Blue Bomber swagger at stake in Sunday’s Banjo Bowl

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This article was published 09/09/2011 (5505 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Is Sunday here yet? Most CFL teams don’t like the back-to-back games with an opponent, due to the simple fact that it’s always harder to win that second game once you’ve picked up the victory in the first meeting.

However, for the losing club in this arrangement — in this case, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after dropping an embarrassing 27-7 decision to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Labour Day Classic — the opportunity to exact some revenge and rebuild your good standing is a welcome second date on the schedule.

The Banjo Bowl at Canad Inns Stadium provides that chance for redemption for Winnipeg.

“I like playing, especially when you get your butt whipped like we did there,” slotback Terrence Edwards said after practice Thursday. “You always want the chance redeem yourself and the back-to-back allows you to do that while it’s still fresh.”

That freshness is one of the positives for the coaches, too. The Bombers have certainly tired of the Riders DVD box set in the film room and the need to familiarize with players and team tendencies is, for the most part, already taken care of, so this week basically is about offering new wrinkles and knotting up loose threads from the LDC.

“The positives are you don’t have an extra game to prep and come up with a whole different game plan,” Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said. “There are some things that we didn’t call that we still think are good in certain situations. So you’re able to carry over some game plan stuff — more than you normally do. The disadvantage: They have an understanding of what you did and they can have some tweaks.”

Who tweaks best usually wins. Game time Sunday is 3 p.m. (TSN, CJOB).

RETURN GAME: Searching for better field position, the Bombers continue to look at kick returner Tim Brown this week. LaPolice said a decision on whether to dress the diminutive speedster, who’s coming off a broken foot suffered in the spring, will be made later this week.

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Some of the issues on offence are related to bad field position. Winnipeg’s average starting point in Regina Sunday was at its own 30-yard line (the Riders started at their own 47) and the return game is being looked at.

Deon Beasley, who’s been dealing with a sore shoulder, is averaging 18.8 yards per kickoff return while Jovon Johnson is averaging 8.8 yards on punt returns.

INJURY UPDATE: Receivers Aaron Hargreaves (ankle) and Terence Jeffers-Harris (back) missed practice Thursday. Jeffers-Harris suffered some back spasms Wednesday, so the club decided to give him an extra day. Defensive tackle defensive end Dorian Smith (ankle) is practising again, but he won’t be available until next week.

FINALLY: Leave it to Hamilton running back Avon Cobourne to keep the Twitter trash talk strong. On Thursday, he offered this thought to the social media masses: “Who thinks Winnipeg is overrated besides me? Is this the end of swaggerville?” The responses, as one might expect from questions designed to poke the beehive, were mixed.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca