Bombers away!

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This article was published 14/06/2019 (2278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Vancouver — It’s the start of a new season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and there’s plenty of optimism in the air as they prepare to do battle with the B.C. Lions on the road tonight.

It will be a stiff first test for the Blue and Gold against a revamped Lions team, the beginning of what should be a tough road ahead in what’s expected to be another challenging year in the CFL’s West Division.

The good news is the Bombers are built to compete, with many projecting Winnipeg to win a division title for the first time since 2011, back when they were in the East and went on to lose in the Grey Cup… to the Lions. Might this be the year they finally snap a Grey Cup drought nearing 29 years?

Answers to this and other questions will reveal themselves in time. But as of right now, it remains business as usual for a club that understands the pressure to deliver a championship. And in typical Mike O’Shea fashion, the Bombers head coach wasn’t all that interested in peeking into the future, nor was he willing to take the bait for what the first game of an 18-game regular season might mean for setting the tone or creating an identity.

“I guess I don’t really believe the momentum from one game moves right to the next, so I’ll say it’s Game 1 and a good chance for our guys to go out and show what they can do, what they learned in training camp and show us they can play,” O’Shea said following Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll see what the result is from there.”

With that in mind, and plenty to discuss ahead of kickoff, here are five storylines to keep an eye on during tonight’s game:

 

OFFENCE FRONT AND CENTRE

In a league where offence is king, it’s an area of the Bombers that has been their biggest strength in previous years, but might just be their biggest question mark in 2019.

Will quarterback Matt Nichols return to the player he was in 2017, when he was in the race for league MVP? Will the offensive line, a group that will have three new starters this week, be able to give Nichols enough time to move the ball? Will the team’s most talented group of receivers in recent memory reveal itself out of the starting blocks?

Again, plenty of questions with few answers. There are reasons to be optimistic, though.

Nichols has looked good in practice and in the pre-season, showing no signs of a battered knee he dealt with all of 2018. He’s dropped his usual playing weight by more than 10 pounds and looks noticeably more mobile in the pocket.

The offence, led once again by co-ordinator Paul LaPolice, has more weapons than ever before, even if the Bombers will be without prized free agent Chris Matthews for Game 1. Leading receiver Darvin Adams, as well as Canadians Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky, remain in the mix. And there’s a lot to like in newcomers Lucky Whitehead and Kenny Lawler, who round out the starting five.

Up against Mike Reilly, one of the CFL’s premier pivots, there’s no denying it could be a shootout. Will Nichols and the offence be ready to go once the bullets start flying?

 

A COUPLE OF NEW LOOKS

The Bombers made few headlines over the off-season, minus a couple of notable signings. Unlike B.C., they didn’t conduct a major roster overhaul, coveting continuity over change.

But there are two areas of the lineup that will look much different this year, with new starters on both the O-line and in the secondary.

Beginning on the O-line, with left guard Patrick Neufeld ruled out against the Lions, Winnipeg will go with a relatively inexperienced interior. Michael Couture will begin his takeover from Matthias Goossen at centre, sandwiched between a duo of guards — from left to right, respectively — in Cody Speller and Geoff Gray.

It’s a good thing, then, that the edges remain intact, with left tackle Stanley Bryant and right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, two of the league’s best, expected to lead the group.

With Taylor Loffler, Kevin Fogg, and Chris Randle all gone from last season, there’s a new leadership group among the defensive backs. Halfbacks Brandon Alexander and Marcus Sayles are now expected to set the tone in the secondary, guiding along three new starters in safety Jeff Hecht and cornerbacks Winston Rose (boundary) and Chandler Fenner (field).

Ironically, Hecht, Rose and Fenner are veterans with a combined CFL experience of 13 years compared to just three between Alexander and Sayles. That experience has strengthened communication, a major aspect of building chemistry, but the first real test is tonight.

 

BUSY WINTER FOR B.C.

No team was busier this off-season than the Lions. Changes were made to the coaching staff and on the field, resulting in a club that looks much different from the one that finished last season at 9-9 before bowing out to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 48-8, as the crossover team in the East Division semifinal.

Indeed, it was a frantic winter for Lions general manager Ed Hervey, beginning with the hiring of former Calgary Stampeders defensive co-ordinator DeVone Claybrooks as head coach following the retirement of Wally Buono. Hervey also said goodbye to a number of long-tenured players, making a series of moves that have undoubtedly left his fingerprints all over the retooled roster.

Players gone from last season include receiver Manny Arceneaux and linebacker Solomon Elimimian, both of whom have since signed with Saskatchewan; quarterbacks Travis Lulay (retired) and Jonathon Jennings (Ottawa); and running backs Jeremiah Johnson (Montreal) and Chris Rainey (Toronto), among others.

Those brought in as part of the new era is a list just as impressive, with Reilly, the 2017 CFL most outstanding player, highlighting the crew. The Lions also signed former Bombers right guard Sukh Chungh, wide receiver Duron Carter, running back John White IV, defensive back Aaron Grymes and linebacker Adam Konar.

The Lions’ cannonball into free agency has made them one of the sexier picks to contend for the Grey Cup. But with that many moving pieces, and just two pre-season games to find chemistry, it should be equally intriguing to find out how far that process has come along.

 

THE (nearly) $3-MILLION MAN

Reilly’s return to Vancouver was a foregone conclusion, even before the Kennewick, Wash., native wrapped up his sixth season with the Edmonton Eskimos.

With an expiring contract and the desire to return to the team he started his CFL career with — not to mention distancing himself from a disappointing, playoff-less season in Edmonton last year — Reilly cashed in big with the Lions.

At the age of 34, Reilly is entering his first year of a four-year deal worth $2.9 million — an average of $725,000 per season. That’s a sizable piece of a team’s $5.7-million salary cap, and it comes with high expectations.

Reilly certainly has the pedigree. He’s twice won the Grey Cup, though only once as a starter, in 2015, and has led the CFL in passing yards the past three seasons, accumulating a whopping 16,946 yards over that stretch. He’s a proven leader, isn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run, and has a rare toughness that makes his teammates want to run through a wall for him.

With a receivers group highlighted by Carter and Bryan Burnham, arguably the league’s most consistent pass-catcher, and complemented by Lemar Durant, last year’s Grey Cup most outstanding Canadian, and Shaq Johnson, Reilly should have plenty to work with.

 

BOMBERS’ DANGEROUS D-LINE

As good as Reilly and his receivers are, there is a weakness on the Lions’ offence. Despite a number of returning starters on the O-line, as well as Chungh, B.C. boasts one of the weaker fronts. Without time to pass the ball, an elite QB can suddenly look very pedestrian.

The Bombers saw that first-hand last season, when they marched into Edmonton and dismantled the Eskimos 30-3 in Week 16. Reilly was terrorized all night, completing just 17 of 31 passes (54.8 per cent) for 164 passing yards and two interceptions. He was also sacked four times.

It doesn’t bode well, then, for Reilly and Co. that the Bombers hope to live off their defensive line, a unit that now includes the CFL’s top pass-rusher in Willie Jefferson. Winnipeg was part of a five-way tie for most quarterbacks sacks last year, with 45. And with Jefferson joining Jackson Jeffcoat and Craig Roh at defensive end, the expectation is for that number to grow.

“He’s still human, and makes mistakes. He gets rattled every now and then,” said Jefferson, who sacked Reilly twice and intercepted him once in two games with the Riders last season. “Trying to get in his face, make it hard for him to throw the ball to his receivers… pretty much give him hell the whole night.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton