Here’s the thing any boxer knows and understands – and is quick to learn, often the hard way – about the ‘sweet science’:
Let your guard down, even for a millisecond, and that’s usually the moment you are most likely to get punched right in the lips, whether facing a championship contender or a last-minute tomato can added at the last moment to the fight card.
We bring this up this week as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers began on-field preparations Tuesday to face the winless Hamilton Tiger-Cats this Saturday in Steeltown.
On paper, this looks like a serious mismatch – the Bombers, now 4-2 after two last-play-of-the-game victories against Montreal and Ottawa, and the Ticats, 0-6 this year and losers of 11 of their last 12 dating back to last season.
They’ve given up the most points in the CFL and scored the fewest.
They sacked defensive coordinator Jeff Reinebold this week and cut four players on Tuesday while adding four others – including a guy they cut in May, a player released by Toronto in training camp, and an offensive lineman sent adrift by Edmonton on the weekend.
So, Rocky DiPietro, Garney Henley, John Barrow and Earl Winfield, they are not…
Still, as the Bombers returned to the practice field on Tuesday they were, to a man, all in on the respect-your-opponent-angle. And with good reason: Yes, the Ticats were mauled 60-1 by Calgary earlier this month, but they also pushed the unbeaten Eskimos to the edge twice, losing by a combined total of eight points.
“You have to be careful every week,” said Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols after practice. “I mean, they’re a good football team. It’s professional football.
“They’ve taken teams down to the wire and they’re desperate for a win. But so are we. We’re fourth in the West right now so I feel like we need a win just as bad so it’s going to be a hard-fought game.
“Everyone has things to play for and people to play for and we know we’re going to get their best effort and so they’re going to get ours.”
The Bombers are one game into a stretch that will see them play three of four on the road: last Friday in Ottawa, this weekend in Hamilton, home to Edmonton next week before heading into Montreal after that.
As Nichols mentioned, at 4-2 the Bombers still find themselves fourth in the West – they would be first in the East, up two points on Toronto with a game in hand – and so this weekend is critical both in keeping pace with the rest of the herd out West and knowing the Eskimos are here on August 17th.
But it’s not just the record that makes the Ticats a dangerous opponent. New personnel and new talent also makes them difficult to gameplan against.
“We can’t sleep on this team. You have to give them respect because they are a tough, hard-nosed team that are going through some changes,” said receiver Darvin Adams. “At the end of the day, we have to be prepared, do what we do and be ready to adjust.
“It’s always about what we do and not the opponent. We’re going to do what we do every week: prepare like those guys won six games. They’ve played Edmonton to the wire and Edmonton is 6-0.
“It’s like Coach always says,” added Adams, “you’ve got to go out and honour your teammates by going out and playing hard. That’s what we’re building on here: honouring our teammates.”
BOMBER REPORT – August 8
HANGING ‘EM UP: Bombers receiver Addison Richards informed the club Tuesday of his desire to retire from football and return to school. Selected 11th overall by the Bombers in the 2015 CFL Draft, Richards has battled injuries through his three years with the club and dressed for only 17 games, pulling in one pass for 12 yards. The Regina product was in excellent shape coming to training camp, but pulled up lame and never challenged veteran Julian Feoli-Gudino for the starting Canadian wide receiver spot.
During his recovery, the Bombers added former B.C. Lions draft pick Brett Blaszko to their practice roster and used a supplemental draft choice on University of Minnesota star Drew Wolitarsky, who qualifies as a Canadian. Matt Coates, signed in the winter for depth, is also currently on the roster as a reserve receiver and the holder on Justin Medlock placekicks with Weston Dressler injured.
“It’s been a tough go since he’s been here,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He was a big, physical specimen, fast, who caught the ball well coming out of college and just had a couple of injuries that have set him back. He came by my office this morning and said it was time to move on.
“It was a tough decision for him, obviously, but when you know it’s time and you make that decision it’s a courageous one. I really wish him well. He’s been around here and we were looking forward to seeing him and he was looking forward to producing for us. He certainly liked being here and the guys liked having him around.
“It’s tough when a young guy comes into your office and that’s his decision. He said he just didn’t feel right and wanted to finish up school.”
O’Shea praised Richards’ work ethic and dedication and said both Blaszko and Wolitarsky were ‘coming along nicely.’
“Julian’s doing quite well… as expected, as he has done for us in the past. We increased his role and he stepped right up,” said O’Shea. “These guys can step in and contribute any time we need them to. You look at our roster, it’s just tough for them to get on right now.
DUAL THREAT: O’Shea was asked Tuesday about having both Andrew Harris and Timothy Flanders on the roster again this week – he’s not telling until he has to – but the results are clear. The two backs combined to rush the ball 10 times for 83 yards while Harris finished with three receptions for 20 more yards.
“You’ve got two highly-skilled players that are dangerous with the ball in their hands,” said O’Shea. “They’re three-phase running backs: they can block, they can catch and with that comes running routes and they can run with the ball.
“What I really like is their willingness to do it together and their idea and concept of team and their belief in winning and what that looks like.”
NO HUDDLE, NO PROBLEM: Matt Nichols spoke at length Tuesday about the club’s no-huddle offence, which has been put to good use in the last two weeks.
“It’s definitely part of what we do and what we feel comfortable doing,” he said. “I know it’s something I did for three of my years in college, we were full no-huddle.
“I just think it’s another dynamic that teams have to deal with and there’s more and more teams doing some no-huddle stuff but it’s a double-edged sword: you can’t just go hurry-up all game long because if you go hurry-up and go two and out you’re putting your defence right back on the field. You’ve got to pick and choose your spots but at the end of the half and at the end of the games, I think we’re pretty efficient in those situations just because we practice it.”
