Rose blooms with Bombers

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This article was published 23/10/2019 (2146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If people didn’t know who Winston Rose was last year, they should definitely recognize him now.

The season isn’t over yet, but Rose is on his way to leading the CFL in interceptions for a second straight year. Rose has hauled in a league-leading nine picks and has the opportunity to add to his total Friday when the Bombers play their final regular-season game against the Calgary Stampeders at IG Field. Calgary’s Tre Roberson is in second place with seven interceptions.

Rose, who spent last season with the B.C. Lions, finished 2018 in a five-way tie for first with five picks. Despite the strong season, it wasn’t enough to be named an all-star. The four players Rose shared the league’s 2018 interception lead with — B.C.’s Anthony Orange, Ottawa’s Jonathan Rose and Derico Murray and Montreal’s Branden Dozier — were all given division all-star nods.

“Last year, I ain’t get no recognition. Nothing,” said Rose, who intercepted Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell in the Bombers’ 37-33 loss on Saturday. “It was like it was swept under the rug. This year, with how the season has gone for me and being talked about, it’s kind of bittersweet because it’s like ‘Where was all of this last year?’”

Don’t get it twisted. Rose isn’t a selfish player who just cares about making the all-star team. The guy wants to win, and it’s evident when you speak to him. But last year’s snub definitely added fuel to the fire for this season.

“With that happening last year, I wouldn’t say my off-season was dedicated to that. But it was kind of like, ‘OK, you’ve still got more to do. You’ve still got to put more work in. There’s probably something lacking that they don’t see, so you’ve got to work on your weaknesses and get better.’ And that was my focus in the off-season, to get better,” said Rose, a 25-year-old California native in his third CFL season.

“Five interceptions wasn’t enough, so maybe six or seven will be. So that was my whole focus. Just trying to get better.”

Nobody has made quarterbacks pay for their mistakes more than Rose in the past two seasons. With back-to-back years of being an interception machine, Rose has clearly proven it’s no fluke. He’s a ball hawk. Rose played receiver in high school before getting switched to defensive back when he played at New Mexico State. He believes his pass-catching experience in high school has helped him at the pro level.

“I’ve always had a knack for the ball,” said Rose, who had a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings prior to signing a one-year deal with the Bombers. “I always go for the ball. I just feel like being a receiver and turning into a DB, it just made it so much easier for me to be around the ball.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was asked after Wednesday’s closed practice for his thoughts on Rose’s impressive campaign.

“He plays on the short side (of the field) so he gets a lot of action, which probably helps with the interceptions, and he’s right on it. He tracks the ball. He makes good on those opportunities, right? I think at the beginning of the year, there were a couple ones that got away from him. But, since then, I think he’s been spot on.”

On Friday, Rose has an opportunity to make his season even more memorable. If he can pick off another pass, he will become only the third player since 2007 to have 10 interceptions in a season. It would be a nice accomplishment, but it’s not what Rose is focusing on in the rematch with Calgary.

“I’m not really looking for an interception. I’m trying to get this W,” Rose said. “And also, the interceptions aren’t all me. It’s more so the lineman or the linebackers putting pressure on the quarterback for him to just throw it up to me. So, this last game, I’m not going into the game like, ‘OK, I need an interception.’ I’m trying to get this W, so then we can hopefully host a home playoff game.”

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Prior to the season, Rose wrote down his goals for the year. One of them was for him to double his stats from last year, which he’s pretty close to doing. The other was to end the season as a Grey Cup champion. While it looks as though he will be crowned the interception king, it’s starting to look less likely Rose and the Bombers will hoist the Grey Cup in 2019, as they’ve lost four out of their past five games. But don’t tell that to Rose. He still believes he will accomplish both of his goals.

“That’s still my mindset. That’s what I want,” Rose said. “When I got here, I was hearing all about this (Grey Cup) drought. I’m trying to hear none of that. We’re a whole different team, a whole different energy and we all have a common goal that we’re trying to reach and we’re going to get there.”

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.

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.