Wolitarsky stays positive amid receiving slump

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This article was published 02/10/2019 (2197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During the TV broadcast of last Friday’s game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Bombers receiver Drew Wolitarsky was referred to as “the forgotten man” on Winnipeg’s offence.

The comment could be viewed as a slight, though not malicious, seeing as it wasn’t too far from the truth. Wolitarsky, one of two Canadian starters at receiver for the Bombers this year, hasn’t exactly racked up the yards recently after a strong start to the season.

“Am I forgotten? I don’t feel forgotten here,” Wolitarsky said following Wednesday’s practice at IG Field. “I feel very welcomed and appreciated.”

After recording three touchdowns on nine catches through the CFL season’s first three games, the 24-year-old has been fairly silent since. Wolitarsky is coming off his most consistent effort of late — catching all four of his targets for 32 yards in a 33-13 loss to the Ticats — but it came a week after he received zero targets in a loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

The Bombers have a 4-5 record in their past nine games and, in that time, Wolitarsky has averaged fewer than two catches per game and just more than 20 yards. He also hasn’t found the end zone since Week 4 — a stretch of 11 games.

“I think my role is a little bit different this year and that’s fine. I’ve dropped expectations because the more I expected, the more I was frustrated. But I’m just trying to keep balanced. If I’m pouting, if I’m mad, that’s not productive and that’s not helping anybody win,” Wolitarsky said. “Long season and things change. It’s weird, but it is what it is.”

Wolitarsky isn’t alone when it comes to a drop in his production. The same can be said for newcomer Lucky Whitehead, who also dazzled early, but has since fizzled.

Whitehead took the league by storm following a standout performance in a Week 3 win against the Edmonton Eskimos. The former Dallas Cowboy caught all seven of his targets for 155 yards and two touchdowns. It created such a buzz that the Bombers were quick to design a specialized T-shirt for Whitehead that was sold in the team’s store.

But Whitehead hasn’t had much luck since then. He has yet to record a touchdown since that game, and has eclipsed 50 receiving yards just once in his past 11 games.

“I’ve got to kind of refocus. Coach says as the weather changes, you’ve got to just find a routine. I think we kind of got away from that a little bit,” Whitehead said. “For myself, I’ve just got to refocus and when the ball comes and opportunities come, I’ve got to definitely make my plays. If I can be that spark, I would love to be it. I’ve just got to get the ball.”

The Bombers have recorded the fewest passing yards in the CFL, averaging 215.6 per game. A penchant for using the league’s top running back, Andrew Harris, has something to do with the low totals, but so does inconsistency. Whitehead said if the Bombers are to improve, beginning Saturday night in Regina when they play the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it will be because of a collective effort.

“Obviously, no one has (done enough). We’ve had back-to-back losses. It’s tough. It’s hard out here,” he said. “As far as our offence, there’s a lot of playmakers out there and everyone wants the ball. We’ve just got to find a way when it comes your way, be that spark.”

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The Roughriders will be a tough test to get things back on track. Not only will the Bombers offence have to deal with the crowd noise, Saskatchewan’s defence is also one of the premier groups in the league. It’s ranked second against the pass, allowing 223 yards per game, and quarterback sacks, with 42.

“They run around. They fall to the ball. They tackle well. They don’t give up a lot of points. They don’t give up a lot of explosive plays. Their front four is really good,” Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice said. “They’re a good football team.”

SECONDARY SHUFFLE: The status of the Bombers’ secondary remains up in the air. It’s still unclear whether strong-side linebacker Anthony Gaitor will be available this week, meaning Marcus Rios would move there from field-side halfback. Newcomer Nick Taylor has been practising in Rios’ place. If Taylor starts, it would be his first game with Winnipeg since signing in mid-August.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @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.