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October 25, 2016

Adams Back On The Field

He pulled in bombs, snatched strikes over the middle and made the spectacular look oh-so-simple.

So, heck yeah, Darvin Adams’ first day back at work since late July drew a collective thumbs up from everyone in Winnipeg Blue Bombers colours on Tuesday.

As to whether that means the veteran receiver will be back in the starting lineup for this Saturday’s home date against the Ottawa REDBLACKS, well, it turns out Adams is just as adept at being coy as he is at running a corner or post route.

Here’s Adams, as an example, when asked if he was ‘good to go’ this weekend after a session in which he worked with the No. 1 offence.

“I don’t know, man,” he began with a grin and a shrug. “That’s up to the coaches and stuff. I’m just out here doing what’s asked of me, participating with the guys and having fun.”

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Follow up question: Do you feel like you can play on Saturday?

“Once again – you’re trying to get me – that’s up to the coaches,” Adams said with a chuckle. “I feel good, but that’s up to the coaches and we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

That time couldn’t come soon enough for the Bombers, even at 10-6 and trying to lock down second spot in the Canadian Football League’s West Division. Now, it’s not that others haven’t stepped up in his absence – the club was 8-2 in the games he missed – it’s just that Adams was on his way to posting some spectacular numbers when he injured his shoulder late in the July 28th win in Edmonton.

Consider this: not only was Adams leading the Bombers in receiving when he was dinged, he was also fifth in the CFL in receiving yardage with 503 on 36 catches –in just six games. Extrapolate those totals over a full season and we’re talking Adarius Bowman, Derel Walker, and Manny Arceneaux territory.

But Adams also has one of those infectious personalities that can be contagious in a locker room. He is always engaged in practice, jawing at teammates, challenging others… all in an effort to keep the pace high.

And so when he was able to bring that back to the field on Tuesday, the whole team noticed.

“It just felt good to go into the huddle and get a head butt from an O-lineman.”

Darvin Adams

“It just felt good to be out there with the guys and competing.”

“He’s a fiery competitor,” added Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “He loves being a teammate. You see him out there working hard when he wasn’t getting the ball, working hard to block, getting in the fray and mixing it up and standing up for his teammates. And when you threw him the ball he was trying to make big plays for his teammates.

“I think he’s really missed it, as most guys do, obviously. I’m excited for his opportunity; we’ll just have to see how it plays out later on.”

The return of Adams presents an interesting dilemma for O’Shea and offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice. Adams was working Tuesday with the No. 1 unit in place of Tori Gurley in a receiving corps that also featured imports Weston Dressler, Clarence Denmark and Ryan Smith along with Canadian Rory Kohlert.

But this crew has been depleted throughout the season and the return of Adams – plus the addition of Gurley who continues to gobble up the playbook – gives the attack a ton of different options and potential looks.

Again though, an underrated aspect to what Adams brings is his personality – both on and off the field.

“He’ just a playmaker,” said Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols. “He’s a guy that makes plays when it looks like they’re not there. He’s an attitude, difference maker for us where he’ll run a guy over, make a big block and get everyone excited. He just kinda changes everyone’s attitude in the middle of a game. You feel like there can be a little bit of a lull at the time and he’ll make a crazy play or run someone over and get everyone fired up and it rolls from there…. Everyone else sees what he’s doing and they want to be doing the same thing.

“He’s a guy who just improves your team even by just being around and being out here on the field.

“Our entire receiving corps are vertical threats and guys that make people miss and make plays,” added Nichols. “I think we have one of the best receiving corps in the league. Getting a guy like Darvin back out on the field and just having him being more around the guys rather than just standing in the back in street clothes is big for our team to get a personality like that back on the field.”

That was never more evident than Tuesday, when Adams was thrilled to simply be back grinding it out with his teammates. It’s one thing to try and stay engaged while watching practice; it’s another altogether to be sweating and bleeding on the field together.

“It’s not frustrating at all,” said Adams of missing so much time this season. “That’s football. Things like that happen. I’m just staying grounded, staying humble until my time is called.”

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BOMBER REPORT – October 25, 2016

OUCH REPORT:

Just FYI, here’s the official response from Mike O’Shea on whether Darvin Adams would be back in the lineup for Saturday’s game against Ottawa:

“He made some nice plays in practice already. We’ve got to assess his fitness level. I know coming back from an injury he’s good to play, but there’s more to it than that… we’ve got to make sure he can play 60 minutes for us at a high level and that will be assessed during the week before we make a decision on whether or not he’s on the roster.”

Some other notable news on the injury front from Tuesday:

  • Right guard Sukh Chungh, who was injured in the win over the B.C. Lions in Vancouver just before the bye week, did not practice and was replaced on the No. 1 unit by veteran Pat Neufeld.
    “He’s hobbling around a little bit but, once again, he’s as tough as they come and he doesn’t need practice reps to play in the game,” said O’Shea of Chungh. “I won’t rule a guy like that out.”
    O’Shea said the same thing of Ian Wild, who did not practice.
  • Linebacker Maurice Leggett, who missed the game in Vancouver, did practice on Tuesday.
  • Bruce Johnson’s two-game suspension is up and he was working at halfback on the No. 1 defence along with T.J. Heath with Kevin Fogg the odd man out.

 

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FYI:

This has been out there for a while now but bears repeating: if the CFL season ended today, the Bombers – courtesy of the Drew Willy trade with Toronto – would hold the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. Winnipeg acquired that pick, a third-rounder in 2018 and Heath for Willy.

Toronto (5-12), Montreal (5-11) and Saskatchewan (5-11) have all been eliminated from the playoff picture. The Als have also traded their first rounder to B.C. for QB Vernon Adams, Jr.

ENERGIZED:

Tuesday’s Bomber practice was very vocal and spirited from start to finish. And that’s undoubtedly the byproduct of the bye week and the push for a home playoff game.

“Refreshed. Hammering off some rust out here – the first day back always feels like that,” said QB Matt Nichols. “It felt like it was a long break and the guys are excited to be back and work and get ready for this last stretch here.

“It was the perfect timing for us. We had some guys nicked up and we’re getting some guys back. To be able to get that refresher and then be able to come back and still get a couple of games where you can get back into the flow of things, get back into a roll before you roll into the playoffs is perfect timing for us.”

“It fell at a good time,” added O’Shea. “It gives the guys a bit of rest when they need it, but enough time to get those couple games in (to end the regular season). I think it’s perfect timing.

“They need to do what they need to do, but they also understand where the team is at and judging by the pace of practice today, I think they all did a little bit of work during the bye week… enough to make sure they could come back and practice at this kind of level right off the bat. It looked like we were fresher on this Day 1 than on the previous Day 1s. They got the rest they needed, it looks like, and they did enough to come back and practice hard.”