Harris’s ‘250 yards’ boast a small distraction

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This article was published 15/09/2014 (4034 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — Conventional wisdom coming into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game Saturday night against the B.C. Lions was B.C. running back Andrew Harris had made a big mistake by suggesting earlier in the week his team could rush for 250 yards against the Bombers.

Harris’s boast, went the thinking, was going to rally a league-worst Bombers run defence and come back to haunt Harris and his Lions.

And yet, when the dust settled on a costly 26-9 Bombers loss to the Lions, the whole Harris thing proved to be a sideshow that had little impact on the final outcome — other than as what one Bombers defender admitted afterward was an unnecessary distraction.

“Maybe a little bit,” said linebacker Teague Sherman. “We definitely heard about it and we all read about it and that definitely lit a little bit more of a fire under us. And if anything, maybe we were a little too aggressive at the beginning and not aggressive enough at the end.

“It definitely affected us a little bit. Probably a little bit more than it should have.”

The Lions finished the night with 163 yards rushing — including 101 yards from Harris — but most of that came in the fourth quarter with the final outcome no longer in doubt.

GOOD TIME FOR BYE: The consensus in the Bombers locker-room Saturday night was this week’s bye couldn’t come at a better time for a team that is in a 1-5 skid and has lost three straight.

“Luckily, we have this week to get our mind off football so we can come back next week mentally ready and physically ready, hopefully,” said Bombers defensive lineman Bryant Turner.

“We’ve been on a little downward spiral and I feel like we need this to regroup and be the same team that came out at the start, banging, came off the gun shooting and doing good. We just have to regroup and get back to that focus and get going again.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea agreed. “It’s not just the physical rest — it’s the mental rest, too.”

Bombers safety Maurice Leggett said the bye will be a good opportunity for some soul searching. “It’s a good thing this bye week is coming so we can get our heads together,” said Leggett. “I’m sure some guys will use the week to watch some film and see what’s really going on. It’s a bad feeling in the stomach.”

LONGING FOR THE EAST: A red-hot 5-1 start to the season turned into a 1-5 skid for the Bombers at the same time as the team started playing less East Division opponents and more West Division opponents.

But O’Shea insists the mounting losses have everything to do with what his team isn’t doing rather than the quality of their opponent.

“We made too many mistakes to win consistently over the last several weeks. It’s not difficult to see… It has to be about us.”

MURPHY STRIKES: In a season in which so many things that could go wrong have gone wrong the last six weeks, the one thing the Bombers used to be able to count on was, no matter what, starting QB Drew Willy would get up.

Until he didn’t, that is, the victim Saturday night of a right-shoulder injury on a hit from Lions defender Khreem Smith late in the second quarter that knocked Willy out of the game — and maybe some to come.

“That was huge,” said offensive tackle Glenn January. “Not only because of the way he plays but because he’s our leader on the field. He’s that calm in the storm…

“Hopefully, it’s not too serious and we get Drew back pretty quick. He’s a great quarterback and a great leader.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek