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Alex Brink at practice Sunday. Brink is not the only CFL quarterback to have had a hard time against Toronto's defence, head coach Paul LaPolice reasons. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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Comparing Alex Brink to Henry Burris, intentionally or not, probably isn't the best way to keep the heat off a young Bomber quarterback heading into the biggest game of the year.

You read that right. After four straight losses to open the season, we are officially in big-game territory now.

Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice made the connection between Brink and Burris after practice Sunday, explaining his decision to give his maligned signal caller another chance to guide the Bombers offence when the Edmonton Eskimos (3-1) pay a visit to Canad Inns Stadium later this week.

Please go ahead and place all boiling pots of quarterback controversy on the back burner now -- at least until Thursday night.

"I watched the game, I watched our game against Edmonton that Alex played, and as I looked and evaluated, there are some things he did well," the coach told reporters. "There is certainly a lot of room for improvement."

LaPolice went on to explain his decision process: Brink, who is stepping in for an injured Buck Pierce, only had one full day to prepare for the Toronto game, so he gets a pass there. Second, he looked at how other CFL quarterbacks performed against the Argos defence, and saw how Burris struggled throwing the ball when Hamilton hosted the Argos earlier this month. The 13-year CFL veteran went 12-of-27 for 181 yards in that game; numbers that LaPolice put up against Brink's production (9-of-34 for 185 yards) against the same Argos crew last Wednesday.

That comparison is curious, though: The difference between Brink's showing and Burris's showing against the same defence is the Hamilton pivot threw for three touchdowns and found a way to win the game -- two things a Bomber pivot hasn't been able to pull off this year.

And while the Bombers (0-4) are still constructing a pedestal for the Toronto defence -- they are good, no question, but the reverence coming from Winnipeg is a bit much -- consider Brink's next challenge:

Edmonton's defence, which held all three Bomber quarterbacks in check in a 42-10 pounding July 13, is allowing a league-best 14 points a game and just backed up self-declarations of being the best defence in the CFL with a shutdown performance against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver last Friday.

To his credit, Brink understands his situation completely. The team has put its faith in him once more, and part of making sure he's headed in the right direction means admitting there were some mental mistakes in the Argos game. After further review, he would have made a few more throws underneath the coverage instead of going over the top, a course of action that would have put the offence in fewer second-and-long situations.

"Guys go through this," he said. "As a young player, you're going to have ups and downs, and that's the one thing I know for sure playing this game. There's going to be good days and there's going to be bad. The beautiful thing about playing football is that there's a game next week. I get to go focus on that."

Brink's role as the starting quarterback is just part of the plot involving the Bombers' unstable stable of arms Thursday. Both the player and club are banking on a better game this time around but should he stumble once again, all eyes will be on Joey Elliott at the Winnipeg sideline.

For the record, LaPolice is not in favour of making a QB change from week to week, but all proclamations on the topic of quarterbacks should be written down in pencil, given the current uneasiness at the position.

Speaking of change, LaPolice's criteria for switching the quarterback in the middle of a contest reads like this: Is the he moving the offence and is he protecting the ball? If yes on both counts, it's unlikely a switch will be made. Circumstances are different in every situation, he acknowledges (a tight score may buy the starter more rope), but his message to his current quarterback options -- specifically Brink -- for this week was clear.

"He understands he didn't play well," LaPolice added, "and he understands that if he continues not to play well, we'll move in another direction just to see what the other guy can do."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @wazoowazny

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 23, 2012 0