‘Good players, good fans’ key to Big Blue’s success at home

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This article was published 11/08/2021 (1538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dating back to 2018, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have won 12 of their last 13 games at IG Field.

Between 2013-2015, the Blue and Gold only won seven games in front of their fans at the new stadium. House of horrors? Not anymore.

“Well, we’ve got some pretty damn good players,” said head coach Mike O’Shea when asked the reason for the home success.

“They put a lot of work in every day to make sure they can go out there and give themselves a chance to win every week. Certainly the home crowd and how loud they are is a part of that formula, too. We’ve got good players and good fans.”

Best in the league?

Willie Jefferson, Jake Thomas, Steven Richardson and Jackson Jeffcoat is a defensive line that gives opposing quarterbacks nightmares. The guys behind them are no slouches, either, as last week against Hamilton, defensive tackle Casey Sayles had a sack and defensive end Jonathan Kongbo scooped up a fumble.

So, is it safe to say they’re the best D-line unit in the CFL?

“We approach it like we’re the best in the league and when we say that it’s not in a cocky way,” Kongbo said after Wednesday’s practice.

“But we can back that up with the work that we do at practice. I feel like we are the hardest-working position group and it just shows on the field. As far as being the best in the league, we’re not too concerned about that. But the tape has its tale.”

Middle linebacker Adam Bighill, who’s in his ninth CFL campaign, was asked how this defensive line group stacks up against all the others he’s seen over the years.

“I’d say our front is definitely pretty scary,” said Bighill. “Willie’s athletic but he can still play strong. ‘Stove’ (Richardson) is strong, but he can still play athletic and rush the passer. Jackson is a great example of a guy that can literally do anything and plays the run and pass very well — very technical. Jake is a guy that’s always been able to get pressure and do great things on the interior. And we’ve got some great depth behind them. So, for me it’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been around.”

Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson has a date with the Bombers defensive front on Friday in Week 2 action at IG Field. Bethel-Thompson, who threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 23-20 road win over the Calgary Stampeders, knows he’s in for a tough test.

“You could see it versus Hamilton. (Quarterback Jeremiah) Masoli was not comfortable back there,” Bethel-Thompson said Wednesday. “… We just got to be able to eliminate the big plays. Willie Jefferson is a human highlight reel. He makes plays all over the field. We have to find a way to eliminate those.”

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.

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