Bombers D not resting on laurels

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This article was published 08/09/2021 (1492 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo referred to Sunday’s Labour Day Classic as the worst game he’s played as a professional.

When you can make one of the best pivots in the CFL feel that way about his performance, you know your defence is doing something right. But no one is Bomberland is patting themself on the back for making Fajardo feel down about his game.

“It definitely feels good to hear that, but he could come back and have the best game of his life in the next couple of days here,” said Blue Bombers safety Brandon Alexander after Wednesday’s closed practice.

“It really don’t even matter anymore. That game is over with, it’s done, and I know (Fajardo) is looking forward to making up whatever he felt he did wrong last game. We know we’re going to get something different from him and we’re gonna have to make our adjustments in order to have another game like that again.”

The Riders failed to score a single touchdown in their 23-8 loss to Winnipeg last weekend in Regina. Fajardo, the West Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 2019, completed 23 of 39 passing attempts for 211 yards and three interceptions. Saskatchewan was also quiet on the ground in their first loss of the season as the mobile Fajardo scampered for a season-low 21 yards and running back William Powell had eight carries for 44 yards.

Riderville is hoping for a much different result Saturday afternoon when the two sides meet again for the Banjo Bowl at IG Field. A Bombers victory would mark only the third time (2004 and 2016 being the first two) the club has won the LDC and the Banjo Bowl in the same season.

“You know that they’re going to come out here with even more fire and have a couple more adjustments from what they saw before,” Alexander said.

“It’s hard to beat any team twice, especially back to back. We said that earlier in the season with Toronto and you saw what happened there.”

If Alexander has a repeat performance of what he did in Regina, the Riders could be in for another disappointing day. The 27-year-old Orlando, Fla., native was named one of the CFL’s Top Performers for Week 5 as he recorded two interceptions, four defensive tackles and one special teams tackle in the victory.

“It’s definitely a big thing, I really appreciate it, but to be real with you, if we don’t get the win, it really don’t matter to me,” said the fourth-year Bomber.

Through five weeks, the Bombers have given up a league-best average of 13.4 points per game. The Riders are second on the list as their defensive unit has given up 17.5 points per contest on average.

What makes the Bombers success even more impressive is the fact that they’re doing it without some key pieces. The secondary has been hit specifically hard as Mercy Maston went down for the year in training camp and top free agent signing Josh Johnson was placed on the six-game injured list after Week 1. They’ve battled injuries at linebacker as well as Kyrie Wilson has yet to play a game this season. His replacement in the opening game was first-year player Jontrell Rocquemore who had a solid debut, but has been out with a hip injury ever since. Then on the D-line, reliable defensive tackle Steven Richardson’s foot has kept him out of action since Week 1.

“When guys do come in, they already know what they’re doing and they’re already comfortable around the guys that have been doing it for a while,” Alexander said ” …We plug people in and it’s like nothing changed, nothing happened, so that’s what you want from a full team.”

You can’t ask for much more than holding what was the CFL’s top offence to eight points, but it wasn’t a perfect performance. Defensive back Deatrick Nichols has been brilliant in his first CFL season and had another strong performance on Sunday with an interception, sack, and five tackles, but his big plays were overshadowed by the three penalties he took in the fourth quarter.

He was flagged for objectional conduct after intercepting Fajardo near midfield, pushing the Bombers offence back 10 yards which proved to be costly as they didn’t score any points off the turnover. Later in the quarter, Nichols was called for illegal contact on a receiver and then roughing the passer as he went down to hit Fajardo as the quarterback was sliding feet first.

“Some of them were very selfish. I put that on myself,” Nichols said. “The (illegal contact on a receiver), I didn’t fully understand that one, but the other two that I could’ve controlled, I need to fix that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31