Bombers blowout in the cards

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This article was published 17/07/2019 (1738 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the chance to do something the organization hasn’t done in nearly 60 years.

With a perfect 4-0 record, only the Ottawa Redblacks stand in the way of the Bombers starting a season with five straight wins for the first time since 1960. The two teams meet Friday night at IG Field, in what will be a rematch from two weeks ago when the Bombers dominated in a 29-14 road win in the nation’s capital.

Still, those in the locker room claim to take nothing for granted, nor can they be bothered with reaching historical milestones. Not with plenty of season to play, and up against stiff competition in a West Division battle that always goes down to the wire.

“It’s a record but it really doesn’t mean s–t. There are teams that are right behind us and the biggest thing is that we’re improving every game,” Bombers running back Andrew Harris said following Thursday’s walkthrough. “The record or the history, all that stuff is great but we can’t get caught up in that hype of how successful we’ve been compared to other years. When you start thinking about the past and the future and not the right now, that’s when you start losing games.”

The Redblacks have slowed in recent weeks after a fast start, losing their last two games to fall to 2-2 on the year. They’ll have a much different looking line-up against the Bombers this time around, as they battle injuries and inconsistency in their pursuit of keeping pace in the East.

With that, here are five storylines to keep an eye on in Friday’s game:

 

THEN DON’T ASK HOW, BUT HOW MANY 

Matt Nichols leads the CFL with 10 passing touchdowns, has only thrown one interception and his pass efficiency rating of 126 is the best among his peers. Harris is off to his best start in his 10-year career, on pace to eclipse 1,700 rushing yards – more than 300 more than the season-high 1,391 he set last season. The weapons at receiver have been so impressive that head coach Mike O’Shea has decided to scratch his highest-paid receiver in Chris Matthews, who despite being cleared from a serious finger injury this week will sit out in favour of Kenny Lawler.

And yet, ask anyone on the offence and they’ll tell you statistics are simply numbers. How they earn the victory matters little, just as long as they’re finding their way to the winner’s circle each week.

“Our goals are the same every week: take care of the football, score points, stay on the field, put drives together,” Nichols said. “Nothing changes week to week for us, so it’s just holding that same standard that we have every week and it’s playing four complete quarters.”

If there’s any room for improvement with the offence it’s finding consistency down the stretch. The Bombers haven’t exactly struggled – they’ve yet to trail in each of the last three games – but even following a 48-21 blowout victory against the Toronto Argonauts last week, many in the room afterwards lamented being outplayed for much of the second half. It’s one of the few areas they’ll look fix.

 

REDBLACKS D BLACK AND BLUE

A major talking point regarding the Redblacks leading into the game against the Bombers back in Week 3 was their continuity on defence. Despite allowing a ton of points through the first two games, it was the defence, a unit that included 11 of 12 starters from last year, being heralded for their early success.

Well, a lot has changed since then and the group that will take the field will look much different than it did two weeks ago.

Some of the turnover has been from injuries, including to Canadian safety Antoine Pruneau and American linebacker Kevin Brown. The replacement for Pruneau will be Kishawn McClain. To recover from the loss of Brown the Redblacks have moved Avery Williams from middle linebacker to weak-side, with Jerod Fernandez filling in for Williams. It will be the first CFL start for both McClain and Fernandez.

Also earning his first league start is DeAndre Farris, who will line up at field-side halfback. Farris draws in after the decision to move Sherrod Baltimore over to the boundary corner to replace an underwhelming Chris Randle. Randle, a former leader for the Bombers, has struggled to find his stride this year and will backup Baltimore. Oh, and all-star defensive back Jonathan Rose will also miss a second straight game.

Needless to say, Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe will have his hands full trying to juggle so many moving pieces. I’m not one to give fantasy advice, but this could be a blowout.

 

JENNINGS IN; DAVIS OUT

Not to be outdone, the Redblacks offence has also been bit with the injury bug.

While it will be tough to replace R.J. Harris, the team’s leader in receptions (23), yards (309) and touchdowns (1), as well as another promising receiver in Seth Coate, they’ll also have to find a way to win without their No. 1 quarterback Dominique Davis.

It could certainly be worse. The Redblacks signed veteran pivot Jonathon Jennings over the winter, and the belief months ago was he would supplant Davis as the club’s starter. Instead, Davis won the job out of camp and Jennings was relegated to backup.

It’s not that great, either. Jennings, once a budding star in the league, has struggled to rediscover the confidence that led to him eclipse 5,000 passing yards as the go-to guy with the B.C. Lions back in 2016. He eventually fell out of favour in Vancouver last season, his departure becoming inevitable after GM Ed Hervey publicly questioned his work ethic.

Though Jennings’ experience is certainly valuable to the Redblacks, his familiarity should also help the Bombers defence.

“In the CFL, fresh guys tend to have a little bit of success off the bench because there’s not any film on them – we don’t know they want to try to do,” Bombers safety Jeff Hecht said. “Where with Jennings we have a good amount of tape. We know what he wants to do and we just have to keep that in check.”

 

STARS ALIGNED FOR HARRIS?

At 32 years old, and after a decade in the CFL, Harris appears to be only getting better with time. He’s averaging 94.5 rushing yards per game, leading a Bombers ground-attack that ranks second to only the Montreal Alouettes, and is on pace for a career year.

But there’s still one thing missing for No. 33 – a rushing touchdown. Harris has two through the air but has yet to hit pay dirt on the ground.

“They give it (backup QB Chris) Streveler every time we’re on the one-yard line. I got to score a 20-yarder to get a touchdown,” joked Harris. “As long as we’re getting in the end zone then that’s all that matters to me.”

The stars just might be aligned Friday, as the Redblacks have allowed the most rushing touchdowns, with eight.

While we’re on the topic, Ottawa will also have an intriguing piece in the backfield. John Crockett, a 27-year-old who has spent time with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, will make his first CFL start.

A lot of people out east are high on Crockett, suggesting he should have been the starter over veteran Mossis Madu. He split the running duties with Madu last week against Montreal, racking up 62 yards on just eight carries, while Madu got 11 carries for 47 yards. With Madu out, Crockett will get his first real shot at proving he can be a No. 1.

 

WALKER HAS SPEED TO BURN

The Bombers are coming off a stellar performance on specials teams against the Argonauts, especially when it came to the return game.

Winnipeg racked up 350 yards on kick-off and punt returns, including a 104-yard touchdown by Lucky Whitehead on the game’s opening kick-off.

Whitehead will be back in the mix, but a newcomer in Kenny Walker, who will slot in for an injured Charles Nelson, will join him. Nelson has been electric for the Bombers but Walker has the potential to be just as good. He might actually be the fastest of the three.

“Yeah, I think so,” said O’Shea about the 25-year Walker, who played college at UCLA. “There would be a bunch of guys who would want to race him if you brought that up because guys are very competitive. But I’m telling you, he’s pretty fast.”

Ottawa will also be testing out a new returner this week. Meet DeVonte Dedmon (pron: dead-mon). Sounds dangerous.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton