Strictly breakage insurance

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2011 (5094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No surprise here — both Buck Pierce and Michael Bishop declared themselves ready to go.

First with Pierce: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers No. 1 quarterback told reporters Monday he expects to be under centre when the club heads to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium Friday.

“I feel good. I should do everything this week — that’s my mindset, anyway,” said Pierce, who sat out last week’s 32-26 loss against the Montreal Alouettes to give his bruised ribs some rest. “They (the coaches and trainers) might have a different plan, but I feel good.”

It should be noted that Pierce did little more than twirl a football on his index finger Monday and that Paul LaPolice wasn’t exactly ready to sign off on the quarterback’s proclamation when asked about the situation after practice. That said, it’s hard to imagine Pierce — and the fastest-healing ribs in the world — won’t be leading the Bombers offence Friday.

Which brings us to the depth chart behind him.

On the Bishop front, one thing is certain: He can still bomb it down the field.

A 45-yard throw, a toss that he made look relatively easy, to receiver Ricky Clarke at practice was the highlight from the first day of his second go-around with the Bombers. The 35-year-old is officially a part of the current quarterback stable now, having been added as an insurance policy for the rest of the season.

A nine-year veteran, Bishop has played in 129 CFL games and thrown for 11,772 yards (including a career-high 3,035 yards with the Bombers in 2009). More importantly, he has worked with LaPolice before (Toronto and Saskatchewan) so of the Plan Bs out there, he was the obvious choice for Winnipeg — despite being one of the first cuts under the Joe Mack regime.

“We’re into the (14th) game of the season, to bring in somebody who didn’t know the terminology; it would have been awfully difficult for them to play,” Mack, the Bombers GM, said. “I didn’t want us to be caught flat-footed. If we get into the playoffs and then we have a couple injuries, I still wanted us to be able to be competitive.”

Will the former Bomber play, though? That was on everyone’s mind Monday.

“Could I play on Friday?” Bishop asked, repeating the question.

“I can play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — whatever day it is. If that situation comes up, I know enough about the offence (to) get some first downs, take some shots in the end zone, score some points, and watch the defence and special teams do their jobs.”

Bishop saw time in Calgary as a fill-in for injured back-up quarterback Drew Tate earlier this season and serves a similar role on the practice roster in Winnipeg. He will probably only dress if one of the top three — Pierce, Alex Brink, or Justin Goltz — aren’t able to, though LaPolice wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Bishop could be the No. 3 man down the road.

“Right now, (Bishop) is insurance in case one of the top three get hurt,” he said.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @wazoowazny

TOUGH CALL

The CFL has parted ways with side judge Rick Berezowski, the official who made the questionable pass interference call on Montreal’s Greg Laybourn at the end of last Friday’s game in Winnipeg. He ruled that Bombers WR Greg Carr had been interfered with in the Alouettes end zone with eight seconds left in the game, but replays showed Carr initiated most of the contact and the pass was nowhere in the vicinity of the receiver.

EXTRA POINTS

As expected, the Bombers dumped speedster Tim Brown out of the kick returner’s role Monday. Clarence Denmark and Jovon Johnson fielded all the punts, with Brown taking reps at the receiver position… DT Doug Brown returned to the field after missing the Montreal game with a shoulder injury… LB Marcellus Bowman, WR Cory Watson and SB Terrence Edwards were a few of the players who sat out Monday’s workout.