Burke picks up pieces of pre-season pummeling

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This article was published 13/06/2013 (4577 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ask Tim Burke a question and he will always give you a full and honest answer.

And Thursday afternoon was no different as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach didn’t sugar-coat his answer when he was asked by reporters what he thought of his team losing 24-6 at home Wednesday night to a Toronto Argonauts club that had left almost all their starters from last year’s Grey Cup champion squad back in Toronto.

“It is a little bit disconcerting that that happened and that’s what I told the guys last night,” said Burke, who unlike Toronto played most of his starters on Wednesday.

“I thought that was the disconcerting part — that we didn’t show better against their backups…I thought we would perform better than we did, (the Bombers starters) I’m talking about.”

Burke also revealed his squad came out of Wednesday’s game banged up. Burke said starting receiver Kito Poblah and embattled starting defensive back Jonathan Hefney were both hurt during the game and will both likely miss the next week, including Winnipeg’s final pre-season game next Thursday in Guelph versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Other players who got injured on Wednesday include receivers Kurt Adams and Isaac Anderson, returner Jameze Massey and defensive back Jeremy McGee. Burke said all those injuries are day-to-day and none are expected to miss anything more than the next week.

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Burke also revealed  starting middle linebacker Henoc Muamba — who missed last night’s game and has also missed practice going back to last week with a hamstring injury — will also miss the next week of practice.

Burke said punter Mike Renaud went a long way on Wednesday to “solidifying” his return as the Bombers punter in 2013.

Burke also said local receiving prospect Brett Carter, who made two catches last night, still has a chance to make this year’s team.

And Burke said defensive back Marty Markett could also earn himself a job with a solid final week of training camp.

The Bombers did not practice Thursday but will return to the practice field on Friday. The team originally had two practices scheduled for Friday, but will now practice just once, from 10:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m..