Esks worried about Harris, Flanders

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This article was published 30/09/2017 (2907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Ask the Edmonton Eskimos’ Almondo Sewell what concerns him most about facing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and there’s no hesitation.

“What worries me most? Andrew Harris and (Timothy) Flanders,” said the Eskimos defender following practice at Commonwealth Stadium Friday. “We worry most about them going off. If you ask me — I’ve always said it — Andrew Harris ever since he was in B.C., he’s the best running back in the league. He catches the ball fairly well out of the backfield.

“He’s one of those guys who could go 100 (yards rushing) and 100 (yards receiving). And to have Flanders back there, a fast, twitchy little guy, you have to be careful. And Matt Nichols is doing a great job finding (wide receiver) Darvin Adams running halfway down the field wide open for some weird reason (in Winnipeg’s 29-9 win over the Ottawa Redblacks last week). I paid attention to it. I don’t know what other people are looking at.”

Sewell, who is a four-time CFL all-star and widely regarded as the finest defensive tackle in the league, should probably expect to face frequent double-teaming tonight when the Esks and Bombers meet.

“I see that a lot but that doesn’t stop me from what I actually need to do,” Sewell said. “I gotta go out there, gotta help my teammates, get upfield and apply some pressure on the quarterback.”

The Bombers will be a formidible test.

“The last time I’ve seen the ’Peg this good I can’t even remember — and I’ve been here quite a while,” Sewell, a seven-year CFL veteran, said.

MUTUAL ADMIRATION: Winnipeg’s Nichols and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly are former teammates and fast friends. The two quarterbacks have nothing but praise for one another.

Reilly is “a guy I have a tremendous amount of respect for, not just because of the way he plays the game but we have similar background and things he’s had to go through to get to this point,” said Nichols, who toiled at Eastern Washington while Reilly played his college football at Central Washington. “Again, a guy I have tremendous respect for and a good friend of mine and hope the best for him — except when we’re playing against him.”

Nichols is the only quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards against the Eskimos this season, completing 32 of 40 passes for 390 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in a 33-26 win on Aug. 17.

“He’s accurate, he’s smart,” said Reilly of Nichols. “He’s maybe using his legs a bit more than I’ve seen him do in the past but he understands the strengths of his football team and so he doesn’t want to put them in a bad position. He’s done a good job of protecting the football. They’re very good in the turnover-ratio department and they have a ball-hawking defence and they have a smart offence that doesn’t turn the ball over.”

STANDING TALL: the Eskimos have added receivers Adarius Bowman, Brandon Zylstra and Derel Walker to their lineup, which should give the offence a big lift.

Walker is 6-2 while Bowman and Zylstra are both 6-3. All three of them are adept at catching the high jump balls Reilly loves to throw.

“They had good athletes in there earlier when we played them but it will be a challenge and they’re willing to throw up those 50-50 balls and we have to minimize those and hopefully the outcome will be in our favour,” said Blue Bombers safety Taylor Loffler.

NOTEWORTHY: Winnipeg can clinch the two-game series with a win, tie or a loss by six points or fewer tonight. Winnipeg recorded 38 first downs against the Eskimos on Aug. 17, the most by any CFL club since 2004. The Blue Bombers’ franchise record is 41, recorded on Oct. 3, 1981. In the victory over Edmonton, Winnipeg registered zero two-and-outs, which is the only time that’s happened in 2017 and the first time in more than two years. The league has recorded only four two-and-out free games since 2008.

QUOTABLE: Reilly on defensive back Aaron Grymes returning to the CFL after an 18-month stint with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles: “I’ve had to play against him, every snap (in practice). He looks great. He’s the same guy I remember him being. He hasn’t had to get back into the CFL mindset. He’s reading things really good and making my life difficult in practice. Hopefully he does the same for Matt on Saturday.”

Grymes was a CFL all-star in 2015 before signing with the Eagles in 2016.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14