QB or not QB, that is the question

Doubts linger about Willy; Brohm says he's 'ready... to lead this team to victory'

By: Ed Tait Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Friday, Oct. 17, 2014

The starting QB remains doubtful as coaches and training staff worry about whether he can even grip a football, let alone heave it downfield while big dudes with bad intentions chase him from sideline to sideline.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/10/2014 (4065 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be two more changes to a beleaguered offensive line, including starting a fresh-faced rookie and a left tackle who has been in town for all of 10 days.

The leading rusher was cut on Wednesday. The second-leading receiver is still benched.

Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press
Quarterback Drew Willy was at the Blue Bomber practice today, but not an active participant. — Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press Quarterback Drew Willy was at the Blue Bomber practice today, but not an active participant.

Oh, and then there’s this for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers: their opponent Saturday night just so happens to be the Calgary Stampeders, the Canadian Football League’s most-dominant outfit and a crew that has rag-dolled opponents en route to a 12-2 record.

And so if you’re into maulings — picture a lion chasing down an antelope working on a bad wheel — then there is some encouraging news of note:

Good seats are still available.

First things first, an update on the Bomber QB situation…

Drew Willy spent most of Thursday’s practice playing the spectator. Arms folded across his chest or stuffed in his sweat pants, the Bombers No. 1 quarterback didn’t put his helmet on or throw a single pass. (He also wasn’t available for interviews.)

And yet head coach Mike O’Shea still isn’t ruling him out just yet.

“We’ll have to reassess him (Friday),” said O’Shea. “We’re going to see what he can do tomorrow throwing the ball and we’ll make a decision after that. I haven’t ruled him out. Once again, don’t ever rule out Drew Willy.

“But I don’t know if we’re at the point yet where he can wake up game day and we just throw him in.”

O’Shea did say he was more hopeful about Willy’s availability than he was on Wednesday when the club first returned to work after Monday’s blowout loss in Edmonton. The Bomber QB, who ranks second in the CFL with 3,526 yards passing, injured his hand in the second quarter and was replaced by Brian Brohm.

Brohm took most of the reps Thursday with the No. 1 offence and was decent in relief against the Eskimos — albeit in garbage time — and completed 18 of 33 for 219 yards with no TDs and a pick.

“Drew is the starter,” said Brohm after practice Thursday. “If he’s healthy, if he’s ready to go then he’s going to get the start. If he’s not, I’m going to be fully ready to go in there and lead this team to victory.

“He’s been banged up and he’s tried to come back as quick as he can. I know he’s working to try to get back on the field, but at the same time, I’m going to be ready to go if I’m called upon.”

No matter who takes the first snap from centre against the Stamps, the QB will be working behind a reconfigured — again — offensive line. Right tackle Glenn January (back) is still out and the club had another new face, Jace Daniels, working at left tackle Thursday with rookie Matthias Goossen at right guard. Rounding out that crew is left guard Chris Greaves, centre Steve Morley and right tackle Devin Tyler.

Daniels, who arrived Oct. 7, will be making his first CFL start, Goossen his second. Tyler, who arrived in late August following his release by Saskatchewan, will be making his fourth start for the Bombers, 12th in his CFL career.

“I think we have some guys who are capable of performing and some new guys who are going to get their chance,” said Brohm. “I’m fully confident in those guys up front, so I’m not worried about it at all. Those guys are professionals, they’re good football players and I have all the faith that they’re going to get the job done. Hopefully they have the same faith in me.”

Now, all of this isn’t meant to distract from the essentials for Saturday’s matchup. The Stamps can clinch first place in the West with a win; the Bombers desperately need to stop a six-game skid to keep alive their fleeting playoff hopes.

Vegas oddsmakers, for what it’s worth, have the Stamps favoured by 8.5 points.

“I don’t read that stuff,” said O’Shea. “Underdog? So you’re saying we’re underdogs? I don’t feel like one.”

O’Shea added his belief comes from his team’s ‘unquenchable’ desire to win. That naturally prompted a follow-up question near the end of his media session, asking where that desire was last weekend in Edmonton.

“It was there,” O’Shea said. “It just didn’t work out for us.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait