Bombers need to get back to ‘playing how we play’

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This article was published 03/10/2019 (2196 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lot has happened to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers since they last saw the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold, it’s been mostly negative.

In the past two weeks, the Bombers have looked nothing like the team that handed the Riders a 35-10 beating in the Banjo Bowl. Winnipeg followed that victory by blowing a huge lead against the Montreal Alouettes. The team then vowed to put the collapse behind them and rebound against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at IG Field. But that didn’t end up being the case. They struggled to run the ball and made Hamilton quarterback Dane Evans look like a star as the second-year player led the Ticats to a 33-13 win. To make matters worse, the Bombers’ starting quarterback won’t get a chance to come back and lead the team in the playoffs as it was announced last week Matt Nichols had shoulder surgery and is done for the year.

So, yeah, it’s safe to say things haven’t been all that great in Bomberland lately as they prepare to face the Riders Saturday night in Regina.

But what’s the biggest reason for the team’s recent slide? Well, star defensive end Willie Jefferson has a theory.

“Right now, it’s just guys are seeming to get complacent and seem to just relax because we already (clinched) a playoff spot,” Jefferson, who has a career-high 11 sacks this season, said after Thursday’s closed practice.

“We just trying to talk to the guys that’s new here, new to the league and stuff like that, that’s actually playing and actually having the opportunities to make plays to stay locked in, stay focused, stay hungry. We’re happy that we made the playoffs, that we won nine games. But we don’t want guys to get complacent and start easing off the gas. We want to try to fight for that first playoff spot in the West and also want that home playoff game.”

The Bombers sat atop the West Division for the majority of the season, but now find themselves in a fight to earn a home playoff game, nevermind a bye to the West final, as they sit in third place with a 9-5 record. After Saturday’s matchup with the Roughriders (9-4), the Bombers will welcome the Alouettes to town before closing out the season with two games against the Calgary Stampeders (9-4), who are currently on a four-game win streak.

Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill was asked what the mindset of the club is as they head into the final month of the season.

“I mean, it’s really getting back to what we’ve done really well and winning football games,” Bighill said. “You know, we’ve shown we can do a lot of great things, make a lot of plays and cause a lot of problems for people. But the last few games are not indicative of what we’ve shown and we have to get back to that, especially if we’re talking playoff football, playoff atmosphere now and it’s mandatory to getting back to playing how we play.”

The Bombers will have to put the pedal to the metal if they’re going to escape Regina with a win this weekend. The last time the Winnipeg club left Mosaic Stadium victorious was July 1, 2017 when they won 43-40 in overtime.

But this year’s Riders are led by quarterback Cody Fajardo and he has the team rolling right now.

Saskatchewan has won eight of their past nine games and boasts a 6-1 record at home this season. Fajardo, who has 13 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, is third in the CFL in passing yards with 3,140 yards.

Bighill said he was impressed with what he saw from Fajardo in their two meetings.

“He’s a capable player of seeing the field, spreading the ball around and making good decisions. Not only that, you saw on tape that he can use his legs and extend plays and make guys miss in the pocket,” said Bighill, who intercepted a Fajardo pass in a 19-17 loss on Labour Day.

“We’ve seen that. We knew that. But he continues to prove every single week that he’s a legit quarterback who can spread the ball around the field, has great awareness and just intellect of his football savviness of knowing when he can throw to a receiver in space, and get the ball out quick, know where the ball is going before it’s snapped. Those are the kind of things you can kind of see starting to develop that you want your quarterbacks to be able to have. Elite quarterbacks in this league definitely have that.”

The Bombers have managed to hold Fajardo in check in the first two games. Fajardo is 41-for-63 passing for 496 yards with one touchdown pass and three interceptions against the Bombers this year. But those numbers will improve if the Bombers play anything like they have the past two games.

“The way we lost against Montreal and then coming home and losing to Hamilton, it was an eye-opener,” said Jefferson. “We know we still have a good shot at the end goal that we want. It’s just we have to get our mindset back to where we were at the beginning when we were all fresh, moving around fast and wanting to go out there and play football.”

As fun as the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl can be, Saturday’s game has the most at stake between these two clubs. The season series will be decided and if the teams finish with the same record, it will be used as the tiebreaker.

“We still in a good spot to take the West if we handle our business,” Jefferson said. “But also, just guys have to be ready to play and step up.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31