"We’re more talented than people give us credit for": Burke

Calgary receiver Nik Lewis. (GRANT BLACK / CANWEST NEWS SERVICE ARCHIVES)

CALGARY -- Calgary receiver Nik Lewis had a playfully provocative answer when he was asked here Thursday morning if he thought he would go over the 10,000 career receiving yards mark Friday night at McMahon Stadium when his Stampeders take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"It’s all going to be determined by how they play. Hopefully, they believe Jovon Johnson can guard me man-to-man and we’ll get it done," said Lewis, who needs just 77 more yards to hit five figures.

"And if not, then they’ll double me and we’ll see what happens...He’s a great player. I hope he can cover me man-to-man."

Lewis made the comments with a smile and his tongue at least partly in cheek and Johnson, the Bombers strong-side linebacker, took it the same way when he was informed of Lewis’s comments. "How kind of him," Johnson laughed. "He’s such a great guy. I love the guy. Great player -- and I look forward to the match-up."

The Bombers held a light workout at McMahon Stadium Thursday afternoon after spending the morning travelling.

Head coach Tim Burke said Bombers slotback Clarence Denmark, who hyper-extended his knee in practice on Wednesday, is better and will play against the Stamps.

Burke was asked by a local reporter here what the biggest misconception there is of his struggling 2-8 team right now. "I think there’s a lot of people who don’t think we’re very talented. And I think we’re more talented than people give us credit for," said Burke.

"I think guys are really buying into what we want and we just need a victory to build our confidence."

A touchdown would also go a long way towards aiding that cause. The Bombers have not scored an offensive touchdown in their last 38 posessions, a drought that now spans two and a half games.

Bombers quarterback Joey Elliott, who will be making his fifth and final consecutive start this week before Buck Pierce is expected to re-take the controls next week, was asked what he needs to do differently on Friday to get the offence some spark.

As usual, Elliott responded in platitudes. "We just need to execute better. You need 12 players when you’re in the red zone, everyone to be on the same page. Because if one guy is not, it really makes a big difference."

One thing that will almost certainly be different with the Bombers offence on Friday will be a six-receivers package which the Bombers worked on during practice this week and which some of the Stampeders said here on Thursday they expect to see a lot of Friday evening. The package includes receiver Isaac Anderson, who has been added to the roster for this week.

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