No stopping Big Blue’s dominant defensive duo

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This article was published 14/07/2021 (1517 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this week, Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson made a case for the duo consisting of himself and Jackson Jeffcoat as the top pass-rush combo in the CFL.

Jefferson, the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive player two years ago, may have a point.

He combined with Jackson for five sacks, three forced fumbles, six tackles and one fumble recovery in the Blue Bombers’ 33-12 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019 Grey Cup game.

The two Texans are back in Winnipeg and Jeffcoat expects that domination to continue in 2021.

“That sounds about right,” he said Wednesday. “… Every day we want to go out and compete and be the best if we’re we’re competing against each other, (if) we’re competing against our offensive line and (when) competing against an opponent that’s in front of us… We play this game to be the best.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea wasn’t keen on comparing the Jefferson-Jeffcoat tandem with others around the league.

“I would never look at that,” said O’Shea. “That doesn’t interest me in the least. I’m interested in them being the great leaders and team players and athletes that they are and they’ve proven themselves to me, time and time again. I don’t need to stack up them up against anybody else or compare them to anybody else to validate their value to our team.”

BACK IN PADS: The Blue Bombers held their first padded practice of training camp and Jeffcoat pronounced it a success, even after the long absence from the field.

“With the quarantine, I was a little stiff,” said Jeffcoat. “But after that, getting back onto the field and playing, putting these pads on I think I responded really well. You’ve got to take your hat off to (head athletic therapist) Al Couture and (sport science/strength and conditioning co-ordinator) Brayden Miller. They’ve done a really good job of making sure that we’re ready.”

GETTING BUSY: Blue Bombers slotback Nic Demski didn’t sit idle during the pandemic.

He branched out with off-field interests, earning his certification to become a financial advisor, coaching young football players while also working with at-risk children as a support worker in a group home.

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“It was awesome,” said Demski. “It was something I didn’t think that was going to happen and something I didn’t think I was going to like as much as I did… It was definitely a positive moment in these past 12 months or 18 months, however long it’s been.”

TAKING A BREAK: Veteran running back Andrew Harris was an on-field observer Wednesday, deliberately held out of workouts to spare some wear and tear. Demski said his old teammate’s inactivity was nothing to worry about.

“I’m not concerned,” said Demski. “I know Andrew. Andrew’s a dog and he’s going to come back in and you know he has something to prove as well. I mean, we all do. We’re all working hard and we all want to get that Grey Cup trophy back in Winnipeg and I know when push comes to shove, we’re all going to be there for each other.”

WALKING WOUNDED: O’Shea said he expected running back Johnny Augustine to be back on the field within a week adding O-lineman Michael Couture should be ready to go. Meanwhile, highly touted wide receiver Cam Meredith’s ailment is not deemed serious. The NFL veteran was a spectator Wednesday.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14