Bust-out game for Bombers’ Bailey

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This article was published 12/10/2019 (2189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHEN Lucky Whitehead exploded for 155 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 3 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos, he looked like he was on his way to CFL stardom.

He already had name recognition from his time in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, and the first impression he made in Winnipeg quickly made him the talk of the town in Bomberland.

Then things got quiet. Real quiet. Outside of a kick-return touchdown on the road in Week 5 against the Toronto Argonauts, Whitehead hasn’t found the end zone since. He went from someone who was destined to be a focal point of the offence, to a player who sat on the bench. It was announced right before Saturday’s kickoff against the Montreal Alouettes that Whitehead was a healthy scratch and replaced by receiver Rasheed Bailey.

“Just trying to put a different guy in the lineup and see what it does,” head coach Mike O’Shea said of the decision following the Bombers’ 35-24 win over Montreal. “The way our roster is right now, it’s almost like we’ve been holding Rasheed back. If you come out to practice and watch, he’s 100 m.p.h. every practice and catches everything and goes up and high-points it and makes the tough catches. So we just thought we’d give him another shot.”

Bailey made the most of his opportunity, leading the Bombers with five receptions for 86 yards. His biggest play came in the third quarter when he hauled in a 35-yard pass from Chris Streveler. It was Bailey’s second start of the season. He had five catches for 33 yards against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl.

“You guys are just getting a chance to see what’s been going on in practice,” Bailey said post-game. “I’ve been doing this all year and to get my second opportunity to put my talent out there, it felt good.”

“You’re playing this mind game. You’re battling yourself, You’re not a young player. I’m getting older. I’m 26-years-old, still young, but like I’ve become so many different people throughout these weeks… Overall, I just want to win and it felt good to be a part of that.”– Rasheed Bailey

After the Banjo Bowl, Bailey had to wait five weeks to have his number called again. The CFL rookie, who spent time with five NFL teams and the B.C. Lions before getting a chance in Winnipeg, said being patient hasn’t been easy.

“You know, it’s tough, man,” Bailey said.

“You’re playing this mind game. You’re battling yourself, you’re not a young player. I’m getting older. I’m 26 years old, still young, but, like, I’ve become so many different people throughout these weeks. The highs, the lows, trying to be the best teammate that I can be. Overall, I just want to win and it felt good to be a part of that. Hopefully down the future, we can continue this so I’m excited for what’s next.”

Bailey, the all-time receiving yardage leader at Delaware Valley University, didn’t look like a guy who’s new to the lineup, as Streveler looked his way early and often. Streveler said that’s just the way the offence rolls — anyone is capable of leading in receiving.

“He made some good plays today,” said Streveler, who completed 15 of 25 passes for 174 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the victory. “He did a good job of getting open. I think we do a good job spreading the ball around to everyone on offence. So you never really know who can pop off from game to game. He did well.”

Bailey said it means a lot to him for Streveler to have so much faith in him, despite not having much game experience together.

“Me and Chris got a little thing. Hopefully we can continue to build from it,” said Bailey, a Philadelphia native. “We did miss a few out there and I’m upset about it. I gotta learn to flush some plays and move on to the next. But I’m happy. It felt so good.”

There’s no telling if Whitehead, who has 48 catches for 483 yards, will lose his job permanently to Bailey. But when you ask O’Shea about what he sees from Bailey, he raves about him.

“He’s 100 per cent all the time, Rasheed is. Whether you’re asking him to block or whether he’s going to get the ball or whether he’s running a route to get somebody else open, he’s 100 per cent all the time.

“Like I said, everybody wants some plays back, but I liked his game.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @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.

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