OTTAWA – Joshua Bell is a study in contrasts.

With his trademark painted face when it’s time to battle on the gridiron and his penchant for hitting like a mini Mac truck, he’s one of the fiercest competitors between whistles.

However, before games and in practices you’ll see him dancing, swaying back-and-forth to the tunes being pumped in the stadium with seemingly not a care in the world, often wearing a grin ear-to-ear.

Therein lies the dichotomy with the defensive back.

Because while making plays as a key cog in the secondary is the reason he gets paid, he plays another important role for the Red and White.

One job is based on athleticism, aggression, talent and a smash-mouth style of football.

But as one of the most polite and laid-back players off the field, he also serves as a calming influence among his Stampeder teammates, who face the Toronto Argonauts  today in Ottawa in the 105^th Grey Cup.

“Indeed, indeed,” said Bell Thursday after the team’s walk-thru. “You have to have a calming voice … you got different personalities and guys are different, guys handle things a different way. Some guys are a little more resilient than others. So, my job is to keep us relaxed, keep us loose cause we’re playing a game and sometimes you get wound up too tight and that’s when things start rolling downhill. I like to stay loose, I like to play football. We put in a lot of work every single day watching film, practicing. We know what we’re doing.”

Bell’s ability to sooth and keep everyone on an even keel was especially important this week, with all the memories of last year’s overtime Grey Cup defeat to the RedBlacks being front and centre and the players feeling the outside pressure – and shouldering their own personal expectations – of winning this time.

“My mind is on right now,” said Bell, “just making sure nobody that hasn’t been exactly in that position gets too tight. Probably the first couple of drives I’ll be looking around, depending on what’s happening, to make sure everybody is calm looking in their eyes. Making sure they are not seeing ghosts.”