Arby Darby, Big Blue LB ready to go

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This article was published 29/06/2023 (824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alden Darby, Jr. stood on the sidelines for the majority of last week’s 30-6 drubbing at the hands of the B.C. Lions.

The nine-year pro started the game at dimeback (weak-side linebacker) for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but was yanked early in favour of Canadian Redha Kramdi.

“You just take it how it is. You look in the mirror and ask yourself what you can do better and what you can fix. You just go back to the drawing board and figure it out,” Darby told the Free Press after Thursday’s closed practice at IG Field.

“It’s football, it’s life, sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down and that’s all it is. If you take it too hard and you get too down on yourself, you’re going to let things carry from week to week to week. You just take it, look in the mirror, be a man and accept your mistakes, and fix it.”

It looked like Darby wasn’t going to get a chance to fix it, at least not this week, as Kramdi was the one working with the starters on Tuesday and Wednesday. But unexpectedly, Kramdi, a third-year player out of the University of Montreal, had his name added to the injury report. He’s questionable to play Saturday’s road tilt against his hometown Montreal Alouettes.

“I think we were seeing some things where we put Redha in to see if it made a change. Alden’s a good football player, he’s helped us win a lot of games, too,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“I think probably his eyes were getting him in the wrong spot a few times. When you got a guy like Redha, you can do that. You can give a guy a break for someone who sees the game differently. Both guys are very capable of helping us win.”

O’Shea wouldn’t give an update on Kramdi’s status, but confirmed linebacker Adam Bighill will play Saturday. Bighill missed the first two practices of the week and it’s unknown if he participated on Thursday. Running back Brady Oliveira was also in street clothes for the first two days but will play.

Canadian Shayne Gauthier, one of the team’s key contributors on special teams, has been taking reps in Bighill’s absence. Gauthier, who’s been with the Bombers since 2016, hails from Dolbeau-Mistassini, Que., which is a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Montreal. Despite the long trek, he has roughly a dozen friends and family members making the trip to see him in person.

“I saw the field a couple times last year (at linebacker). I’ve been in the system long enough that I could play both positions. I know what I need to do and I prepare like I’m starting every week so anytime they need me to go in there I’ll be ready,” said Gauthier.

Receiver Carlton Agudosi led the team with 61 receiving yards on five catches against the Lions but has been working with the No. 2s all week. Signs point to him being scratched in favour of Greg McCrae.

“(McCrae’s) smooth, fast, a good player. He can almost win football games, and he has in the past,” said O’Shea.

McCrae is listed as a running back, but the second-year Bomber is more of a gadget player who can also play receiver. He showed his worth last season in a start at home against the Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 25 when he had a defender draped all over him but still managed to make a 41-yard touchdown grab. The 5’10, 173 pounder started seven games at slotback in 2022 but hasn’t played a game this year.

“As a competitor, you always want to play, you always want to be on the field. But I got trust in the coaching staff and whenever things happen they’ll happen,” said McCrae. “I don’t try to get in my head too much about it, I just try stay down and keep doing the work.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31