ray.
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NAME GAME
Like Ray, cornerback Jamal Peters joined the Argos last season.
Unlike Ray, Peters never got a real shot at playing in the NFL following a knee injury.
And like Ray, Peters is playing at high level, pulling down five interceptions — including a pick-six — in his past two games alone.
“That’s Aqib Talib,’’ said Ray of Peters, comparing him to the star shut-down corner on Denver’s Super Bowl defence.
“That’s an honour,’’ said Peters when told of the Talib comparison. “Being consistent is the key, but there’s more to be done. I can get better.”
The game has slowed down for Peters, who says his confidence is at a high level.
“I’m in that zone right now and once you get into that zone, there’s really nothing you can’t do,’’ he said. “I just have to keep working because there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
When a player such as Ray is getting to the quarterback and a player in the back end such as Peters is producing picks, good things tend to happen on defence.
“He’s a healthy Shane Ray,’’ said Peters. “Unbelievable. He can’t be stopped. The work ethic he has, his get-off, the power he has, the name speaks for itself.”
The player Peters must neutralize in Ottawa on Saturday is Redblacks wideout Jaelon Acklin, who leads the CFL in receiving yards.
“He’s a good receiver,’’ said Peters. “There’s nothing that needs to be said other than he’s a very good receiver. If we play our game, everything else will speak for itself.”
The Peters-Acklin matchup looms large.
“I enjoy going up against the top guys,’’ said Peters.
Acklin had 144 receiving yards and hauled in a touchdown on July 31 when the teams first met and is coming off a 159-yard game last week when Ottawa beat the Als in Montreal.
JUSTIN TIME
Starting centre Justin Lawrence (knee) was limited in practice Thursday and officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s big game.
He is expected to play.
Veteran Philip Blake handled the duties at centre on Thursday.
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