Game day: 411

By: Adam Wazny Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011

DAVIE BOLSTERS BLUE

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/10/2011 (5162 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DAVIE BOLSTERS BLUE

Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Kenny Mainor — who returned home earlier this week following the death of his grandmother — has been scratched and replaced on the club’s 46-man roster by rookie Quentin Davie, a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder out of Northwestern University.

Mainor platoons in and out of one defensive end position with fellow lineman Fernand Kashama and Jason Vega. Those two men will now be expected to take on more responsibilities this week, but Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said Friday that Davie will also get some snaps on Saturday.

“Quentin Davie will definitely play on special teams and he’ll also play in some form of a rotation, too,” LaPolice said.

Davie — who attended training camp with the Detroit Lions this summer but was released after three weeks — said he is pumped up about the opportunity to make his professional football regular season debut here tomorrow night.

“I’m excited. It’s a blessing just to be out here playing football again,” said Davie. “I’d been sitting at home, just working out, not knowing what was coming next in my life. And so to get the call (from Winnipeg) and then now get a chance to play, it feels good.

“It’s always fun to get a chance to get after a quarterback.”

Davie is the only roster change the Bombers are expected to make for tonight’s game in Edmonton (6 p.m., TSN, CJOB).

ESKS ROSTER WATCH

Centre Kyle Koch is out for the season. He’ll be replaced by Gord Hinse. Newly acquired running back Hugh Charles will not be in the lineup. Defensive lineman Etienne Legare (leg) is on the 46-man but he may not dress.

RAY OF LIGHT

Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray has 39,349 career passing yards and needs 651 over the last four games to reach the 40,000 plateau. Ray is in his ninth CFL season and trails only Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo (72,429) and Calgary’s Henry Burris (40,977) in yardage among active quarterbacks. For those wondering, Winnipeg’s Buck Pierce has 12,733 career passing yards in this, his seventh season.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

It’s pretty simple for Winnipeg: A win in Edmonton coupled with a Hamilton loss in Montreal Sunday, and the Bombers secure a home playoff game — against those same Tiger-Cats. A Winnipeg win and a Montreal loss puts the Bombers in a position to lock up first place in the East Division with a victory over the Alouettes next weekend.

NEARLY AUTOMATIC

Winnipeg leads the CFL in third-down gambles, converting 18 of 20 attempts (90 per cent) this season. The Bombers are the best of the risk-takers in the CFL. The league average is just a 67 per cent conversion rate.

EXTRA POINT

Should the Bombers run the table through the last four games, it would give them 13 wins — the most they’ve had in a season since the 2001 campaign (14).

— Adam Wazny, with files from Paul Wiecek