Alouettes lineman Westerman familiar foe for Bombers

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This article was published 19/06/2018 (2644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers are hoping the man that led the team in sacks the past three years doesn’t have any on Friday night.

That’s because Jamaal Westerman no longer wears blue and gold — he’s now chasing down quarterbacks for the Montreal Alouettes. The former star of the Bombers’ defence — he had 32 sacks, 118 defensive tackles and four forced fumbles in 47 games with Winnipeg — will get his first shot at his former team this week after signing a two-year deal with Montreal in the off-season that pays him around $250,000 annually. Westerman joined the Bombers in 2015 after six seasons of bouncing around the NFL.

Bombers left tackle Stanley Bryant, a teammate of Westerman’s from 2015-17, expects to see a heavy dose of the elite pass rusher and knows he’s going to be extra hungry to sack a Bombers’ quarterback for the first time. Bryant said it was great going up against him in practice the past couple years but doesn’t think the familiarity will give either player an advantage.

“It’s even. We both know each other’s weaknesses and strengths,” said Bryant, who was named the CFL’s most outstanding O-lineman last season. “It will be a good battle. When the time comes on Friday night, it will be a big game for us, cause we’ve been looking forward to this game knowing he’s there now and we’ll be ready to go.”

Westerman picked up a sack and three tackles in his debut with the Als last week in a 22-10 loss to the B.C. Lions. His knowledge of the Bombers from being on the team for three seasons may help him add to his sack total this week, something Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea said he’s thought about.

“I always think of those things,” said O’Shea on playing a former member of the team and whether it can be a concern. “I give defenders a lot of credit for having a good understanding of offences. I think Jamaal Westerman, I say it time and time again, he was a pro and he always prepared extremely well. He always wanted to learn about his opponent, so I’d assume he knows the Bombers better than most. What that means on game day I don’t know, they can’t see inside our huddle, right?”

Centre Matthias Goossen will also have a hand in making sure Westerman doesn’t have a chance to introduce himself to the team’s rookie quarterback, Chris Streveler. Goossen said spoiling the defensive lineman’s reunion with his old team isn’t something the offensive line is focusing on.

“We’re trying to ruin everybody’s comeback party,” Goossen said. “I mean, Westerman is a great player, there’s a lot of great players in the league but if you try to overcompensate over one guy, it’s not going to help anybody. It’s about doing our job.”

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Running back Andrew Harris is looking forward to having his first chance to run against Westerman in a game. Harris said it’s always fun to go against a former teammate, especially one like Westerman who “plays with a certain chip on his shoulder.”

“He just goes hard. He’s very smart, he plays with a certain grit, certain tenacity, he’s a guy that kind of gets under your skin,” said Harris, who rushed for 77 yards last week against the Edmonton Eskimos. “He’s a great player. He’s a guy you’d always want to have on your side but we’re really looking forward to going against him.”

Harris said if he makes Westerman miss on a nice run, he won’t be giving his former teammate a hard time. Harris just plays football, but he expects some other guys on the team won’t by shying away from chirping with Westerman.

“I can almost guarantee there will be some smack talk. Probably a couple punches, slaps or pushes thrown. That’s just how he and our offensive line plays, so it’s going to be a good matchup to see,” said Harris.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.