Great expectations

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This article was published 24/08/2016 (2800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — When the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) take the field Friday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for their game against the Montreal Alouettes (3-5), the expectation is they’ll leave with a win.

That expectation is a common refrain — one said and felt by every team, before every game in the CFL.

But unlike earlier in the season, when the Blue Bombers sputtered to a 1-4 start — or their four seasons of sub-.500 football prior to this one — that expectation no longer simply feels like lip service.

With three consecutive wins, Winnipeg has climbed its way up the league’s power ranking — and teams around the league have started to take notice.

But if anything is certain through the first nine weeks of the 2016 CFL schedule, it’s that nothing is certain at all.

“When you look around the league, pretty much everyone’s record is pretty equal,” Bombers starting quarterback Matt Nichols said Thursday in the lobby of a downtown Montreal hotel. “I think there’s respect for every team, from every one.”

With that, here are five storylines to keep in mind for Friday’s game:

WILD, WILD WEST

There is far more parity between teams this season than in recent history. Though it wasn’t far-fetched to suggest the Calgary Stampeders (6-1-1) would be atop the West Division at this juncture, far fewer would have guessed the B.C. Lions (6-3, after Thursday’s 29-23 win over the Ottawa Redblacks) would be knocking on the door.

Other than the Saskatchewan Roughriders (who sit at a measly 1-7), five of the six remaining teams are at 4-4, with the Alouettes only slightly behind at 3-5.

The Ottawa Redblacks, 4-4-1, lead the East Division.

A win would keep the Bombers in the thick of the battle for a playoff spot in the West, in what figures to be a steady race for top spot in the division. With a formidable road record of 3-1 — the Als are 1-3 at home — and feeling fresh off a bye week, there’s little reason to believe the Bombers shouldn’t walk away with a fourth consecutive victory.

NEED FOR NICHOLS

Not a single coach or player seems to want to admit as much (and don’t even try to get it out of the man himself), but the biggest part of the Bombers’ turnaround this season has undoubtedly been the play of Nichols.

Since replacing Drew Willy in Week 6, the 29-year-old has done nothing but win, posting a 3-0 record. With Nichols, the Bombers have rediscovered their aerial attack, injected life into their run game and put up some of their best point totals in years.

“He’s a guy that’s fiery, he’s a guy that’s going to scratch and crawl and do whatever he can to get that extra inch,” said running back Andrew Harris, who, with Nichols at the controls, has averaged close to 100 yards per game rushing. “That’s a guy that you want to go to war with.”

Once in a battle for playing time, it’s almost comical to think Nichols will lose the job anytime soon. In the last four games — including half of the fourth quarter he played July 21 against Calgary — Nichols has orchestrated eight touchdown drives, passed for six touchdowns and has been intercepted just once.

“It feels really good right now that we’ve strung a few together,” he said. “But we have a long way to go.”

MARQUEE MATCHUP

Though all eyes will be on Nichols, perhaps the marquee matchup is on the other side of the ball, pitting a red-hot Bombers defence against an Alouettes offence (led by quarterback Kevin Glenn) that seems to have finally hit its stride.

Glenn, who played five seasons with the Blue and Gold earlier in his career, threw for 382 yards and five touchdowns last week in a 43-19 win over the Redblacks. The five TDs matched his career high.

But as good as the Als offence has been lately, Glenn knows he’ll have his hands full against a stingy Bombers defence that has forced 12 takeaways in the last two games, including five interceptions and a fumble in a 34-17 win over Toronto in Week 8.

“They’re ball hogs over there,” said Glenn. “If we come out and protect the ball and do what we do on offence, we’ll be all right.”

It doesn’t help the Alouettes will also see the return of running back Tyrell Sutton, last year’s rushing leader with 1,059 yards, and receiver Kenny Stafford, both of whom have been out with injuries since Week 2.

PUSH FOR NO. 1

As big of a boost Sutton and Stafford will be to the lineup, if the Bombers defence is to have success against the Als’ surging offence it starts with shutting down receiver Duron Carter.

After two seasons in Montreal, Carter jetted for the NFL, spending last year with the Indianapolis Colts. Upon his return to Canada this season, Carter declared he would lead the CFL in all three major categories for receivers: receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. As it stands, Carter is tied for second in TDs (five), fifth in yards (690) and tied for ninth with 43 receptions.

But that hasn’t stopped him from making a major push. Since Week 5, Carter leads all receivers with 29 catches for 508 yards; and he insists he’ll soon be the leader of at least two of those categories — receiving yards and touchdowns — in no time.

“Oh, they’re in reach,” he said Thursday. “My goal right now, I got 2½ games and I’ll be No. 1.”

HERE’S JOHNNY

Given the task of stopping Carter will be Bombers defensive back Johnny Adams. Adams returns to the lineup for the first time this season since suffering a lower-body injury on the second day of training camp.

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Needless to say, it will be baptism by fire for Adams, who was named a West Division all-star last season after tying for the lead-league in interceptions (six).

Adams has practised with the first-team defence for a week, and was only named a starter when Winnipeg released its depth chart Thursday. Either way, head coach Mike O’Shea said he likes what he’s seen from the film, and is confident in putting Adams out there on short notice.

“He’s competing extremely hard and he looks good out there,” said O’Shea. “They ran him all over the field the other day at practice and he survived that. He looks good and ready to go.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

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Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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