Five storylines to watch as Bombers enter tilt against Toronto

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This article was published 16/09/2016 (3305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This afternoon’s game will pit one of the hottest teams in the CFL against one coming off its best performance of the season as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts clash in a Week 13 matchup at Investors Group Field.

Here are five storylines to keep an eye on in the game:

Search for seven

Even the most cynical of fans have to be impressed with the Bombers’ current run. Since a 33-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders July 21, Winnipeg has reeled off six successive wins.

They now search for a seventh consecutive victory — the most in a season since 2001. That year, under head coach Dave Ritchie, the Bombers set a franchise-best 12-game winning streak to finish the year 14-4 and first in the East Division.

Now in the west, the Bombers’ recent dominance has them at 7-4. Though good enough for top spot in the East — the Ottawa Redblacks pace the division at 5-4-1 – the Bombers are third in west behind the B.C. Lions (8-3) and Calgary (9-1-1).

With the Bombers set to play Calgary next week and the Lions in back-to-back games soon after, a win over Toronto will not only keep the streak alive but also keep them in the thick of the race.

Harris a question mark

Head coach Mike O’Shea wasn’t kidding when he said he would wait until the last minute to make a decision on running back Andrew Harris. A pivotal piece of the offence, Harris missed practice all week after suffering a lower-body injury in the first half of Saturday’s Banjo Bowl victory over Saskatchewan.

He’s listed on the 46-man roster and took part in Friday’s walk-through alongside Timothy Flanders, his potential replacement, and Pascal Lochard. But O’Shea is waiting to see how he feels before declaring him eligible.

“You always want to be there for your teammates, especially on the ride we’re on right now,” said Harris. “It’s definitely a game I want to play in and do whatever I can do to be in the game.”

This isn’t the first time Harris has been a game-time decision. After missing the entire week of practice before the season opener, Harris would go on to play against Montreal. But that decision was made the day before kick-off, creating a cloud of doubt as to whether he’ll be good to go against the Argos.

Men on the move

If all goes well for Toronto today, newly acquired quarterback Drew Willy won’t play a snap. Willy, who was traded from the Bombers to the Argos earlier this week, will dress for Toronto, but is behind Dan LeFevour on the team’s depth chart.

LeFevour earns a second consecutive start after earning a win over Hamilton last week in a game in which he passed for 329 yards. But as much as LeFevour, who before Hamilton hadn’t played a professional football game in more than a year after stints in Saskatchewan and then with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, can hurt you in the air, it’s his mobility in the pocket that provides the biggest challenge for the Bombers’ defence.

LeFevour evaded pressure all night long against the Ticats and rushed the ball 10 times for 39 yards in the 33-21 win. He’s still new to the offence, having worked with the first team for only two weeks, so his mobility has provided a safety net for him to extend plays. If the Bombers are going to leave with another win, it starts with taking away that comfort zone.

Turnover party

If anyone has made opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable this season, it’s been the Bombers’ defence.

Winnipeg enters the game with a CFL-best plus-21 in turnover ratio. In the past six games, the Bombers have forced 26 turnovers to just four giveaways, with 24 of those takeaways coming from the defence. In their last two games against the Riders the Bombers forced seven turnovers and didn’t give up the ball once.

Looking to get in on the turnover party is defensive back Chris Randle. Randle has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury. He’ll take over the field corner position from Terence Frederick, who was placed on the one-game injured list.

“I’ve been itching for it,” said Randle. “Seeing these guys flying around, making plays, being aggressive and winning, for me it’s been, honestly, the best time that I’ve been here.”

Before his injury, Randle led the Bombers in turnovers with an interception and two forced fumbles. O’Shea said he expected Randle, like all his players coming off injury, to be in top form. Randle said he’s up to the challenge.

“I can’t really explain it; I have goose bumps just thinking about it,” he said. “I just can’t wait to actually go out there and do the work.”

Kickers duel

After what could be described as an otherworldly performance from Justin Medlock in recent weeks, the 32-year-old kicker came back to earth in his last outing.

Medlock went 1-for-3 against the Riders last week, missing from 49 and 48 yards, including a kick in the final minute that would have iced the game. Winnipeg won, 17-10, but the miss gave Saskatchewan one last chance to tie the game and caused concern Medlock, who had made 28 of his last 29 field goal attempts before that, had fallen out of his groove.

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“Surprising is not the word,” O’Shea said, earlier this week. “He’s kicking at a very good clip.”

Speaking of kicking at a good clip, former Bomber Lirim Hajrullahu makes his first return to Winnipeg. After a dismal season in 2015 with the Blue and Gold — a year Hajrullahu finished 22 of 32 on field-goal attempts and 15 of 21 on converts — the 26-year-old has been close to automatic in his first season with the Argos.

Hajrullahu has missed just three of his 29 field goal attempts this season, including a streak of 15 in a row — a personal best — and is three short of a franchise-best 18 set by Swayze Waters in 2014.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

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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.