Life without Leggett begins today
Bombers will find out how good their backups are in game against Argos
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/10/2017 (2352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers punched their ticket to the post-season with a win over the B.C. Lions last week, clearing the first hurdle in their pursuit of the Grey Cup. The next mark in the journey is to earn a home playoff game, which the Bombers (11-4) can achieve with a victory at BMO Field when they tackle the Toronto Argonauts this afternoon at 3 p.m.
With that, here are five storylines heading into today’s game.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
The Argonauts (7-9), having clinched a home playoff date despite being two games below .500, can claim top spot in a weak East Division with a victory today. A win would also snap a two-game losing skid, following losses to the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
It would also mean beating the Bombers for the first time since the 2015 season, with Winnipeg claiming the last three matches by a combined score of 113 to 71. The Bombers, despite an average winning margin of 14 points, have also shown a level of resolve in each of those three games, overcoming deficits of seven, 10 and five points, respectively.
But while regular-season records and recent history give the Bombers a clear edge, Winnipeg has been beat up in recent weeks, even if that hasn’t been reflected on the scoreboard. Injuries and inconsistency over the past two games, including a 30-13 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 16, has temporarily dampened the Bombers’ otherwise successful season.
Whether those struggles are what spurred head coach Mike O’Shea to remind his team this week to put aside personal goals in favour of the team’s long-term goal, is unknown, though identifying the motivation isn’t nearly as important as the message itself.
“Just reaffirming the idea of what we’re here for,” said O’Shea.
“The obligation you have to prepare to the best of your ability, that when you step through that door, you got to leave anything aside. You have to come into the building prepared to work.”
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
Life without linebacker Maurice Leggett and wide receiver Darvin Adams began earlier this week, with coaches and players fielding questions after every practice on what their absences might mean. Adams appeared to injure his left arm on the Bombers’ first series on offence against the Lions, while Leggett tore his Achilles tendon after recovering an onside kick late in the fourth quarter.
Leggett has been ruled out for the rest of the season, while O’Shea said there is a possibility Adams may be available for a playoff game. Leggett joins defensive end Jamaal Westerman — out with a suspected muscle tear in his left arm — on the list of players who started, but won’t finish, the year.
“We’re working guys through those positions,” said O’Shea. “As usual, lots of guys getting reps in spots to see how the lineup will best play out for us.”
The Bombers will look to Chris Givens to replace Adams, who leads the team in receiving yards (1,120) and is tied with receiver Clarence Denmark for the most touchdowns, with seven.
Givens, 27, joined the practice roster a month ago and has never played in the CFL. He does have 60 games of NFL experience, splitting time with the St. Louis Rams and, most recently, the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, where he caught 19 passes for 346 yards and one touchdown.
The Bombers have liked what they’ve seen from Givens in practice — his speed, route-running and sure hands — but it’s unfair to think his impact will negate the loss of Adams.
The same concern surrounds defensive back Kevin Fogg, who replaces Leggett at strong-side linebacker. Fogg is coming off his best game in 2017, recording his first interception of the year and punt-return touchdown of his career against the Lions.
There is little concern whether Fogg can drop back into coverage. It’s how well he can move up to the line of scrimmage to stop Toronto’s potent run game that should determine how long he’ll stay in that position.
RAY AND COMPANY
Ricky Ray needs just 218 yards to reach 5,000 passing yards for the fifth time in his 15-year CFL career. The Argonauts quarterback needs 335 yards to reach the 60,000-mark, which would make him just the fourth player in league history to do so, joining Anthony Calvillo, Damon Allen and Henry Burris.
At 37, Ray hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in 11 games this season and remains the focus of a revamped offence.
But as the Argonauts once relied on Ray and a dangerous passing game for their success, the emergence of James Wilder has brought life to the run game, giving the offence a dual threat.
“They’re finding a good balance and if they can get that run going they’re going to exploit your defence,” said Winnipeg cornerback Chris Randle. “It’s a lot to be prepared for with their running game and Ricky Ray at the helm.”
In eight starts, Wilder has averaged 99 rushing yards. When he isn’t in the lineup, the Argonauts, as a team, averaged 66 on the ground.
What’s most impressive about the 25-year-old Wilder is he’s averaging 7.3 yards per carry — a total that puts him in the top-15 all-time among running backs, and just shy of the franchise record set in 1960 by Cookie Gilchrist (88 carries for 662 yards, an average of 7.5 per carry).
“We take pride in stopping the run and as a D-line, it’s something that is going to have to get by us first,” said Bombers’ defensive tackle Cory Johnson.
BIG GAME FOR OFFENCE
The best way to limit Ray and the Argonauts’ offence may be an awakening by Winnipeg’s offence, a unit that struggled mightily the past two games.
The Bombers put up 325 net yards in the loss to the Ticats, and a putrid 214 — including a season-low 172 passing yards for Matt Nichols — in the win over the Lions. They have hardly looked like a group that has been atop the league in points scored and yards gained for most of the season, coming off a game where they didn’t register a touchdown and instead relied on the defence and special teams to do the heavy lifting.
Running back Andrew Harris stressed earlier this week the offence needs to better adapt to changes in defences, adding the league has enough game film to identify what’s been working so well.
“I think the defences have been kind of figuring out what we’ve been doing a little bit,” said Harris. “The biggest thing is how we respond from a lacklustre offence last week or the week before, how we respond and how we get better.”
Paul LaPolice, the Bombers offensive co-ordinator, said the biggest difference between the last two games and the ones that came before is the number of plays the offence has run — 53, 52 and 55 in the last three games — the three lowest totals of the season.
“What we’ve got to do is get more first downs,” said LaPolice.
To earn more first downs, added LaPolice, they need to avoid second-and-long situations. That will be especially important against Toronto, where the defence has allowed the second-fewest second-down conversions, with teams converting just 45.9 per cent of their opportunities. The Argonauts average 339.5 yards of net offence per game and 6.2 yards per play — both of which rank second in the CFL.
“It’s just the attention to detail,” said LaPolice. “We always talk about, if one fails, we all fail.”
HARRIS CHASING CFL HISTORY
The count is on to see if Harris can make CFL history, with the chance to be the first player to record 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a season.
With 871 rushing yards and 816 receiving yards through the first 15 games, Harris would need to average 43 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards over the final three games to reach the mark. It’s something both Harris and his teammates would like to achieve, but not at the expense of the team.
“It just depends,” said Harris. “Sometimes we’re going to go with a more blocking role and I got to make sure I’m doing my job. It’s a full scheme and everyone is in it together, a full team effort.”
Harris does have someone else rooting for him from a distance, Robert Drummond, the man who currently holds the record for greatest dual-threat season by a running back. Drummond rushed for 1,134 yards and had 840 receiving yards in 1997 with Toronto.
“Tell the man good luck — he’d be the first,” Drummond told the Free Press earlier this week.
Harris also needs just eight catches to tie Craig Ellis’s mark of 102 receptions in 1985, the most in a single season by a running back.
jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton
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.
History
Updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017 10:37 AM CDT: Edited