Stamps have had Harris’s number

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This article was published 25/10/2018 (2512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Running back Andrew Harris has played like an all-star for most of his two-plus seasons since joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prior to the 2016 season.

But the CFL’s reigning rushing champion hasn’t been nearly as good against the Calgary Stampeders. In five head-to-head meetings (all losses) with the Stamps, Harris has averaged 8.6 carries and 30.8 yards per game.

Harris carried the ball seven times for 13 yards on Aug. 25 in Calgary.

“They’ve gotten the better half of me the last couple games for sure. So, for me, I’ve just gotta do whatever I can to help my team win,” Harris said. “If that’s calling the block or catching the ball or run, I’ve just got to be the best I can in all those phases. They do a good job stopping the run, and that’s something we like to try to establish and be successful in. We’ve just gotta be physical and have high energy and play for 60 minutes.”

Curiously, oddsmakers have installed the Blue Bombers as three-point favourites.

“Well, the bookies know best. But, for us, they’re a great football team regardless of what the favourites are and what people are talking about. They’re a good football team and they’ve been great for a lot of years, especially this year,” Harris said. “We respect them a lot, no matter what the last two games or three games they’ve been going through.

“We were in the same position a month ago, and we found a way to come back and we’re coming in on a four-game win streak, so it can definitely switch and change.”

Calgary’s all-star linebacker Alex Singleton admitted stopping Harris is the priority.

“Everything while I’ve been here goes through (No.) 33,” Singleton said. “As much as you’ve gotta stop a lot of other people, (Nic) Demski gets a lot of carries now and (Matt) Nichols gets the ball all over the field — if you can stop 33 and make the team one-dimensional, it does make it easier.”

DEFENSIVE BOOST: Bombers defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat is expected to return to the lineup after a six-game absence with an upper-body injury. He takes Gerald Rivers’ spot in the lineup.

What does he expect to bring to the field?

“Energy. Flying around, making plays across the field,” said Jeffcoat, who has five sacks and 18 defensive tackles in 10 games this season. “That’s what I’m going to do, just because this is my first time being back since, what, been two months or so. That’s what I have. I’ve got a lot of energy built up that I haven’t gotten to let out, so I’m excited to get out there and play.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea is eager to see what Jeffcoat can do.

“Before he went out, he was our most productive D-lineman,” O’Shea said.

Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, a clear favourite to win the league’s Most Outstanding Player award, had high praise for Winnipeg’s much-improved defence.

“The entire year they have been doing what a lot of teams do. It’s trying to find the perfect fit for your defence, how you like to do things, how you like to play different teams,” Mitchell said. “They are one of the best at playing each team a bit differently, based on what they like to do, and their guys are really good with playing with their eyes.

“There’s not many times you throw the ball a certain direction and guys aren’t startin’ their feet towards it. When you get the ball out, the receiver’s gotta be ready to block right away or they’re being tackled by a couple of guys. They pressure well, they cover well, but we’ve got things we like and we’ll go out and see what we can do.”

The Stampeders have lost two straight, including last week’s 29-24 home loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but Mitchell hardly seems fazed.

“I think we definitely have more to give,” he said. “I think, last game, we played really well. We just had the ball for eight minutes less than we’re used to having the ball for. There’s times where we could’ve made bigger plays, and there’s times where I could’ve pushed the ball downfield where I was trying to be a game manager, just trying to get a first down.

“That’s the biggest thing — trying to find that happy medium.”

ALL DUE RESPECT: Calgary thumped Winnipeg 39-26 during Week 11, but Dave Dickenson’s admiration for the Blue Bombers remains unchanged.

“They were a good football team in August, too,” the Stamps’ head coach said. “It’s funny, because five weeks ago people were burying them. They were in a bit of a funk. And, all of a sudden, you cycle. You cycle in and out of having success, confidence.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14