Is this a Grey Cup preview for the Blue Bombers? Not so fast

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This article was published 24/07/2019 (2284 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Friday will be a battle of the top two defences, offences and records in the Canadian Football League.

But let’s pump the brakes before we label this Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-0) matchup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-1) at Tim Hortons Field as a Grey Cup preview. And if you need a reminder as to why, just look at the calendar.

Or, just ask Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

“It’s way too early in the season to talk like that,” O’Shea told reporters Tuesday in a conference call.

Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer, who played with O’Shea for eight seasons with the Toronto Argonauts from 2001-08 — the pair also coached together on the Boatmen staff for a couple of years — agreed.

“As you can tell, we’re cut from the same cloth. I wouldn’t even touch that right now,” the first-year Tiger-Cats head coach said. “We’re not even close to where we need to be. I mean, fair question, but I don’t have a fair answer.”

Luckily, Bombers running back Andrew Harris gave a bit more to chew on when asked about the top two teams in the league squaring off against each other after five games.

“It’s very, very early. You know, I’ve been on teams where we’ve been 1-6 and been an afterthought and come back and won a Grey Cup,” Harris said after Tuesday’s practice, referring to 2011 when he won the Grey Cup with the B.C. Lions after their dreaded start to the year.

“So, I mean, you got to stay on. You got to stay hot. You got to stay with that chip on your shoulder. You got to stay with that fire. It’s tough to do. It’s a long season.

“That’s part of our jobs as leaders on this team to keep everyone accountable and really stay with that mantra of trying to go 1-0 every week and just keeping the foot down.”

Without question, Friday night will be the biggest test the Bombers have faced so far this season. Not to take anything away from their incredible 5-0 start, something the team hasn’t done since 1960, but the combined record of their opponents is 6-15. Hamilton has also had an extra week to prepare for the game as they’re coming off of a bye. Their last game was in Week 5 on July 13 when they beat the Calgary Stampeders 30-23 at home.

“Well I think, if anything, you get more up for it, right?” Harris said.

“You don’t ever want to think that you’re going to get more up for (some) games than others. But when you’re playing a team that’s been playing as well as them and, as well as we’ve been playing, it’s definitely exciting to go up against one of the top-echelon teams in the league and kind of see where you stack up against them. Another part of it that I like is going to Hamilton and getting away from our stadium. I love playing away in hostile environments and trying to shut up 20,000 or 25,000 screaming people so there’s a lot of fun in that as well.”

Nobody’s been able to shut up the Tiger-Cats at home this season as they’re currently 3-0 at Tim Hortons Field. A big reason for that is, obviously, their league-leading offence as their 187 points are the most in the CFL. The defence isn’t too shabby, either, as the 100 points they’ve surrendered this season is the second lowest in the league with Winnipeg (80 points allowed) sitting first. But Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall said Friday isn’t about proving which team has the best defence in the league.

“Well, I don’t know so much we’re the better defence,” Hall said. “I think we just have to go out there and do what we do, you know, and that’s keeping teams out of the end zone and playing hard football. I mean, I didn’t know that (Hamilton and Winnipeg are the top two defences statistically) until you mentioned it. I just know that it’s not us competing against somebody else. It’s us competing against ourselves and seeing if we can continue to raise our bar.”

And sticking with the theme of Friday’s tilt being a meeting between two of the best, that also applies to the quarterbacks hitting the field. Nichols was named a Shaw CFL Top Performer for Week 6 after his dominance over the Ottawa Redblacks last Friday. The 32-year-old pivot finished the game 25 of 29 for 295 yards and two touchdown passes — including a team record of 19 straight competitions. Nichols is currently the only quarterback in double-digits in touchdown passes, as he leads the CFL with 12. But right behind him is Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli with nine.

“Matt is playing very, very well right now,” Harris said.

“He’s playing efficient, he’s playing smart, he’s making great decisions, he’s not forcing things. He’s playing with a certain maturity I’ve never seen from him. You know, and that just comes with being comfortable with the guys around you, being comfortable in Lapo’s (Bombers offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice)offence.

“And then on Lapo’s side of things, it’s having the trust in him to make the decisions in certain situations and guys are making big plays for him. I mean, there’s been a hell of a lot of good catches that have been made. The o-line has done a great job protecting him and we have a healthy balance between the run, pass and mix the ball around.

“So, when you look at all those factors and you got your quarterback playing good football, that obviously leads to being successful.”

The CFL completion record will be well within reach on Friday night, as Nichols will need to complete his first four passes to tie the record of 23.

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The guy who happens to own the record will be standing on the other sideline on Friday. Masoli claimed the record back on July 23, 2016, in a 37-31 comeback win over Edmonton.

“We got our work cut out for us,” LaPolice said.

“It’s a good unit.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.