Consistency Thomas’s trademark

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This article was published 13/09/2023 (767 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jake Thomas isn’t the biggest or fastest defensive tackle in the CFL but he is surely one of the most effective.

In his 11th CFL season, all with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the 32-year-old Douglas, N.B., product is enjoying one of the best statistical outputs of his career. In 13 regular-season games, he has five sacks to equal a his career best, established in 2019 over an 18-game schedule.

His 10 tackles also put him on pace for one of his most productive years but for Blue Bomber defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall, the level of Thomas’ play is right where it’s always been.

“Is he doing better job than he’s done in the past?” said Hall following Wednesday’s practice. “Jake’s had the same kind of year. He’s just steady. He’s just consistent and he just does a good job. You notice him when he’s not in there and I think that’s a credit to him.”

Thomas insisted nothing much has changed on the field. As he has aged, he’s been able to maintain his fitness while also remaining a trusted member of Winnipeg’s veteran defence.

“I’m usually right around 275 (pounds) — throughout the year it fluctuates a bit — but I think since 2015, I’ve been the same weight,” explained Thomas. “I think you just learn how to take care of your body. Obviously, it’s kind of trial and error and I focus more on (nutrition) in the off-season.

“In season, it’s more just about getting calories for myself. You can’t be eating ice cream and pizza every day. I would say once a week I get to enjoy myself with meals. Usually the day after the game or the night after I eat a little bit worse.”

Thomas doesn’t seem to crave adulation either.

“When you look at especially the inside people, they don’t always get a lot of notoriety,” said Hall. “You have (Jackson) Jeffcoat and Willie (Jefferson) on the edges — that’s where everyone likes to talk but their success is equated because of Jake, Cam (Lawson) and Ricky (Walker) inside. Because they utilize those inside guys. But Jake’s having a solid year again. A lot of things he does it goes unnoticed but you notice it as a coach, you notice the little details.”

Meanwhile, teammate Adam Bighill is showing no signs of slowing down.

The 34-year-old linebacker has four sacks and his 59 tackles are 11th among the league’s defenders. He’s one of the de facto leaders of the Winnipeg defence, which leads the league in fewest offensive points allowed (16.9 per game), offensive touchdowns (17) and net offensive yards (292.4). The Bombers are also second overall in sacks with 37.

Head coach Mike O’Shea appreciates having low-maintenance players on his squad.

“They are very smart football players and they know exactly what’s going on all the time,” said O’Shea of Bighill and Thomas. “They’ve been that way for a long, long time. So they’re a step ahead of everybody… (and) ahead of young guys because of their experience and the way they look after themselves. Every young guy could look at those guys and see what professionals should be doing.”

But are they as quick as they were two or three years ago?

“I don’t know,” replied O’Shea. “I don’t go back that far but they’re absolutely quick enough.”

FEAR THE TICATS? The Blue Bombers, coming off a resounding 51-6 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl, travel to Hamilton for Saturday’s matchup with the Tiger-Cats.

The Ticats, currently a modest 5-7 and third in the East Division, are not to be trifled with.

In 2022, Winnipeg followed up a resounding 54-20 Banjo Bowl triumph over the Roughriders with a humbling 48-31 loss in Steeltown.

“One of the things I’ve mentioned to them today is we went out there (last season) and we got our butts kicked. We didn’t play very well,” said Hall. “We’ve just got to have that focus. We’re a good football team. We’re good defence but you only do it when you show up and you play.”

Thomas cites Hamilton’s offensive line — anchored by massive tackles Jordan Murray and Joel Figueroa — as elite.

“Their offensive line I’d say has to be one of the best in the league,” said Thomas. “They have a lot of high-end guys and they’re always a tough team to beat and going to Hamilton is always a tough place to play. Their fans know how to be loud when our offence is out there and I would say of the fan bases, they might like to say the most inappropriate things to people.”

Bighill is expecting some surprises from the Hamilton offence.

“For us, it’s about going out and executing our job and using our eyes and being disciplined because they’re going to try to give you some stuff that’s going to be different than we’ve seen on film… They did a good job with tempo (in 2022),” said Bighill. “I mean, we typically don’t go there and they ran hurry up because the crowd’s on their side and they get to the ball quick… And so those are things we’re gonna be ready for.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca