No word on Harris return, Bombers focus on run game

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This article was published 19/08/2021 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It feels pointless to ask.

You know Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea isn’t going to give an injury update on any of his players, let alone one of his best ones. But when that player has led the league in rushing the past three seasons and is one of the most recognizable names in the CFL, you reword the question in hopes that it’ll make a difference and you keep asking.

After Thursday’s closed practice, a day after running back Andrew Harris was seen participating in some on-field drills with his team, O’Shea was asked when he believes his star ball carrier will be able to play again.

“He was out there, took some reps this week. He was limited in practice as it said on the injury report and I thought he looked good out there,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea might as well save himself some time and say “no comment.”

But with or without Harris, the Bombers are hoping to gain more yards on the ground this Saturday in Toronto in a rematch with the Argos. Brady Oliveira scampered for 126 yards on 22 carries against Hamilton in Week 1, but last week against Toronto was a much different story as the Boatmen held the Winnipegger to only 29 yards on 13 attempts.

“My job was to go out there and get the (win) and we got the (win). Obviously, we want to run the ball better, but I don’t think guys’ heads are down cause we didn’t hit a high number,” said offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick. “There’s things we got to work on, but we got the win.”

The Winnipeg side will also need to slow down Toronto’s rushing attack led by John White. The Bombers held the Argos to only seven points, but White found enough holes to rush the ball 12 times for a total of 111 yards and his team’s lone score.

“We kind of have to stop that in order for us to be who we need to be, the first thing we’ve got to do is stop the run,” said safety Brandon Alexander. “We weren’t harping on it too much, because we have to roll it off our backs and we have another game to play this week, and we play the same running back and he could potentially do the same thing to us. You have to take it like you do a play. If you mess up on a play, you let it roll off your back, it’s the next one.”

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BRYANT VS. HUGHES

You’d have a tough time finding a better matchup in the CFL than Bombers left tackle Stanley Bryant going up against Argos defensive end Charleston Hughes.

Bryant, 35, and Hughes, 37, may be getting up there in age, but they’re still two of the best in the league at their craft. They’re also former teammates as they played five seasons together in Calgary (2010-14).

“He’s one of those guys who’s been around for a while, going all the way back to Calgary practice days against him. We kind of got a sense of going against each other, what to expect,” Bryant said. “And then he’s always trying to make a play around the ball, run or pass play, he’s that guy that’s going to get to the ball and try to make a big play for his defence.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.