Bombers close in on Regina-bound exhibition roster

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/06/2017 (3282 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Tuesday, 10 days into Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp and just a few more before the pre-season opens in Regina on Saturday, head coach Mike O’Shea said he and general manager Kyle Walters still have to meet before finalizing the roster that will be used against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“We’re getting closer,” O’Shea said. “We will start telling the players tonight or tomorrow, the ones that we know for sure are going.”

The Bombers have two more practices and a walk-through Friday before boarding a chartered flight to the Queen City. Though decisions have yet to be finalized, what O’Shea expects to see from those who do play —many of whom will likely be rookies and second-year players — hasn’t changed.

Though he’s looking primarily for execution on what’s been taught over the past two weeks, he also expects players to stand out. For many, it’s the chance to make a first impression in a game situation, and a lasting one on the coaches.

“It’s the idea about making plays,” O’Shea said. “If you’re cautious through camp and you don’t make plays in the pre-season, well, the outcome is probably not great. If you take risks and you don’t come through with them well, the outcome is the same as not taking risks.

“So you got to go out there with the intent of making something happen — within the framework of the play that’s called, within the framework of the system, absolutely — but you have to enter that game with the idea you’re going to make plays. You’re going to want to make something happen out there.”

O’Shea hinted earlier this week that the circumstances around Saturday’s game are much different than in previous years. The Bombers open the regular season against the Riders in Week 2, on Canada Day, and will be playing in the brand-new Mosaic Stadium. Getting acclimatized to new surroundings will likely mean increased time for players such as quarterback Matt Nichols and kicker Justin Medlock, but it remains unclear if all players expected to play key roles this season will also see an increased workload.

That includes starting running back Andrew Harris.

“I haven’t heard yet if I’m even playing or not or how much, but that’s coach’s decision and I’m ready to go,” Harris said. “They want to evaluate some of the other guys, so at this point you just stay ready for when your number gets called.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Harris added: “Ultimately, Canada Day is the one that’s going to count and the place is going to be rocking, so this is a game but it’s not ‘the’ game, so it would be nice to get in there and get a feel for it, but a stadium is a stadium. There’s still turf, there’s still fans and at the end of the day, once the ball is snapped and you’re making reads and running out there, it’s all the same.”

Moe a no-go, Fogg a maybe

O’Shea said he doesn’t expect linebacker Maurice Leggett to be in Saturday’s game and he’ll be a question mark when the Bombers welcome the Edmonton Eskimos to Investors Group Field five days later. Maurice, who tied for the league lead in interceptions last season with seven — three of which he returned for touchdowns — has been out with a lower-body injury since the first day of camp.

“I don’t know if we’re going to see marked improvement and have enough practice time for him (to be ready),” O’Shea said. “But we’ll see. You hate ruling a guy out.”

Defensive back Kevin Fogg, who hasn’t practised in camp following off-season surgery, will also be out of the lineup Saturday but O’Shea said he is hopeful Fogg will play against the Eskimos.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff 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.