No middle ground.
“They are both,” says Josh Bell, admiringly, “tackle machines.
“Only one thing on their minds. Only one way to play. Relentless.
“Alex, leading the league back-to-back, if I’m not mistaken, in tackles. Biggie, one of the best since I’ve been up here. Just a beast.
“Watching either of them, you just sit back and enjoy if you love football.
“Alex, always smilin’, such a nice guy, right? But when game time comes, he flips that switch. Then he ain’t all that nice.
“Biggie’s a different monster, man. If you know him. Doesn’t smile much. He is ser-i-ous. And just flat-out special. He’ll be 20 yards deep and the next thing you know, he’s in the backfield.
“They share a level of nasty that you need. But they do things in different ways.”
Scanning the Tale of the Tape for Sunday’s West Division title tilt, there are no end of talking points: The respective offensive and defensive fronts, QBs Bo Levi Mitchell and pal Matt Nichols, the inevitable special-teams battle, Andrew Harris. Etc. Etc.
Undoubtedly one of the most compelling, though, will be the duelling influence of the guys stationed at the pounding heart of either defence.
Alex Singleton and Adam Bighill. Godzilla and King Kong (or vice-versa).
Monsters of the Middle.
The CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player and the man who could win that award this year: ranking first (Singleton, at 123) and tied for third (Bighill, at 105) on the league tackle tables.
Josh Bell, in his first go-round as Stampeder DB coach, has had a unique perspective of these single-minded men at work; a back-row seat to two wonderful shows, in a way.
For a pair of seasons, 2012-13, he nestled in at safety behind Solomon Elimimian and Bighill out west-coast way. For an additional two years here, 2016-2017, he did the same in support of Singleton.
“There’s something about Biggie,” says Bell, flashing a wicked cat-among-the-pigeons smile. “He’s the only guy I know of who diagnosed himself after he broke his leg, on the field in ’13. He was rolling on the ground – he knew. He was screaming ‘My tibia! My tibia!’
“He’s changed that defence in Winnipeg, man. Just his presence has had such an affect.
“Alex is carrying on tradition, filling big shoes, which is a hard thing to do at a high level.”
Singleton freely admits Bighill provided something of a CFL primer after arriving from Thousand Oaks, Calif., to adjust to a foreign game in a new land, beginning his northern adventure.
“He gets to the ball,” lauds Singleton. “Sounds simple? It’s not. You’ve got to be physical, and he is.
“You’re around the ball, you’re going to make plays. He’s there and he does.
“That’s one of the reasons the first couple years in the league I watched a lot of film on him because I wanted to learn as much as I could.
“We have the similarities of being able to track the ball and a big heart for the game but just about everything else is different – height, size.”
Count Bighill amongst the legion of Singleton admirers.
Unsurprisingly.
“Really, it starts with his ability to diagnose where the ball is going to go,” says the soon-to-be five-time CFL All-Star. “If you’re a good linebacker, you’re usually (doing that) very quickly and you’re taking the shortest route to get there. A to B.
“He does a good job of that.
“Another good thing he does is he tackles physical. A hallmark of being a great linebacker is being able to punish ball carriers and I think he does a good job of shooting back and making tackles.
“The league is too small not to have friends, know people and respect people’s games. He’s one.”
Shifting into the middle-linebacking role – Elimimian’s domain in B.C. – has been a boon since Bighill signed on in Winnipeg.
“You’ve got to have the speed to go sideline-to-sideline,’’ he says of the move. “You’ve got to be able to take on blocks and punish ball carriers. Those are some of the characteristics of a good linebacker.
“In the middle, you truly get to go left and right, to flow. When you’re set to the boundary as the will linebacker there’s a limited amount of plays you can make because a lack of responsibility in covering the field.
“The middle allows you to use your instincts a bit more, have a nose for the ball so you can fly around.
“All years have a different story. This one, for me, is that way, coming back from the NFL and being on a new team. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself in Winnipeg. A really great experience.”
Come Sunday, Bighill hopes to heighten that experience, as he goes in search of a second Grey Cup ring.
But not if Singleton, in search of a first, has anything to say about it.
Two men at the crux of this Sunday’s debate and the top of their profession.
“Oh, yeah,” coos Bell. “The very top. Solly. Biggie. I’m a humungous fan of both those guys. Not just as a teammate but as a fan. They’ve set the standard in this league for awhile.
“Well, you can include Alex in that conversation now. Right there. With Solly and Biggie.
“And that’s a pretty nice conversation to be in.”