Can Blue gain traction in West?

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This article was published 10/09/2014 (4039 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The CFL’s West Division playoff race — already about as clear as the Red River — just got a whole lot murkier over the weekend.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions lost their starting quarterbacks in wins last week, and both Darian Durant and Travis Lulay are likely gonzo alonzo for the season. And those developments have now made the sprint to the finish line in the ultra-competitive West Division — where the fifth-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers, at 6-5, have twice as many wins as the top two teams in the East, the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes — even more compelling.

Mind you, Bomber head coach Mike O’Shea certainly didn’t buy in to that theory in his Tuesday media session.

“There’s no point in looking at it that way for us,” said O’Shea when asked how the injuries might affect the West race. “Travis (Lulay) only played one game. Kevin Glenn has gotten them to where they are right now in reality. He’s been the starter. And we don’t play Saskatchewan again until the playoffs, so there’s nothing really we can do about that.

“As a fan will I watch the games and note how different it is for Saskatchewan? Yeah, maybe I will. But we’re done with them now until the playoffs.”

The Riders announced Tuesday that Durant, who left Sunday’s Banjo Bowl after being hit by Bryant Turner, will require surgery on a tendon in his right elbow. And on Monday the Lions said Lulay dislocated his right shoulder in Friday’s win over Ottawa and his season is also done.

The veteran Glenn will step behind centre again for the Lions, but the Riders will have to turn to the untested Tino Sunseri in their quest to repeat as Grey Cup champs.

“You have an MOP and you have the leader of last year’s Grey Cup team. These are great players in the West. For me, them not being a factor is sad,” Stampeders running back Jon Cornish told reporters in Calgary.

“I’ve always been one to want to define myself against the best. I think (for) the CFL, we lost two great players for the remainder of the season, unfortunately.”

The Bombers aren’t without their own injury issues after the Banjo Bowl loss. O’Shea said Tuesday both defensive end Jason Vega and Canadian linebacker Mike Cornell tweaked their knees and will be out for at least a couple of weeks. The Bombers will look at Willie Moseley, one of the last cuts during camp, or newcomers Thaddeus Gibson or Marvin Booker as a replacement for Vega.

Meanwhile, O’Shea is hopeful the team will have linebacker/long-snapper Ian Wild back.

“Travis (Lulay) only played one game. Kevin Glenn has gotten them to where they are right now in reality. He’s been the starter. And we don’t play Saskatchewan again until the playoffs, so there’s nothing really we can do about that’

— Mike O’Shea

His status will be better known after practices today and Thursday and his availability may determine whether EJ Kuale or Abe Kromah sit.

“There’s no point in putting Ian Wild in jeopardy,” said O’Shea. “We have too many games left to do that. We don’t want to put him out there too soon and risk him for the rest of the season. If he’s good to go, then we’ll have to look at the roster and see where that all plays out.”

BLUE NOTES: The Bombers released RB Kyle Bolton from the practice roster… Offensive linemen Matthias Goossen and Paddy Neufeld will attempt to practise this week… O’Shea noted the Bombers took 13 penalties on Sunday, four more than what they had been averaging. “The unfortunate part is those four were probably UR (unnecessary roughness) and that adds up to a lot of yardage. We’ve just got to do a better job.”… The Bombers have yet to have one of their two byes — they are the only CFL team not to get a week off — but O’Shea doesn’t believe it’s caused his team to wear down. “We don’t make the schedule. There’s nothing we can do about it, there’s no reason to worry about it, there’s no reason to bring it to the players’ attention. You just keep chugging along. We’ve got one coming up, right? We’ve got to win a game first before we even move on to that point.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait