Blue need classes in passes

They're light in experienced receivers, and it's showing

By: Adam Wazny Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 12, 2011

Do the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have enough veteran savvy at receiver?

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Do the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have enough veteran savvy at receiver?

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2011 (5237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Do the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have enough veteran savvy at receiver?

That question springs to mind after the offensive showing in the first two games of the 2011 schedule. Neither yielded a 200-yard passing effort or more than one major score through the air.

Splitting hairs on an undefeated start in Bomberland? Perhaps.

WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Bombers SB Terrence Jeffers-Harris at practice Monday. He’s only played five games with Buck Pierce under centre. — WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bombers SB Terrence Jeffers-Harris at practice Monday. He’s only played five games with Buck Pierce under centre.

Outside of seven-year veteran Terrence Edwards (64) and four-year man Aaron Hargreaves (47), no member of the Winnipeg receiving corps has more than 17 CFL games under his belt. Further complicating matters, Winnipeg’s starting quarterback, Buck Pierce, has seen action in only seven games since the start of the 2010 season.

This offence has been together for just over a year now, but they haven’t really played together.

Pierce has said before that he has faith in his receivers (really, what else can he say?), but there’s a difference between telling reporters you have confidence in someone and building a trust with that person.

And that could be what the Bombers’ offence is dealing with these days.

“I always have thought it was important to establish a group of five or six receivers that the quarterback can work with,” Bombers offensive co-ordinator Jamie Barresi said Monday as he readies his unit for the Calgary Stampeders Thursday (7 p.m., Canad Inns Stadium).

“Getting to know who they are, getting a feel for not just where one guy is going to be, but several members of that group — that’s important. This week, we’re probably going to have the same lineup, which is important for me.”

Most of the Bombers’ receivers have no significant time with Pierce under centre. Seven games is the maximum, and only Edwards and Hargreaves have that.

Terence Jeffers-Harris has had five games. Same with Cory Watson.

Greg Carr has had just one game.

Guys like Clarence Denmark, Perry Floyd — their time with Pierce barely registers.

Barresi believes once this collection of green receivers — average age 23.7 (excluding 31-year-old Edwards) — gets a few games under its collective belt with the same quarterback throwing the ball, the results will grow.

“We looked a lot better against Toronto than we did against Hamilton,” he said. “That’s an encouraging sign for me. Getting off to this (2-0) start will help, too. You’re not looking down the barrel of a gun.”

The Bombers are last in the CFL with 316 passing yards. Montreal (731), Edmonton (682) and Calgary (591) have multiple experienced receiving options, while teams like B.C. (645) and Saskatchewan (612) are going through a transition phase, mixing in new additions among remaining vets.

No team is as inexperienced at the receiver position as Winnipeg.

Of all the guys Pierce has a noticeable chemistry with, it’s Edwards, who’s seen enough CFL action to know where to be and what kind of target any quarterback needs in certain situations.

That instant harmony is no fluke. It’s what you get when you have an experienced pivot and an experienced receiver working on the same page.

Edwards sees the same thing, too: a young group trying to not only find its way but also figure out some chemistry — a game-speed understanding — with a quarterback who hasn’t seen a lot of face time in the huddle.

Could the club use an extra veteran to season the receiver mix?

“I’m the only really experienced guy we have — and by a lot, too — but I like the talent we have,” Edwards said. “We’re going to work through this. To say that we need to add another veteran receiver here, I don’t know. That’s not up to me say.

“We just have to work through this. Growing pains — that’s the only way you’re going to get experience. Just go out and play.”

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca