Bombers not worried about Als linebacker’s boast

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This article was published 05/11/2021 (1489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Montreal Alouettes linebacker Patrick Levels raised some eyebrows this week, but nobody on the Blue Bombers seems to be getting worked up over it.

“I feel like we have the better team, for sure,” Levels said Thursday.  “But we have to be the more disciplined team. Teams that played us, they know they scraped out. Every loss we had I can tell you the turning point.

“Nobody has walked in there and scrubbed us. Our record doesn’t show what I feel and that’s OK. You get into the playoffs and you see what happens. The regular season is just jockeying for playoff position. We get into the playoffs and it’s going to be hell.” The Als, who are third in the East Division at 6-5, visit the 10-1 Bombers at IG Field Saturday night at 6 p.m. Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was asked if he had anything to say in response to the comment made by Levels. “No,” Collaros said after Friday’s walkthrough. Alright then.  How about linebacker Adam Bighill?

“Well, I mean, if he didn’t say that, he probably wouldn’t be a very good competitor. I think everyone should have that mindset about their team,” Bighill said. 

“You can think whatever you want, come out and play the game and we’ll see who’s gonna win, right. So I mean, we’re not taking them for granted or lightly. They’re a good football team. We got to come out here and play our best to win. That’s the facts. So you know, I think our record says a lot about who we are as a team. It speaks consistency. And you know, that’s one thing we got to go out there and continue to prove it.”

ROSE AND CASTILLO TIME

The Bombers are wasting no time putting defensive back Winston Rose and kicker Sergio Castillo to work as the pair will make their season debuts Saturday night. 

With Castillo in, kicker Ali Mourtada, who’s 8-for-15 on field goals in five games, has been assigned to the practice roster. Rose gets the start at boundary corner which sends Mike Jones to the bench.

Jones, a standout corner for the Bombers during their 2019 playoff run, has started all 11 games this season up to this point.

“Mike Jones is a pro. Obviously, there’s conversations that are had with him, but he’s an awesome pro who will still get opportunities to play and makes plays for us,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. 

“He’s a good football player. If you recall how he played down the stretch in the (2019) playoffs, he was phenomenal. One of the better guys on the field, for sure.”

PLAYING FOR…?

Win or lose, it really doesn’t matter for the Bombers. Nor will it in their final two regular season games as they’ve already clinched the West Division crown and will host the division final on Dec. 5 at IG Field.

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Bighill was asked what’s left to play for before the post-season.

“You can’t relax in this league or in professional sports. You just can’t. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse because other teams are trying to level up,” Bighill said. 

“So for us, we know we’re not the best football team we can be yet and that’s just a fact. And we need to take every single week, keep getting one play better, and be able to head into the playoffs being able to play the best football that we’ve ever played. And we got three more opportunities in front of us to prepare and continue to get better.”

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.