Stiff challenge awaits in Calgary

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This article was published 21/09/2016 (3300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers know what lies in wait Saturday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

They are acutely aware of what the Calgary Stampeders bring to the table, having already lost to them twice this season (Week 2 and Week 4).

Much has changed, of course, for Winnipeg (8-4), while the Stamps (10-1-1) have not lost since Week 1 and still field perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the Canadian game with beastly running back Jerome Messam tearing up the ground and pinpoint-accurate pivot Bo-Levi Mitchell slicing his way through the air.

Both are key matchups for Jamaal Westerman and the Blue Bombers defensive line, which will try to disrupt the lightning-quick Stamps quarterback. It’s no easy feat, something the Bombers are well aware of after struggling to do so in their first two meetings of the season in which Mitchell combined for more than 600 yards passing and five touchdowns and Messam rumbled for more than 200 yards.

“He’s quick. He gets the ball off really fast,” Westerman said of Mitchell. “The key is to not get frustrated. You can get a good rush on him, but he still gets the ball off quickly.”

The Bombers are preparing for their Week 13 opponent just like any other team on their 18-game schedule. It’s by design, as to not make it bigger than it is, according to the man who will start opposite Mitchell.

“They’re a good football team and we’ve been playing against good football teams,” said quarterback Matt Nichols. “We always look forward to the challenge. Any time you want to be the best, you got to beat the best. Right now, the record says they’re the best team.”

It just so happens the team the Bombers will face Saturday is the only other team running at a better clip than they are.

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The seemingly mistake-free Stamps are sporting a nine-game winning streak. Barring the scarcity of a tie, something has to give.

“We’re chasing perfection — we know we’ll never reach it, but we are chasing to have that perfect game as a defence, as an offence, and special teams,” Westerman said. “They’re our next opponent, but we’re not looking at them as the standard in the league. We want to be our best. If we perform our best football, to be honest with you, I don’t think anybody can beat us in this league. That’s how we feel, regardless of the team in front of us.”

A revived Blue Bombers team on a seven-game win streak with a chance to make its biggest statement so far this season would leave many salivating at the opportunity, but not head coach Mike O’Shea.

He has no intentions of hyping up the game. To many, it’s a measuring stick game for the club. For O’Shea… “Not really. We’re interested in one thing and that’s winning.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.