QBs Bennett, Davis battle for job of holding clipboard

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This article was published 10/06/2016 (3405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you see either Dominique Davis or Bryan Bennett behind centre for any substantional amount of time this season, rest assured something has gone horribly wrong for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

There’s a pitched battle being fought for the honour of holding the clipboard on game day as the team’s No. 3 pivot anyway, head coach Mike O’Shea said after Friday’s practice.

It’s a welcome dilemma for O’Shea and quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce. The club’s recent history suggests a third-stringer is never far from getting the call. So it’s good, then, both Davis and Bennett impressed in Wednesday’s 36-13 win over the Montreal Alouettes.

Davis led several scoring drives to bring the Bombers back from an early 13-3 deficit, and Bennett threw a slick touchdown pass to Fred Williams to seal the deal in the fourth quarter. The duo led the team to 33 unanswered points and a dominant win.

As irrelevant as fans hope this race turns out to be, it’s a healthy dose of competition O’Shea yearns for. For the two men in the trenches, it’s all about taking care of business and then watching anxiously to see where the chips fall.

“The goal is to just go out here and try and compete every day,” Davis said. “I just need to leave (the decision) in the coaches’ hands. I can’t control any of that, so I just need to come out here and take it one day at a time and transfer my good practices to the game.”

Bennett says he and Davis are friends who just happen to be at the same job interview.

“Working with Dom is great and we told each other before the game, ‘Let’s go out there and both of us take care of business and have a great game and get a win,’ ” Bennett said. “We want to win and do what’s best for the team. We want to run the score up and put up points.

“It never was and I doubt it ever will be me versus him. We want to see each other do well. This quarterback unit, all four of us get along with each other well.”

Bennett saw his first CFL action in Wednesday’s game. He was added to the roster at the tail end of last season, but watched Davis start the final game against the Argos in Toronto.

O’Shea liked what he saw from both men Wednesday but wasn’t giving anything away when asked whether one came out ahead.

“They each showed some poise. They each showed some playmaking ability. They were both able to think on their feet and react very quickly and showed they were very athletic and both made throws downfield,” O’Shea said.

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O’Shea said who plays in Ottawa Monday night and for how long in the second and last pre-season game will come down to the comfort level in his stable of signal callers.

“They’re going to play more snaps, but it’s the same idea, to make sure they’re comfortable heading into the first week of the season,” he said. “They have to feel comfortable enough to feel good with the group they have around them.”

Beyond that, any calls for more or less playing time will come down to in-game decisions.

Like a good horse race, this one’s going down to the wire.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.