Willy one tough Jersey dude

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This article was published 28/09/2014 (4083 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were a lot of things working against him on Saturday at Investors Group Field.

Count among them the surging Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a shoulder injured two weeks ago in B.C., a slow start by the whole offence, some curious calls, some curious play-calling and a critical play call in the game’s final minute that didn’t reach the ear speakers in his helmet.

In the end, the adversity won by a hair, but Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy showed again why he’s so well-regarded by his teammates.

“It’s just kind of part of the game,” Willy said about being rattled around in the 16-11 defeat against the Tiger-Cats. “Where I’m from (Randolph, N.J.), the No. 1 thing you’ve got to be is tough.

“If you’re not tough… it’s just like, if there’s one thing you don’t want somebody to say about you is that you’re not tough.

“So just get up. You’ve got to keep fighting. It’s a physical game. You don’t want to show the other team that they’re getting to you. So pop up, get up and run the next play.”

Willy did that all night long, getting the Blue Bombers into position to win the game on a final drive that fell just short.

He said the injury to his throwing shoulder, which caused him to leave the game in B.C., wasn’t much of a problem on Saturday.

“A couple of hits,” Willy said. “When I fell early in the game, they came with coverage zero but I completed it to A.K. (Aaron Kelly), but they got me pretty good on that one. I felt it, but the adrenaline is so high and I enjoy the game so much, I just want to fight for guys out there. So you just have to be tough. There are a ton of guys in our locker room that are tough and that’s what we love about each other.

“We’ve definitely got the right guys in there so we just need to regroup, execute at a higher level and get ready for Ottawa.”

Willy passed for 303 yards, going 27 for 41 on the night.

“Coming off an injury and still hurting a little bit, it was brave for him to come back and do that,” said receiver Cory Watson, who caught Willy’s six-yard touchdown throw in the fourth quarter. “It shows his character, how good a player he is. We’re looking forward to seeing him in full health next week.”

Bombers coach Mike O’Shea extolled his quarterback’s character — again — on Saturday night.

“Gutsy,” the coach said. “He got sacked five times. Hit a bunch. He had a couple of times roughing the passer. Guys took a couple of shots at him. He kept getting up and kept going. Led us on a drive at the very end with a chance, first down and three with a chance to win the game. I thought he played a gutsy game.”

On that final drive, Willy’s final third-and-goal shot to try to win the game went towards receiver Clarence Denmark, but wasn’t really close.

“I just saw press man and I was going to a guy I feel real comfortable (with) in Denmark,” Willy said. “We were just on different pages and I’ll take blame for it.

“It’s tough for sure. I wish we could have beat ’em the same way did the first time. We had it rolling there at the end and to get to the three-yard-line and not finish the game, it’s quite disappointing.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca