Bombers loaded with talent, but only have so many starting spots to go around

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2016 (3309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was Saturday afternoon, hours before the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were set to do battle in the annual Banjo Bowl game, and Thomas Mayo was already in the zone.

His earphones in, listening to music, Mayo, a 26-year-old receiver who has impressed at times in his rookie season with the Bombers, paced up and down the turf at Investors Group Field, carefully counting each step, stopping only to touch the line of each end zone.

After that, he practised running routes before connecting with backup quarterback Bryan Bennett, who threw him passes until his hands were warm enough.

Then, Mayo ran back through the tunnel, got undressed and watched the entire game from the sideline.

“I prepare like I’m starting every week,” Mayo said after Wednesday’s Bombers practice, another day working with the second-team offence. “I just got to stay prepared and when the opportunity comes again I’ll be ready.”

It’s a reality not unique to Mayo, who, despite leading all receivers in yards three of the five games he’s played in this year, still finds himself on the outside looking in. It’s a rare problem in professional team sports, but one every team wishes it had: too many quality players, not enough starting spots.

“It’s frustrating sometimes but I have to keep my head up,” he said. “That’s all I can do.”

Heading into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts, the Bombers are 7-4, winners of six straight and on the verge of a playoff spot for the first time in five years.

The success this season has had a lot to do with the resurgence of quarterback Matt Nichols, the dominance of running back Andrew Harris, and the brilliance of linebacker Maurice Leggett. It’s also because the Bombers have been able to get the most from the deepest parts of their roster.

In recent weeks, it’s been players such as Qunicy McDuffie, who had an 82-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the Labour Day Classic win over the Riders; or defensive lineman Justin Cole, who has four sacks and an interception in just six games; or rookie Kevin Fogg, whose penchant for making the big play, such as his forced fumble in the fourth quarter last week that was credited by coach Mike O’Shea as the turning point in the game, has him in the conversation for the league’s rookie of the year.

As good as these players have been, there are others right behind them, in many cases deserving of a shot and always eager for more playing time.

“You just never know,” said receiver Clarence Denmark, who, like Mayo, was also a healthy scratch last week, but will likely return this week against the Argos thanks to an injury to Ryan Smith. “I haven’t seen it go this way in a while but new things happen. It’s different for every team but it’s all about winning.”

For Denmark, 30, his new beginning came in the first week of August when he was re-signed by the Bombers after being released in the off-season after five years. 

In his first two games back, he made 14 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns. For weeks, his story was documented in the paper, his praise sung over radio shows.

In his next two games, Denmark was targeted 13 times, catching nine of them for 91 yards. He was good, but wasn’t great and when Smith returned to the lineup last week, Denmark was the odd-man out, with the coaching staff opting to take a look at rookie Gerrard Sheppard.

“It’s all about making plays when you’re out there,” said Denmark. “That’s the only real thing that matters.”

Sitting out, Denmark leaned on playing a support role to stay motivated. Now in his sixth season in the CFL, he’s learned not to take things too personally, to focus on what he can control, such as making plays when he gets his chance to do it again.

But that hasn’t made him any less proud. 

“When I’m here I expect to be the guy. I’m a baller and very confident in myself,” he said. “I can’t think about anything personal right now. Now is not the time for it.”

There’s a complete trust in the coaching staff, said Denmark, and the fact the Bombers keep winning has also helped. He’s sometimes not sure why some players are in, while others are out, but he’s not the one who makes that decision and he wastes no time trying to figure it out.

Asked if the Bombers were at a point where a bad outing could be enough to have a player sit for the next game, O’Shea balked at the question. There’s more to it, he said, than what a player did or didn’t do on any given night.

“There’s a whole host of factors that go into setting up the roster in a weekly basis,” he said, “and we have a lot of good discussions on how that works.”

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Those discussions are likely only to get harder, and the decisions even more difficult as a number of key players start to return from injury. With only seven games remaining in the regular season — all of which will be crucial in what’s surely to be a tight race in the West Division — there’s also a need to find continuity.

Playing time is at a premium now more than ever.

“I think the challenge is more on the personal level,” said O’Shea. “It’s making sure these guys know exactly the reasons why and what goes into the decision and being up front with them. They all understand that we have depth.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.