Big Blue out to rain on Rourke’s parade

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2024 (420 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will taste a bit of their own medicine this weekend, as they get ready to face a raucous crowd for their Week 11 road game against the B.C. Lions Sunday evening.

The Lions have opened the upper deck of B.C. Place and are expecting more than 30,000 people to take in what’s being dubbed as Famfest, with several activities for all ages taking place in and around the stadium.

Most of the buzz will be centred around the sudden return of quarterback Nathan Rourke, who signed a three-year contract with the Lions earlier this week after spending close to two years chasing the NFL dream. Rourke was trending on social media after the deal was made public, with his arrival resulting in a surge in ticket sales, creating a mad rush to see the Canadian pivot perform for the first time on home soil since 2022.

Indeed, Rourke has made this game must-watch TV, attracting three-down enthusiasts from across the country. It’s great news for the league and particularly the Lions, who not only cement themselves as front-runners for the Grey Cup, but Rourke also gives them an A-plus Plan B for a currently injured Vernon Adams Jr.

Meanwhile, the Bombers have been bombarded with questions all week about facing Rourke and the answers have been what you’d expect.

Some expressed disappointment he wasn’t given a fair shake down south. Most acknowledged the benefits of Rourke’s return to the CFL, but tempered their response by comparing the challenge to that of Adams, who was leading the race for Most Outstanding Player before he was knocked out week-to-week with a knee injury.

There’s a lot at stake in this one, especially for the 3-6 Bombers who are trying to claw their way into a playoff position and now have to face one of the league’s best QBs. The winner clinches the season series, which is currently tied at a game apiece.

The Lions are also looking to get back on track after losing three consecutive games. All of those defeats have come on the road, so you know they’re going to be amped to play in front of their hometown faithful.

There’s a lot to unpack ahead of the 6 p.m. CT kickoff, so let’s dive deeper into this one in the latest edition of 5 Storylines.

Blue own Rourke

Did you really think we were just going to leave it there with Rourke? Many were surprised to see him return to the Lions, but the timing proved right for the 26-year-old, who was released by the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons in recent weeks after stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots in 2023.

If it wasn’t already clear, Rourke is a weapon.

He took the league by storm in his first year as a starter with the Lions in 2022, playing 10 games due to a foot injury, but still threw for 3,349 yards and 25 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He led the league in passer efficiency rating (122.6), passing yards per game (334.9) and completion percentage (78.7), which is the most accurate passing season of any QB in CFL history.

Here’s the thing: Rourke has never beaten the Bombers in three career starts against Winnipeg.

He got dominated in his first game, 43-22, in Week 5 in 2022, and again in Week 21, 24-9, in what was his first game back from his foot injury. Fittingly, Rourke’s last CFL game came against the Blue and Gold; under frigid Winnipeg conditions in the West Final, he completed 20 of his 37 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, in a 28-20 defeat.

Rourke said earlier this week that he’s a better player than when he left; that much is obvious. He’ll have some major rust to knock off after going 644 days without playing a full football game.

Bombers D up to challenge

Rourke isn’t getting a great matchup in his return, as he’s up against a Bombers defence that has been the heart and soul of the club this season and is coming off a historic performance against the Lions in Week 9.

The defence was Herculean in a 25-0 decision over B.C. at Princess Auto Stadium, giving up just four first downs — the fewest ever allowed in Bombers franchise history and tied for the second fewest ever in the CFL — and just 102 net offensive yards. The Lions possessed the ball for a shade more than 18 minutes and Adams was sacked four times before suffering his knee injury.

Winnipeg has been a bit of a mixed bag on defence at times, at least statistically, as the Blue and Gold currently lead the CFL in average total yards (320.8) and first downs (153) against. They have also surrendered the most “big plays” (18) — passes of 30-plus yards, rushes of 20 or more — so far this year and their 13 takeaways are only better than the 2-7 Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ nine.

Don’t think for a second the Bombers aren’t feeling extra motivated by all the hype Rourke is bringing to the game. They’d want nothing more than to rain on the welcome home party and give the Lions a fourth straight loss.

Lawler cleared to play

When speaking to Kenny Lawler on the eve of the season-opener, he wouldn’t outright say he wanted to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards this year, but he did seriously suggest it when he said he was looking to reset the record book.

That clearly isn’t going to happen, not with Lawler breaking his arm in the first half of the first game. After rehabbing the last couple of months, the Bombers star receiver has been cleared to play.

Lawler is a significant boost to a Bombers offence that has scored the fewest touchdowns (13) and is averaging the fewest points (19.8) per game, especially with Dalton Schoen (knee) out for the year and Drew Wolitarsky (shoulder) still stranded on the six-game injured list. In 53 career regular-season games, Lawler has 3,472 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.

His timing might just be perfect, too, as the 30-year-old Californian has never lost to the Lions while with the Bombers, boasting a 7-0 record. What’s more, his two best performances in his CFL career — and the only times he’s eclipsed 200 receiving yards in a game — are against the Lions.

You wouldn’t necessarily expect a game-changing performance after such a long layoff, but considering it’s Lawler, you also can’t rule it out.

Lucky relegated to returner

With Lawler back in the fold, receiver Lucky Whitehead has been taken out of the starting offence and relegated to returner. It’s a role familiar to Whitehead, especially early on in his career, as he broke into the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys as a return man and was among the top options when he was with the Bombers in 2019.

Whitehead hasn’t returned a ball since the 2022 season, while with the Lions, and it wasn’t all that impressive of an effort, with just 86 total yards on 14 punt returns. That’s an average of 6.1 yards per return, which was the worst average among all players with at least 15 returns that season.

At 32 years old, Whitehead has lost some of his blistering speed, but he’s also wiser and Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was complimentary this week when talking about his patience with blockers. As for Whitehead, he’d love to stick it to the Lions, who opted to pass on re-signing him to a fourth year in B.C.

There’s a fair amount at stake here for Whitehead, too, as he could be on the chopping block with fellow receiver Keric Wheatfall eyeing a return. A strong performance against the Lions would go a long way in making a case to stay in the lineup, given the Bombers desperate situation at returner after watching Janarion Grant leave and excel with the Toronto Argonauts.

The 100 club

A win over the Lions would give O’Shea 100 victories, putting him within two of Bud Grant’s franchise record of 102. O’Shea currently sits at 99-68, with the 3-6 record this season slowing his push to triple digits.

O’Shea and general manager Kyle Walters could also be the first head coach/GM in league history to win 100 games together. They lead the league with 99, 26 more than Dave Dickenson and John Hufnagel in Calgary and 25 ahead of Marc Trestman and Jim Popp in Montreal.

As a final note, kicker Sergio Castillo missed most of practice this week to mourn the death of his grandmother. He returned to Winnipeg after attending her funeral in La Joya, Texas, and is expected to play.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton