Game against Stamps will be the true measuring stick for Bombers

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This article was published 23/09/2016 (3358 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — It’s been two months and three days since the Winnipeg Blue Bombers suffered a loss. Since then, seven straight victories and an 8-4 record, good enough for third place in the West Division.

They’ll take their winning streak into McMahon Stadium this afternoon to play the first-place Calgary Stampeders, the team they lost to that day on July 21. While the Bombers have played some of their best football in years, the Stampeders (10-1-1) remain the talk of the Canadian Football League with just one loss, including a stretch of nine consecutive wins — 11 games undefeated — that dates back further than the Bombers’ run.

Indeed, it will be a clash of the titans. Here are five storylines to keep in mind heading into the game: 

TOP OF THE CLASS

As good as the Bombers have been over the past eight weeks, a stretch that has seen them find new ways to pull off wins against some tough competition, they are facing their most difficult challenge yet in Calgary.

And though the Bombers refuse to acknowledge this game as a measuring stick — cue the don’t-look-too-far-ahead-or-behind mantra — that’s exactly what it is.

It’s not easy to win games in the CFL and that’s particularly true against the Stampeders, and even more so when playing at McMahon Stadium. The Stampeders have lost just four times in their last 30 games at home and are a perfect 6-0 this season.

The Bombers have struggled mightily against the Stampeders in recent years. Winnipeg has won just once in its last 14 trips to McMahon, dating to 2003. The Stamps have also won the last five games against the Bombers, and 15 of the last 16.

Even though the losing has been consistent, one thing is different this time around. That’s the fact the Bombers are a confident bunch right now; their seven-game streak being the best run heading into a game against Calgary since the Bombers reeled off eight straight in 1980.

FOES BEFORE BROS 

The relationship between Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols and Stampeders pivot Bo Levi Mitchell has been well documented: the two attended Eastern Washington University, and though their playing years didn’t overlap, Nichols played a large role in recruiting Mitchell.

It’s a friendship that remains strong to this day; so much so the league even organized a nation-wide conference call Wednesday to hype today’s game with Nichols and Mitchell on the line at the same time.

But as much as the two have developed a strong brotherhood with one another, it’s a “sibling” rivalry that’s been one-sided in favour of Mitchell. Mitchell has won all four games he’s faced Nichols. Furthermore, Mitchell is 7-1 against the Bombers career, while Nichols remains winless in five starts against the Stampeders.

That’s not to suggest the games haven’t been close. In their most recent meeting on Sept. 25, 2015, Mitchell squeaked out a 25-23 win over Nichols and the Bombers — and three of those four games have been decided by seven points or fewer.

“Obviously when you do have a personal relationship with them you want nothing more than to be able to talk about it in your favour in the off-season,” said Nichols. “I’m looking forward to the battle and it’s going to be a good one.”

BACK TO FLANDERS IS OKELY-DOKELY

Bombers running back Andrew Harris will miss his second game with a lower-body injury. Harris, who was considered a game-time decision for today after missing practice for a second straight week, was listed on the 46-man roster but didn’t travel with the Bombers.

The absence of Harris will be a big loss to the offence. Harris had been averaging nearly 90 rushing yards and had four touchdowns in his previous five games before pulling up lame in the first half of a Banjo Bowl victory over Saskatchewan in Week 12.

But as much as the Bombers would like to have Harris in the lineup, they’re more than comfortable handing the ball back to Timothy Flanders. Last week Flanders rushed for 102 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. He also caught four balls for 34 yards.

Perhaps Flanders can provide a spark to a run game that has been missing against the Stampeders this season — in two games the Bombers have rushed for a combined 84 yards.

SHOTS FIRED

A big part of Nichols’ success has been his ability to stay upright. A lot of credit for that has fallen on an improved offensive-line, a unit that has allowed just four sacks in the last five games after surrendering 21 through the first seven.

When asked if the Stampeders should have similar troubles getting to Nichols, Calgary defensive lineman Charleston Hughes wasn’t about to pat the backs of a Bombers’ O-line he feels his team should dominate.

“We’ll get to Nichols a lot in this game,” said Hughes, whose 10 sacks this season puts him in a three-way tie for the league lead. “Because I know one of the offensive lineman over there, Stanley Bryant, I made him good. Practising against me every day, it makes you a good player because I’m going to give you every pass-rush move known to man.”

Hughes and Bryant won a Grey Cup together with the Stampeders in 2014. They’ll be going against each other today in a battle that could very well dictate the game.

“I think your team goes as your offensive line goes,” said Nichols, “because if I’m standing back there and have guys in my face all day it’s tough to get the job done.”

PUTTING THEIR STAMP ON IT

Bombers linebacker Maurice Leggett spoke candidly last week following the win over Toronto. The Bombers had won their seventh successive game and the defence, he said, despite leading the league in turnovers, still felt disrespected.

“If we get turnovers next week then maybe we can start saying that,” Leggett said, referring to the Calgary game, when asked if the Bombers’ defence could be considered among the best in the league.

Leggett and the rest of the defence have proven to be the backbone of the team this season. Mitchell — who has thrown a league-best 22 touchdown tosses this season and is in the midst of a career year statistically, completing 68 per cent of his passes for 3,936 yards — has torched them in two games this year.

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Mitchell threw for more than 300 yards in each tilt and has a combined five touchdowns. He’s been sacked just once.

“I don’t take too much into it. They were just better those days,” said Leggett Friday at McMahon. “We’ve made a lot of adjustments — changes — and we know our plays a lot better than back then and we’re a lot better team.”

Now is their chance to prove it. 

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.