Bombers looking to get back on track against Ticats

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This article was published 25/09/2019 (2231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It can be both a blessing and a curse in professional football to play just one game per week.

When you win, those good feelings can transfer from one week to the next. When you lose, players will often claim they’ve moved on from whatever bad thoughts might have come from defeat. But that’s a lot easier said than done.

Either way, each game offers a new opportunity to dictate the mood the following week — both in the locker room and among the fan base.

For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as a group they understand what a victory over the CFL-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-3) Friday night at IG Field could do for them. Not only would it put the Bombers back on track after a disappointing road loss to the Montreal Alouettes last week, it would also completely flip the script for a club that’s seemed drained in recent weeks.

“Hamilton is one of the top teams in the league, for sure. On defence, they’re very aggressive, show a lot of different looks, are able to make plays and change the game. Offensively, they have so many weapons and on special teams, as well, they’re able to score and make plays,” Bombers running back Andrew Harris said after a closed practice Wednesday.

“They’re a very well-rounded team and I look at them very similar to us in a lot of ways in having a strong defence and strong offence, and how well their special teams are playing. Their defence is able to put up points, just like ours is and their offence is very, very dynamic. It’s going to be a fun game to be a part of.”

The Bombers haven’t been having too much fun lately. Despite a 9-4 record that has the team tied with the Calgary Stampeders for top spot in the West Division, they’ve had to deal with one distraction after the next. Injuries have piled up, though the Bombers appear to be turning the corner on that recently, and unpredictable controversies, including Harris’s recent two-game suspension for a failed drug test, have taken a toll on the usually easy-going locker room for the Blue and Gold.

That doesn’t even take into consideration into what’s happened on the field. The Bombers’ monumental collapse against the Alouettes has been well documented in recent days, but it isn’t just blowing a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead that’s been troublesome. Winnipeg has won just once in its last three games and is a 4-4 dating back to late July.

In Montreal, the Bombers learned the hard way why it’s important to play a full 60 minutes and that any team can come back on you if you give them an inch.

“Hamilton is one of the top teams in the league, for sure. On defence, they’re very aggressive, show a lot of different looks, are able to make plays and change the game. Offensively, they have so many weapons and on special teams, as well, they’re able to score and make plays.”
– Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris

“It’s definitely one of those things where when it rains it pours, right?” Harris said.

“But we’ve got to be able to nip that in the bud and get it back.”

The Bombers running back was talking about the final minutes against the Alouettes and his team’s inability to stop the massive momentum shift. But Harris’s words could be sage advice to his teammates as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.

Hamilton is an elite team and their commitment to a three-phase game has been evident in their 10 wins through 13 games. They have weapons in all areas, and have rallied around rookie quarterback Dane Evans. Evans has already seen success agaisnt the Bombers, helping guide the Tiger-Cats to a win over the Blue and Gold on July 26 in what was his first real taste of game action this season after No. 1 pivot Jeremiah Masoli went down early with a season-ending knee injury.

In that game, the Bombers trailed by eight points in the final three minutes. They got the ball back twice over than span, but were unable to get past their own 30-yard line on either drive. Eventually, quarterback Matt Nichols was sacked and Hamilton sealed the game in two plays.

There’s reason to believe Friday’s game could go down to the wire, too.

Hamilton has had each of its last two games decided on the final play. Field goals in the final seconds resulted in a loss to the Stampeders two weeks ago and a win over the Edmonton Eskimos last week. The Bombers have played well on home turf, winning all six games at IG Field this year. They enter Friday as early four-point favourites.

“There’s going to be a lot of tough games coming up in the season and, man, those playoff-like games might come down to the end,” Bombers right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick said. “We need to stay on the field, we need to score and we’re feeling a little adversity right now, which is good.”

Indeed, it won’t be easy for the Bombers to win the West. The good news is they control their destiny. After Hamilton, the Bombers play the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4) in Regina Oct. 5, with the winner earning the season series and tiebreaker for the standings. Then it’s a home-and-home with the Stampeders, who have 2018 MOP quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell back at the controls. This could ultimately be a mini-series for who finsishes first in the division and hosts the West final.

The Bombers currently lead the season series with the Stampeders 1-0.

“This is a great thing because we get to play all the best of the best late in the season. That’s what we’re going to get going into the playoffs, so what better time to get into that groove and really hit your stride than now?” Bombers defensive back Chandler Fenner said. “This is the time to do that. This is pretty much five weeks of dress rehearsals before everything is on the line.”

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton