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August 22, 2016

Back At It

Andrew Harris disappeared to Mexico for a few days, Stanley Bryant headed home to North Carolina to see family and friends.

Paul LaPolice headed out to Lake of the Woods, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea – who occasionally drops a 1980s TV/movie or musical reference – described his bye week as a ‘Griswold Family Trip.’

And so it was a refreshed and relaxed Bomber side that returned to work Monday at Investors Group Field, ready to recapture some of the magic that had them on a three-game win streak before the break.

O Line

“You could argue that we were on a bit of a roll but, at the same time, we were pretty beat up at all positions, really,” began quarterback Matt Nichols. “It’s great to get that break and step away from it a little bit and get guys healed up.”

The Bombers, now 4-4, are heading into a critical chunk of their schedule that could further define this bunch. The club heads to Montreal this week, followed by the annual back-to-back Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl slugfest with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and a home date with the Toronto Argonauts.

That will take them to a nasty final third of the season that features another trip to Calgary, a home date with Edmonton and then home-and-home double-headers with both B.C. and Ottawa.

“We’ve come together,” said Andrew Harris after practice on Monday. “We’re gelling right now and guys are just making plays all across the board. The next three games are big ones for us and we want to come out 7-4.

“We need to run the ball and we’ve been able to do that. We need to hit the deep shots and more recently in the last three games we’ve been able to do that. We’ve also been able to check it down and run the clock out in the same drive.”

“We’re really complete right now. We play a complete game and finish out teams. We’ve got to keep building on that.”

Andrew Harris

Now, it’s not like the Bombers got all fat and sassy during the bye. Just to hammer that home, a bunch of the crew got together on their own to run around and get loose again prior to Monday’s practice to just – as Nichols said – ‘knock some of the rust off.’

That speaks of their eagerness to get back at it, but also the growing sense that something good is being built here.

“The sky’s the limit with this group,” said Bryant. “It’s been a long time here and I feel like this is the group that can turn it around. And I’m not just saying that because we’re on a three-game winning streak and are just doing what we’re expected to do.”

“We’re getting closer. I really think we’re destined for great things but we’ve got to keep piling up those wins and keep building it.”

Stanley Bryant

That’s the intriguing thing about this team right now: having suffered through a horrible 1-4 start, they’ve now set the template for what they have to do each week to be successful.

“I don’t think, hopefully, that we’ll ever think we’ve ‘arrived’,” said O’Shea. “Part of winning is playing with that edge and believing you need to work hard every week to win. You don’t want to ever be complacent.

“You don’t ever want to be satisfied.”

To keep this run going, the Bombers will need more from a ball-hawking defence, more from what is emerging as a dominant force along the offensive line, more from the special teams and more from the depth players who have not only stepped in when regulars have been hurt, but may be stealing away jobs.

“We went through some growing pains in the first few games and right now this team is playing with some confidence,” said Nichols. “We’re a very physical football team and I think it shows up on film.

“We’re a team that’s never going to quit and that’s our mentality: we’re a bunch of hard-working guys doing their jobs. It’s the old saying that things will take care of themselves as long as you’re doing what you are supposed to do.”

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BOMBER REPORT – AUGUST 22, 2016

NEW BLUE BLOOD:

Eric MartinThe Bombers added another defensive end on Monday, bringing aboard Eric Martin, who has been added to the practice roster.

Martin (6-2, 250, Nebraska) has 33 NFL games under his belt, including four last season with the New England Patriots and 29 over two seasons with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and 2014.

He made 16 starts for the Cornhuskers while dressing for 53 games from 2009-12 and earned first-team All Big Ten honours as a senior after leading the team with 8.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.

The Bombers have started three different ends opposite Jamaal Westerman this season in Shayon Green (3), Adrian Hubbard (2) and Justin Cole (3).

OUCH REPORT:

Receivers Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith and defensive backs Chris Randle, Julian Posey and Macho Harris were all running around at practice on Monday, but not participating.

Darvin Adams (shoulder) still had his left arm in a sling.

Quincy McDuffie was also back in action while CB Johnny Adams – who has missed the entire season to date – was practicing with the starting defence with Terrence Frederick apparently nicked up a bit.

“It’s challenged my professionalism… I’m a competitor. I want to get out here with my boys and play,” said Adams of all the inactivity. “But it’s week to week, day by day. I just come out here and compete. I don’t know how the ball drops or whatever happens… my job is to come out here and be the best Johnny Adams I can be.”

“He’s going to practice and we’re going to see how it looks,” said Bombers coach Mike O’Shea of Adams. “It’s difficult to just put a guy right in without having three days of practice. We’ll watch the tape and see how he’s doing.”

HANDS OFF:

The Bombers didn’t just finish their last game (the win in Toronto) without giving up a sack. They took it one step further.

“The only time I got touched was on a QB sneak and I just kinda fell on top of bodies and didn’t really take a hit there, either,” said Nichols. “The offensive line did a fantastic job and we had a great game plan going in and executed it well and ran the ball a lot, so we didn’t have to live in just a drop-back world and let those guys pass rush all the top.

“I’d love to keep that going every week. That’s the first time maybe in my life at any level of playing a game and not getting hit.”