Biggest game of season so far

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This article was published 04/10/2019 (2195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — At 9-5 and with four games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers still control their own destiny.

But after back-to-back losses, what looked like a good chance to finish atop the CFL’s West Division is now in serious doubt. Indeed, after losing to the Montreal Alouettes 38-37 on the road after leading by 24 points, and then laying an egg against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 33-13 defeat at home last week, many people are feeling the Blue and Gold are more pretender than contender.

“Sometimes, after two losses or a bad streak, people get really uptight and it’s not a pleasant environment,” Bombers running back Andrew Harris said Friday. “When guys trust each other, and there’s that sense of ‘we’ve got this,’ you’re able to relax and still have that focus and enjoy yourselves. It was nice to be around (this week). Hopefully, that translates to positivity on the field.”

A victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) today at Mosaic Stadium would go a long way in healing what’s ailed the Bombers of late. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on in the game:

 

1) Lots at stake in rubber match

The playoffs don’t begin until Nov. 10, but there’s already a post-season feel brewing with this one — and for good reason.

It’s the rubber match between these two clubs after each claimed victory on home turf last month. The Roughriders bested the Bombers in the annual Labour Day Classic in Regina, edging their Prairie rival with a last-second field goal. Winnipeg repaid the favour the following week to win the Banjo Bowl, though that one wasn’t nearly as close, with the Blue and Gold pounding Saskatchewan 35-10 at IG Field.

“When you play a team back-to-back and then this much in such a short amount of time, you kind of know what they’re about,” Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler said. “They’re a great team and we know they’re going to play hard, and so we’ve got to match their intensity. Should be a great game.”

The winner will not only earn a valuable two points in what will likely be a photo finish in the West, they’ll also claim the season series, which is the first tiebreaker in the standings. The Bombers can’t afford to lose this one, not with the Roughriders holding a game in hand, and a tough schedule ahead. Winnipeg wraps up the season with a home game against Montreal, followed by a home-and-home series with the Calgary Stampeders.

 

2) Bombers battle without Hall

The Bombers will be without defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall, meaning a new play-caller will have to jump in to limit a Roughriders offence that has steadily improved with the emergence of quarterback Cody Fajardo.

Hall missed the entire week of practice to tend to a personal issue, and the timeline for his return remains unclear.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea hasn’t confirmed the Free Press report that Hall will be absent, nor does he care to share with fans a contingency plan. Asked directly who would call the defensive plays for Hall, O’Shea said: “You fill your staff with very capable coaches that know how to work together and know how to get things done and we have a process in place that we stick to.”

Whatever that means, the process this week hasn’t included Hall — at least not in Winnipeg, leaving it up to a guessing game for who might be up in the booth. My guess is Bombers linebackers and defensive line coach Glen Young will get the nod, with guidance from O’Shea and the other defensive coaches.

 

3) A shuffled secondary

One of the Bombers’ glaring issues in recent weeks has been the play of the secondary. After giving up a combined 847 yards through the air in the past two games, Winnipeg has shuffled the deck on its last line of defence, with the hope of notable improvement.

Brandon Alexander makes his return to the lineup for the first time since pulling up lame during a practice in late July. He replaces Jeff Hecht at safety, a position Alexander hasn’t played since his college days at the University of Central Florida. Marcus Rios has been moved to strong-side linebacker to take over for an injured Anthony Gaitor, with Nick Taylor taking over for him at field-side halfback.

Got all that? Though it might sound and look a bit confusing, O’Shea said having that many moving pieces can sometimes be a good thing.

“Sometimes, when you make the change, there’s a heightened awareness. Sometimes, the benefit of inserting a new player into the lineup means all the guys around him work that much harder to communicate,” the Bombers coach said. “Sometimes, what happens is because you’ve been playing beside a guy for a while, you assume that’s the way they’re going to see it.”

Whether you decide to buy that or not, either way, something has got to give. Fajardo has proven to be mostly hit and sometimes miss this season, but he’s been particularly keen at home, averaging 272 passing yards, with seven touchdowns compared to six interceptions in seven games.

 

4) Streveler down the stretch

We’re about to learn a lot about Streveler in the next month. While football is considered to be the ultimate team sport, no position is more important than that of the quarterback.

What Streveler — who will be making his sixth start in a row and 10th overall — can do over the next four games should give us a good idea of the Bombers’ chances come playoff time. With the Roughriders a likely opponent in the post-season, what he does today should also provide some much-needed clarity on how much this team’s most important player has grown.

After all, Streveler isn’t new to the Roughriders, having already played them twice this season. So he should be ready to go. He also has the confidence of his teammates.

“You see it every day in practice. You can see the growth in games. You can see the development with the calls,” Harris said. “Every day, he’s getting better and more confident.”

That evaluation from the Bombers running back should certainly be music to fans’ ears, even if Streveler doesn’t always hit the right tune from week to week. But with the pressure of a two-game skid and a playoff-like atmosphere at Mosaic Stadium resting on his shoulders, what could be a greater test to gauge his development curve?

 

5) Harris motivated for Riders debut

When news broke last month that Harris had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and would be suspended by the league for two games, Bombers fans couldn’t think of a worse time for him to serve the suspension.

Harris, who remains the CFL’s leading rusher despite the two-week hiatus, was forced to miss both games against the Roughriders. That makes today’s game his official 2019 debut against Saskatchewan, a team he has dominated in recent memory.

“It’s easy to get up for any game,” Harris said. “But when it’s starting to get colder and you’re playing in a hostile (environment) and there’s playoff and standings implications on the line, I’ll definitely get up for this one, for sure.”

In two games at Mosaic Stadium last season, including a win in the West semifinal, Harris carried the ball 34 times for 311 yards — an average of more than nine yards per run — and one touchdown. Since returning from his suspension, Harris has combined for 259 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown in two games.

He’ll be the centrepiece of the Bombers offence, and a motivated one at that.

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton