Bombers launch latest bid for playoff glory

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This article was published 23/06/2016 (3392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Long-suffering Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans will get their first sense tonight whether the 2016 squad is the one to lead them to the promised land, or another in a long line of empty promises.

Here are five storylines heading into tonight’s game against the Montreal Alouettes at Investors Group Field:

1. The next-closest thing

It would be foolish to suggest any of the CFL teams headed into their Week 1 matchups are in a must-win situation, including the Bombers. But a victory tonight will go a long way for Winnipeg.

The optimism that comes with every new season, a winter that included upgrades in talent at almost every position and an unveiling of new royal blue jerseys — the same colours the Bombers donned in the “Glory Years” when they won three Grey Cups in the 1980s and early ’90s — has all but erased the bad memories of last season, when the Blue and Gold stumbled to a 5-13 record.

All week, coaches and players have downplayed the impact of a loss to start the season, but as much as all the new changes have heightened the excitement for 2016, they’ve also raised expectations. Furthermore, the Bombers have won just seven games at IGF since moving in three seasons ago, so at this point, a string of wins in front of the home crowd is long overdue.

It also doesn’t help that after Montreal, a team that almost every CFL pundit has picked to finish near the bottom of the standings, the schedule only gets tougher with the Bombers playing Calgary, Hamilton and Edmonton all twice in the next six weeks. Tonight may not be a must-win, but it’s the next-closest thing.

2. The new-look offence

From bust to boom. That’s what fans are hoping to see from a Bombers offence that underwent a complete overhaul in the off-season.

It was an underwhelming pre-season for quarterback Drew Willy and the No. 1 offence, which combined for just 10 points and no touchdowns through three quarters of action. But most of that came with a vanilla playbook, one that will be replaced with a fast-paced scheme from new offensive co-ordinator Paul La Police.

Now that the games count, the pressure is on. With all the new weapons now surrounding Willy — receivers Weston Dressler, who will see his first game with the offence, and Ryan Smith and running back Andrew Harris — there’s no more room for excuses.

3. Healed for homecoming

Harris sure knows how to create some buzz around his homecoming. The Bombers dodged a major bullet Thursday, announcing Harris, who was listed as questionable for the game after he injured his leg in Tuesday’s practice and then missed Wednesday’s workout, has been cleared for contact.

The brief absence of Harris, a Winnipegger who signed in the off-season after six years with the B.C. Lions and is expected to play a big role in the Bombers new-look offence this season, created quite the stir. Harris put that all to rest when he addressed the media following the team’s walk-through, confirming he was 100 per cent healthy and looking forward to playing in front of the hometown crowd.

“It’s more than just football,” Harris said. “This is an important game on a lot of different levels and one I wouldn’t want to miss for the world.”

Harris is no stranger to playing while banged up: “There’s a level of toughness you have to play with.” Even so, given the importance of his first game at home — he said there’s no official count of the number of family and friends scheduled to attend, though surely it’s in the hundreds — you have to wonder if there will be some lingering effect from his injury.

He’s a dynamic player who relies on his legs, making monitoring his health just one more reason all eyes will be on No. 33 whenever he takes the field.

4. Pressure on Glenn

Despite what the rankings say, Montreal is no pushover — far from it. The Alouettes proved as much in the Bombers pre-season opener two weeks ago. Winnipeg won the game, 36-13, but only after the first-team offences had exited the game with Montreal up 13-3. It wasn’t until the second and third teams entered the game that Winnipeg went on to score 33 unanswered points for the win.

Montreal has a stingy defence, but if that game showed anything, it’s Montreal can hurt you with its offence. Complementing Kevin Glenn, the team’s veteran starting quarterback and a former Bomber, is a group of receivers who are as dangerous as any in the league, including S.J. Green, Duron Carter, who returned to the Als on a one-year deal after spending last season with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, and Kenny Stafford. They also have a formidable running game that features last year’s rushing leader in Tyrell Sutton, who finished with 1,059 yards despite missing three games.

“You have to be prepared for everything they can do,” said defensive end Jamaal Westerman.

For the Bombers to have success it will be up to Westerman and the rest of the defensive line — a group that includes two other key off-season signings in tackles Keith Shologan and Euclid Cummings — to get pressure on Glenn, who is guarded by a young and inexperienced Alouettes offensive line.

5. Swagger in the secondary

It’s one of the most vocal groups on the team. And with all that talk in training camp has come lofty goals for the Bombers secondary.

But of all the expectations the team’s last line of defence has set for themselves this season, the most intriguing one came from the mouth of veteran cornerback Chris Randle, who said earlier this week his unit vowed not to give up any explosive plays — the kind of deep-ball touchdown passes you see almost every week in the CFL — to opposing offences.

“Not once this season, that’s a goal of ours,” said Randle.

It’s a big ask for a unit that includes only two returnees from last year in Randle and halfback Bruce Johnson and will feature three new faces, including safety Macho Harris, rookie Kevin Fogg, who replaces an injured Johnny Adams at cornerback and Julian Posey, who isn’t exactly new — he joined the Bombers late last season — but has only one CFL start.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

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Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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