Reinforcements on the way

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This article was published 02/08/2023 (825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It wasn’t that long ago the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defence was considered the best in the CFL.

That honour now belongs to the B.C. Lions — a team coming off a 27-0 road victory over the dreadful Edmonton Elks on Saturday. The Lions also kept Edmonton off the scoreboard June 17, making them the first squad since 1970 to pitch two shutouts in a season.

B.C. is holding teams to a measly 13.4 points per game, while Winnipeg’s opponents score an average of 21.

“The numbers speak for themselves with what they’ve been able to accomplish so far. You can’t argue with that,” said Winnipeg linebacker Adam Bighill after Wednesday’s walkthrough session at IG Field. “I still feel that we’re in the conversation in terms of what we can do, but hands down, the numbers say right now that they’ve executed at the highest level in the league. There’s no doubt about it.”

“At the end of the day, this is a long season… we’re not competing to be the best defence in the regular season, we want to be the team that wins the Grey Cup at the end of the year.”

Now, with linebacker Kyrie Wilson and cornerback Winston Rose back from long stints on the injured list, the Bombers might see an improvement in their defence. Both will make their season debuts Thursday night when the Bombers (5-2) host the Lions (6-1) at 7:30 p.m.

“You’re adding two guys with a lot of experience. And not just the experience part, they’ve played excellent football in a pile of games,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“There’s been certain points in their careers where they’ve been talked about in the upper echelon of their positions.”

Wilson has been out of action since Week 4 of last season when he tore his Achilles tendon in Toronto. The 30-year-old from Bakersfield, Calif., was in all-star form before one play changed everything.

Despite the serious setback and the layoff that came with it, Wilson, who’s in his sixth season with the Bombers, is still confident in his abilities.

“I feel like the same player. I mean, yeah, when I first get in there I gotta get used to the game speed. But I feel good, like I probably feel even better than when I was playing last time,” said Wilson.

“I feel more fast and ready to go, man.”

“At the end of the day, this is a long season… we’re not competing to be the best defence in the regular season, we want to be the team that wins the Grey Cup at the end of the year.”–Adam Bighill

Professional football players typically need a full year to recover from a torn Achilles tendon. Not all return to their previous form.

It took 13 months for Wilson to get game ready.

“With that length of time, you just got to really enjoy the grind and the monotony of getting up every day and doing the same thing and seeing very little progress. Breakthroughs take quite a bit of time to see,” said O’Shea.

“That’s probably why it’s so important they’re part of a team because if you weren’t a part of a team like a regular person having Achilles rehab it’s probably a lot worse. (Kyrie’s) a very positive guy. He probably flipped a switch very quickly to ‘Alright, let’s tackle this.’ He loves the game.”

Rose, on the other hand, is coming off a season during which he looked nothing like an all-star. He was a ballhawk in 2019 and led the CFL with nine interceptions to earn himself an opportunity in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. Last year, however, Rose was often a liability in the secondary and frequently gave up big plays.

An injury in training camp this season sidelined him for the first seven games.

“I’d say there was a lot of adversity and a lot of inconsistency and also injuries playing a part,” said Rose, who also broke his foot in November’s Grey Cup loss to the Argonauts.

“Honestly, it all started in training camp because I had something I was dealing with. Then in the beginning of the season and towards the end of the season there was another injury. It was a mental battle that I was battling with. Honestly though, it was physical, but it was a little more mental with me last year.”

“I feel good, like I probably feel even better than when I was playing last time.”–Kyrie Wilson

Canadian fullback Konner Burtenshaw is also returning to the starting lineup after breaking his thumb in training camp.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

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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.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.