Bombers add receivers Dressler, Adams to long list of battered Blue

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This article was published 31/07/2016 (3359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-4) will be without receivers Weston Dressler and Darvin Adams when they hit the field for their Week 7 matchup at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-2) Wednesday night.

Both Dressler and Adams, who combined for 232 yards and a touchdown in Thursday’s 30-23 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, were unable to finish the game, putting their health in serious doubt this week.

Those fears were confirmed following Sunday’s practice, as head coach Mike O’Shea said Adams suffered an upper-body injury – he was seen wearing a sling after the game – and could miss as many as six or seven weeks. As for Dressler, who was seen at practice holding a pair of crutches, O’Shea said he, too, would be out a few weeks but should return before Adams.

Return man Quincy McDuffie, who also lines up at receiver, was limited to a spectator at practice but O’Shea said he expected him to be good to go against Hamilton.

With Dressler and Adams out, and Ryan Smith still expected to miss another week or two with a lower-body injury, the Bombers had an interesting look to their first-team receivers group Sunday.

At practice, the unit included Kris Adams, who was activated from the six-game injured list, Thomas Mayo, Jace Davis, Clarence Denmark, who signed with the Bombers on Sunday after being cut in March, and Rory Kohlert.

“I think we’ve got a fair compliment of guys that have been around since training camp that we’re not going to have a problem fielding a good group,” said O’Shea.

Also healthy at receiver and available to O’Shea are Gerrard Sheppard, Julian Feoli-Gudino, Addison Richards, who returned from a broken hand, and S.J. Haidara.

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Despite the number of the injuries to the offence, quarterback Matt Nichols said the team couldn’t afford to use them as an excuse this week.

“Absolutely not,” said Nichols. “Right now, we’re going to have the next-man-up mentality and be able to go out there and get the job done – no excuses.”

Speaking of getting the job done, Nichols had a lot of pressure on him last week, his first start since replacing Drew Willy, who had underwhelmed through the first five weeks of the season.

He was asked if the victory over Edmonton in any weight felt like a weight off his shoulders, knowing a loss could very well have meant a return to the bench.

“You enjoy it for a day and then you get right back to work,” said Nichols. “Hamilton is coming off a bye, we’re on a short week; we need to get focused right away and you just can’t be happy with one win. We’ve got to start stringing some wins together.”

Nichols said Thursday’s win, though just the second one of the season for Winnipeg, was a big one.

“I felt like we kind of established what we are,” he said. “We were hitting people out there in all facets…that’s kind of the identity that we wanted to establish: when you play against us you’re going to be in a fight.”

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As for the defence, defensive backs Julian Posey, Macho Harris, and Chris Randle are all expected to be out another week, meaning the same line-up – cornerbacks C.J. Roberts and Terrence Frederick; Kevin Fogg and Bruce Johnson at halfback; and Taylor Loffler at safety – that played against Edmonton will likely be the unit that expected to shut down Hamilton this week.

It wasn’t all bad news for the secondary, however, as DB Johnny Adams returned to practice for the first time since the start of training camp. Adams, who was named a CFL West all-star last season, was limited in what drills he could do Sunday. O’Shea said the team was easing him back in slowly from a lower-body injury but is likely to still be out another week or so.

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