The key – as the old football edict/commandment goes – is to ‘act like you’ve been there before.’
The legendary Bear Bryant preached it. So, too, did Vince Lombardi, Bud Grant and any iconic coach who has his likeness cast in bronze or granite and plopped down in front of stadiums all over this planet.
It’s an axiom that was first muttered in response to an over-the-top touchdown celebration, but has come to reference a lot of things in football, including how a team prepares for a game. It means stay cool, be calm, and carry on even in the face of the enormous win-or-go-home pressure.
And it will undoubtedly come up this week as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prepare for their first playoff game in five years in this Sunday’s Canadian Football League West Division Semifinal in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.
Why? Because ‘acting like you’ve been there before’ is a tough gig when so many on the Bomber roster are new to all this.
Oh sure, there are guys who have played in big bowl games in the U.S. and Vanier Cups in Canada. But it’s different when livelihoods and financial rewards are at stake and the Grey Cup playoffs are all of that and then some.
The Bombers current roster, practice roster, and injured list features 17 players who have appeared in a playoff game, 10 of whom have also suited up for a Grey Cup. That leaves 40 players who are all new to this.
That doesn’t exactly scream out ‘experienced’ and maybe that, in part, is why head coach Mike O’Shea asked some of his troops who have been there before, to explain to the rest of the masses what changes now.
“The biggest thing for me as a younger player when I experienced my first time in the playoffs is you notice how much the intensity level of the game has risen,” said Bombers receiver Weston Dressler, who has nine playoff games – including two Grey Cups – on his resume. “You go through a regular season, all the games, and you feel like you’re giving everything you got. Once you get to the playoffs, you find a way to dig a little bit deeper. It’s making sure guys are ready for that and aren’t surprised by the intensity level and the energy that is involved in a playoff game.
“It starts with practice. You can feel the energy right now… we’re not practicing today, but just the guys in the locker room.”
Weston Dressler
“You can feel an energy level and the importance of what a playoff game brings to the table. You can’t really find that until you’re in that situation. As the week goes on it is harnessing that excitement and the nerves and all that stuff and just preparing well for the game. Come game time it’s relying on your preparation and your instincts and just let the game come to you at that point.”
The Bombers head to Vancouver this weekend as five-point underdogs to a team they’ve beaten twice already this season. The playoffs are a different animal, however, when any mistake gets that much more magnified.
‘Bring it,’ the Bombers are already preaching. And there can really be no other approach, whether it’s from a player that has been there-done that already, or one that will be lining up for his first postseason tilt come Sunday.
“It’s what you always play for,” said Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols. “You don’t know how many times you get an opportunity like this and you know this exact team isn’t going to be together next year. So, as a team, we’re excited to go on this journey together and this is the first step in getting to where we want to be.”
Where they want to be, of course, is Toronto on November 27th for the Grey Cup. Getting there won’t be easy as the Bombers would need to win in Vancouver and then in Calgary against the Stampeders, who were a perfect 9-0 at home and 15-2-1 overall.
But everyone has a puncher’s chance come playoff time, no matter how much experience – or lack thereof – there is on the roster. And if hunger counts for anything, then this bunch is positively famished.
Even a guy like Dressler, who does have a Grey Cup ring, has come to appreciate how hard it is just to get into the fight again.
“Absolutely, especially after going through the season that I did last year with Saskatchewan,” he said. “We were out of the playoff hunt pretty early. And the guys that were here, it’s the same situation for them. You definitely don’t take these opportunities for granted, playing as long as I have I’ve been in the playoffs quite a bit, but I’ve also missed a couple of times and it’s not fun to be at home. You live in the moment, enjoy the moment and appreciate the opportunity that we have.”
