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June 6, 2017

Training Camp Day 10 | A Veteran’s Perspective

Andrew Harris (33)

He asked everyone to pump the brakes when panic set in early last season. And he insisted that, in time, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would transform into a Canadian Football League contender.

So given how all that turned out, when Andrew Harris speaks, we’ve all learned to lean in closer to listen.

He doesn’t blow smoke or mince words, and usually he’s bang on when he offers up his big picture take on his football team.

It was with that in mind when Harris was approached earlier this week for a status report on all things Blue Bombers through the first chunk of training camp and with the regular season on the horizon.

“We’re all battling out there,” began Harris. “Some days defence wins, some days offence wins. That’s a good thing. You can get frustrated sometimes on offence, but that means the defence is picking it up, too. It’s been give and take, there’s been good battles every day.

“It’s been a good camp.”

Andrew Harris (33)

It’s also a far cry from this time a year ago when the Bombers, fresh off an aggressive approach to free agency, welcomed a bunch of new faces – Harris included.

As it turned out, it took a spell for those faces to get comfy, and after a 1-4 start, that bunch cruised to a 10-3 finish and a playoff berth.

But where last season began with some question marks, this camp has been all about continuity. If the regular season were to start tomorrow, it looks like 10 of 12 starters would be back on offence – minus receivers Rory Kohlert and Ryan Smith – and while the pieces on defence are still being moved around, there are still a good chunk of familiar names.

And there’s no way to properly stress how mammoth that is for a franchise that had been the picture of a constantly-evolving roster for years.

“It’s definitely stable and there’s definitely continuity,” said Harris. “There’s more of a brotherhood because everybody knows each other, especially on offence. Look at our O-line… they’re the heartbeat of our team and those guys are rolling and those guys are tight in the meeting room and on the field. Those are the guys I work with every day and just the difference between this year and last year is night and day.

“Everyone is on the same page. Everyone talks and communicates and we didn’t have that at the beginning of last year.”

“We showed last year we can play with any team,” Harris added. “Obviously there are little things we need to clean up, but that’s part of growing. But it’s got to be consistent now. That’s the biggest thing. It’s being consistent in practice, consistent in meetings… the little things you have to do every day.”

Saying and doing are two different things, of course, and the true evaluations for this team won’t begin until Canada Day in Regina and the first game of the season. To that end, no question gets asked more by Bombers fans than this: how does the team stack up in an ultra-tough West Division that features the Calgary Stampeders, B.C. Lions and Edmonton Eskimos – all playoff teams a year ago, along with the Bombers – and the unknown that is the Saskatchewan Roughriders?

“I’m not concerned about anywhere else,” said Harris with a shrug. “I really think our team has a solid foundation. I’m not worried about any other team or who we have to beat. We beat ourselves and we’re the only benchmark for ourselves. We’re going to be the best Blue Bomber team that we can be and that starts right now by battling each day against each other.”

Andrew Harris (33) with head coach Mike O’Shea

BOMBERS TRAINING CAMP – DAY 10

Step up or step aside: Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said he would begin informing players who is making the trek to Regina for Saturday’s first preseason game and who is staying home as early as Tuesday night.

As to what he wants to see against the Roughriders on Saturday, it’s simple: be assignment sound, but operating at full speed. Safe, after all, is death.

“I go back to a conversation I had with (long-time CFL player and assistant coach, now the defensive coordinator at Fresno State) Orlondo Steinauer and the idea of making plays… if you’re cautious through camp and you don’t make any plays in the preseason, well, the outcome is probably not great,” said O’Shea. “If you take risks and you don’t come through with them, well, the outcome is the same as not taking risks.

“You’ve got to go out there with the intent of making something happen within the framework of the play that’s called, within the framework of the system. But you have to enter that game with the idea that you’re going to make plays, you’re going to make something happen out there.”

Ouch report: Safety Taylor Loffler has returned to practice while DB Kevin Fogg and WR Matt Coates are both running, though not yet participating.

O’Shea said Tuesday that LB Maurice Leggett will likely not play in either preseason game, giving how close they are together – this Saturday in Regina followed by a meeting at home against Edmonton five days later.

Christophe Normand (37)

Under-rated, under-stated: Bombers FB Christophe Normand isn’t the type to seek out attention. And in many ways, that makes him the perfect personality for the fullback position.

“The coaches preach a lot about teamwork, working hard and intensity, and that’s what I think I bring to the offence,” said the Laval product, drafted in the third round in 2015. “I know my main role and I love it. I just do what the coaches ask of me.

“I have to block, pass protect, run routes… it’s a bit of everything.”

Should he stay or should he go? Veteran players have different takes on preseason games. Many want to get into at least one to be ready for the opener, but also realize the importance of being injury-free when the season starts.

“That first preseason game is a bit of a wildcard,” said Andrew Harris. “There are bunch of guys in there that are fighting for jobs. Some guys are going tempo, some guys are going crazy. It’s one of those games where it’s good to get touches, but it can get pretty hairy, pretty quick.

“If they need me to play, I’ll play. But I’d rather sit this one out and get into the games that start meaning more.”