It’s ‘only’ a preseason game but for Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans – and those who write about the team – today feels a little like Christmas.

The Bombers and Tiger-Cats tee it up at 7 p.m. at Canad Inns Stadium and yours truly is as excited as anyone to see how this collection of talent measures up on the field.

We’ll be watching the QBs, as always, but will also be paying particular attention to the O-line and the secondary. We stated earlier in camp that the Bombers made-over O-line should be solid, but there are many across the league who think the departures of Alex Gauthier, Dominic Picard, Dan Goodspeed and Kyle Koch will be crippling.

And it’s really tough to get a read on the new group of defensive backs. They’ve looked solid in training camp and play aggressively, but how will they handle going against enemy receivers for the first time?

We should also get a little sampling on whether Mike Kelly & Co know what they’re doing. The offensive and defensive packages will be very vanilla, but preseason games can also provide a sneak peek at simple things like organization and habits - that’s why teams like the Montreal Alouettes last year and the Toronto Argonauts this year have practised the little things like standing at attention for the national anthem.

Finally, just FYI, our good friend Jamie Stein of the CFL put together a solid interview for CFL.ca on Kelly. To view his work, go here.