Bombers coach hopeful Willy can start against B.C.

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This article was published 26/07/2015 (3188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quarterback Drew Willy could be back on the practice field as early as Tuesday and might start for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this Thursday evening at Investors Group Field against the B.C. Lions.

“He’s seen a doctor, had the tests done and we’re hopeful he’ll get a chance to play,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told a news conference Monday afternoon. “We’ll know more tomorrow. We’ll see if he can practice and we’ll go from there.”

Willy hurt his right knee Saturday evening during a 32-3 Bombers loss to the Edmonton Eskimos and spent the second half with his knee on ice and was visibly limping as he left the field at the end of the game.

O’Shea was asked what he needs to see out of Willy this week to give him the starting nod Thursday night. “Just good enough mobility to make sure he’s safe and can execute the offence,” said O’Shea.

If Willy cannot go on Thursday, O’Shea said Brian Brohm will start for Winnipeg against the Lions. O’Shea said third string QB Robert Marve — who the club says has been hurt in recent weeks — is not an option to start for the Bombers this week. “Robert Marve hasn’t been able to take reps for the last two weeks,” said O’Shea.

O’Shea, meanwhile, said right tackle Devin Tyler is out this week and Jace Daniels — who started at right tackle for the first four games of the regular season — will draw back into the lineup, while slotback Nick Moore and linebackers Graig Newman and Tony Burnett are all questionable this week.

The Bombers have lost two in a row and three of their last four games, but O’Shea bristled when he was asked what is “wrong” with his team at the moment. “That seems like a strange question,” O’Shea said. “I would never use that term ‘wrong’. There are things on a daily basis that you install and you coach and film you watch and players that need correction on a daily basis on every team in every sport.

“That’s the process you go through.”

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Paul Wiecek
Reporter (retired)

Paul Wiecek was born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End and delivered the Free Press -- 53 papers, Machray Avenue, between Main and Salter Streets -- long before he was first hired as a Free Press reporter in 1989.

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