Eskimos won’t be pushovers: LaPolice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2012 (4833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers held their final full practice Wednesday in advance of their game Friday night in Edmonton against the Eskimos.

Edmonton lost 17-1 in a miserable effort last weekend against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and there appears to be an expectation among the public that Winnipeg, although owning a worse record at 0-2 than the 1-1 Eskimos, should handily defeat Edmonton on the road.

But Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said Wednesday the broader evidence suggests the Eskimos are a better team than the loss to the Riders might indicate.

“I just know that Saskatchewan put up a ton of points (in beating Hamilton) in Week 1 and in Week 2 they barely moved the ball,” said LaPolice.

“And certainly Edmonton Week 1 moved the ball pretty well and made some good plays (in a win over Toronto). Each team has to show up and we’ll have our work cut out for us.

“And we’re 0-2 right now. We need to play a complete game.”

Bombers QB Buck Pierce says the secret to the success of the offence this week will be dealing with a formidable Edmonton front four and making the most of first down.

“For us, it’s take your shots when you can, but be patient and stay out of the bad situations,” said Pierce.

“If we’re good on first down, I really like our chances.”

— — —

While the Bombers offence appears to be unchanged from last week against Montreal, injuries to SAM Brandon Stewart and halfback Alex Suber means the Bombers starting defence for Edmonton will see multiple personnel and positional changes.

The secondary will see Jovon Johnson and Deon Beasley at the corners, Johnny Sears and Darrell Pasco at halfback and Ian Logan at safety. The linebackers will be Jonathan Hefney at SAM, Pierre-Luc Labbe in the middle and Dustin Doe at weak-side.

The starting front-four is the only part of the defence that looks like it will return intact from last week — ends Jason Vega and Alex Hall and tackles Bryant Turner and Brandon Collier.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Cousin to the Minister of Defence

“The best part was playing for the (Cleveland) Browns in Philadelphia (last year in the pre-season). They have his picture up there in the stadium and I even scored that game. That was special.”

— Bombers wide receiver Chris Matthews talking about his cousin, the late NFL hall of fame defensive end Reggie White

Out of the Blue

“I was sitting at home and I got a call and saw it was a Winnipeg number. I figured it might be the Bombers because I didn’t know anyone else who’d be calling me from Winnipeg.”

— Bombers non-import RB Nathan Riva, who the Bombers signed Monday as a backup and special teams player, and is expected to dress in Edmonton on Friday, just four days after joining the team.