Biggie shoes to fill on Bombers D

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This article was published 16/05/2024 (480 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the nerve centre of the defence goes down for any length of time, it’s clear adjustments will need to be made and a significantly sized hole must be filled.

As news Winnipeg Blue Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill was making his way to the six-game injured list with an undisclosed injury he sustained during training camp, the repercussions reverberated inside Princess Auto Stadium.

“Huge, huge, huge,” said Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “But that’s exactly what we’ve got training camp for, right? Got to try to find some new pieces, find some guys to step in, fill that void as best as possible. We’ve got some young veteran guys that (have) been here… that pretty much know that position just as well as Bigs.

“But just to have him here in the stadium, in meetings, stuff like that, to get the young guys caught up with the communication, with the lingo, with the situations and things like that, it’s OK.”

Jefferson shed some light on the importance of the middle linebacker position.

“The quarterback of the defence for the front seven,” said Jefferson. “We’ve got guys that handle the back end, coverages and formations when it comes to receivers. But to the front, I can understand middle linebacker being quarterback for the front seven.”

Multiple players on the defensive side of the ball spent part of Thursday straddling the fine line between praising Bighill for how difficult he is to replace for however long he’s out, while exuding confidence in the next-man up mentality of working hard to do the job without him in the lineup.

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was quick to point out he didn’t necessarily believe Bighill would require the full first six weeks of the regular season before he would be ready to return, noting part of the decision was related to the business side of the CFL game.

However, under the terms of the CFL collective bargaining agreement, the Blue Bombers will be without Bighill for at least the opening game of the regular season since he was placed on the six-game injured list.

What that means for the middle of the Blue Bombers defence isn’t immediately clear, other than O’Shea has confidence Kyrie Wilson and Shayne Gauthier can handle the additional responsibilities coming their way.

“We have a bunch of guys in camp competing because we have spots available and then, obviously Kyrie Wilson and Shayne (Gauthier) are guys that we’ve had in our building for a long time that can play that spot,” said O’Shea.

“There are questions like, ‘How do you replace Adam Bighill?’ Well, no one is Adam Bighill and they shouldn’t want to be. They want to be like him, but they have to be themselves. Once again, as a leader on a team, authenticity is important for Kyrie, to lead in his own way and for Shayne to lead in his own way. That’s all they can do and it’s all that you really want them to do. Biggie is going to put in as much work as he possibly can to help his teammates through this time and we’ll be good.”

Given his CFL Hall of Fame career at the position, few are more qualified than O’Shea to discuss the impact the absence of a star player in the middle of the defence would have.

“Yeah, it’s changed enough that I can’t do it,” O’Shea said with a chuckle before getting serious. “No, I couldn’t do it in my prime.”

Why not?

“The offences have got a little more complicated and the vision required, the ability to move is certainly paramount,” he explained. “Once again, we’ve got guys in the building in our system that can do that, that can move all around and play in different spots.”

Gauthier, a special-teams demon, was limited to six games during the regular season in 2023 due to injuries, but recorded 28 defensive tackles during the 2022 campaign when he saw ample time at linebacker.

“I’ve been doing it for a while. I know I can do it. They know I can do it. But at the end of the day, we’re still in training camp. Like we don’t know anything,” said Gauthier, who re-signed with the Blue Bombers the day before CFL free agency opened.

“They’re evaluating a lot of guys right now. So before Week 1 is going to happen, we absolutely don’t know what is going to happen. But I’m ready if I need to step in. They know I’m ready. I have done it in the past. So we’ll see how that leads.”

Gauthier was quick to concede all players work to be ready when an expanded role arrives.

“I’ve been here eight years now. Every time I had an opportunity to get out there, I think I stepped in and I did my job at the best of my capability,” said Gauthier. “So if they ask me to do it again, I’ll step out there and do the best I can like I always did.”

Wilson is back for a seventh season with the Blue Bombers and he’s learned a lot from Bighill over the years.

“It was tough, man. Because he’s the leader of the D. But we know he’s strong and he’ll be back soon. We were pretty shocked by it. He’s a fighter, and we know he’s going to be back soon,” said Wilson, noting how impressed he’s been with Bighill’s ability to read the offensive play call before the snap.

“I feel like he (would) be in the meeting room with them all the time There are some times, (where Bighill would be) like, ‘Kyrie, go down right now.’ I’m like, ‘Where do you see that? OK, I’ll go. OK. Thanks, Biggie.’ (He’s got) experience and he’s a student of the game, man. He’s been in it for a long time so he knows all the tricks and all the little things that the offence tries to get on us. So he’s special.”

Wilson would be sliding over from his outside linebacker spot to the middle, but that’s something he’s grown comfortable with during the past several seasons when Bighill has missed time.

“It’s a big responsibility,” said Wilson.

“Because you’re basically like the vocal teammate, making sure everybody gets in the right place before the ball is snapped. It’s an important position. Oh, I feel like I’m ready until he gets back. I’ve learned a lot from him, and I’m pretty sure he’s still going to be in the meeting rooms, coaching us up and helping us if we need help. But I feel like I’m up to the task.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

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Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

Every piece of reporting Ken 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.