Harris confident Bombers will live high on the hog

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This article was published 14/06/2017 (3037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Andrew Harris has a good feeling about the 2017 season and his comfort level is directly related to the five large hogs playing in front of him.

Veteran offensive linemen Stanley Bryant, Travis Bond, Matthias Goossen, Sukh Chungh and Jermarcus Hardrick are expected to be a formidable unit when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers finally open the CFL regular season on July. 1.

“(When) those guys are firing on all cylinders and when they’re playing cohesively, it makes everything so much better,” said the all-star Winnipeg running back after the Blue Bombers competed a walk-through Wednesday in preparation for tonight’s final pre-season game against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos.

“The five… we have on the line are the same guys we had last year. They know each other. They’re comfortable with each other. Even in meetings and in the huddle, guys understand how we play. More than any team I’ve played on, we’ve got some dogs and they’re willing to do anything to make sure their quarterback, their running back or receivers are OK… That’s the heartbeat of the offence.”

No. 1 quarterback Matt Nichols shares Harris’s optimism about the O-line.

“We pretty much go as they go,” said Nichols. It’s pretty rare to have the same five guys roll over into the next season… It’s just nice because Andrew knows there’s going to be holes opened up, I know I’m going to have time to throw the football and I couldn’t ask for a better group in front of me.”

Although defences tend to dominate at this time of the year, Harris noticed a difference this spring.

“I’ve never been at a camp where the offence was so dominant, the way we were the first couple of days,” said Harris. “That’s a great sign and it’s also a great sign that our defence came around and fought back, too. I’m really exciting about this season and the units we have on both sides and special teams. How we battled and competed is definitely the most positive thing throughout this whole camp.”

After the pre-season finale against the Eskimos, Winnipeg has a Week 1 bye and doesn’t play again for 16 days. The Bombers will open the regular season against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina.

“Personally, and from an offensive standpoint, I know we’ll want to attack and play (today’s) game like it’s a regular-season game,” said Harris. “Sometimes you go into a pre-season game as a veteran and you kinda just coast and tempo it but for myself, I’m playing it as a real game. I want to play at a high level and really get some good reps in there and live reps, so trying to break tackles instead of going out of bounds, that’s the kind of style I want to play tomorrow.

“We gotta make the most of this because we don’t play another meaningful game for two weeks. This game has to have a lot of intensity and high tempo.”

The early bye week is irritating to be sure.

“It’s not the best situation,” said Harris. “Eighteen games is a long season and you want your bye weeks to be spaced out but these are the cards we were dealt, and we’ve gotta deal with it. We gotta look at it as a positive, that we’re going to start our season more fresh than anyone else.”

CFL teams must reduce training camp rosters to 46 active players and 10 practice-roster players by 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Because of Winnipeg’s Week 1 bye, the club does not need to announce its injured list until June 30. As a result, the Bombers will only declare their cuts and a practice roster on Saturday.

A FINAL TUNEUP

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea is expected to give many of the club’s starters a healthy chunk of playing time in today’s pre-season game to insure their readiness for the regular season.

“My preference is to go around to a few of the guys and ask them how they are feeling and whether they think they’re — not that they’re done — but have they had enough work together where they feel good about what they’re doing out there,” said O’Shea. “That, to me, is more important than a pitch count, or anything like that.”

Nichols, for instance, will not have a predetermined amount of playing time.

“Matt’s going to get what he needs,” said O’Shea. “I’m going to go to him — see where he’s at. It’s a process for this game and we’ll make a decision as the game goes on.”

FINDING A HOME

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Prized free-agent acquisition Tristan Okpalaugo raved about his new teammates Wednesday.

“I feel like the chemistry is as good as any,” said the 6-6, 250-pound defensive end. “We have really good chemistry with the D-line, linebackers, we always communicate. We’re going to communicate well on the field. In the locker room it goes a long way to be able to talk to everybody.

“I’m a guy that adapts well to situations but this is a great situation. What we have here is unique, with all the players able to mesh with each other.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14