Winnipeg Blue Bombers Head Coach Mike O'Shea is seen on the sidelines with Bombers player #94 (DE) Jackson Jeffcoat during the 1st quarter of CFL game action between the Edmonton Eskimo's and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Brick Field located at Commonwealth stadium in Edmonton Saturday, September 30 /2017. (CFL PHOTO -Walter Tychnowicz )
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It wasn’t a trade that generated big, bold headlines at all. Instead, it was simply a ‘hmmm… interesting’ deal that intrigued those who closely followed the Canadian Football League.
Back in February of 2014 – just a few days before the opening of the CFL’s free agent market – the Winnipeg Blue Bombers traded the 24th overall selection in that year’s draft to the Calgary Stampeders for the 26th overall choice that year and a young defensive back with just 12 games under his belt, signing him to a new deal before he could hit the free agent market.
That defender? None other than Chris Randle.
We bring this up today not just because the veteran cornerback served up the critical play in Saturday’s 28-19 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos – his 37-yard pick-six with 2:34 left was the game’s last score – but because of the kind of player and leader he has morphed into for the Bombers.
“It’s just not in the game like that. He’s a guy that comes to work every day at practice, he practises like he plays and expects to make those plays out in games because he works on that stuff and spends a lot of time in the film room every week,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “And he’s been doing that for a number of years for us, so it’s nothing new.
“I love watching him out there. He’s such a professional.”
Randle is having an all-star worthy season, despite offences often opting to attack the opposite side of the Bombers secondary. The 29-year-old Utah State product has a career-high five interceptions this year and two touchdowns – Saturday’s score and a fumble recovery major in Ottawa earlier in the year – while adding 41 tackles, one shy of his career best.
“When I saw him picking off that pass, all I could think about was ‘Randle Island’,” said Bombers left tackle Stanley Bryant. “He’s great, man. I always tell him he’s great when he’s doing his thing. He’s always working on his craft. I’m always talking junk to those guys, him and T.J. (Heath) in the boundary (side of the field) during practice because they think they’re the best.
“Today I crown him ‘Randle Island’. Shout out to him.”
Interestingly, Bryant and Randle were teammates in Calgary before the pair migrated east to become mainstays with the Bombers.
“He was young then (Randle was actually voted the Stamps’ Most Outstanding Rookie Player in 2013),” Bryant recalled. “He played well then, but to see him grow like I have… he’s a totally different player now. He’s grown every year.
“And last year and this year he’s just been ballin’.”
More on the Bombers victory in Edmonton in our weekly collection of notes and quotes we call UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
BY THE WAY… here’s what that trade with the Stamps turned into after the transaction: Calgary used the 24th overall pick they received from the Bombers to select Laval defensive back Adam Thibault, who has been a solid special teams player in 46 games over four years with the Stamps.
The Bombers not only landed a future cornerstone in Randle, but then flipped the 26th overall pick and another choice to Saskatchewan to move into the 17th overall spot, at which point they selected linebacker Jesse Briggs. Briggs has developed into one of the club’s best special teamers and is getting more snaps defensively, too.
WE’RE NOT SURE IF DARVIN ADAMS IS A BETTING MAN… but he definitely has some skills when it come to predicting the future.
There was the Bombers gifted wide receiver late Saturday night in Edmonton, watching the Eskimos take possession at their own 17-yard line with 3:03 left and trailing 21-19.
“Believe it or not, before the play (the Randle interception) even happened I looked at Dominique Davis and said, ‘Don’t worry, Chris is about to pick a ball off,’” said Adams. “As soon as I said it he intercepted the ball and it was a touchdown.
“…I just had a feeling. I just felt like it was time for C-Rand to make a play and that’s what he did.
“That guy works hard. He’s a great leader. The same thing I say about Matt (Nichols) I could say about Chris: He comes in early before everybody, he works on his technique. He asks me all the time, ‘What do you think I should do on this?’
“It’s the best of both worlds. I feel like already I go against the best in practice every day. He’s a great guy.”
THE BOMBERS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY HEALTHY… to this stage in the season – only Ian Wild and Jamaal Westerman are on the injured list, with Wild scheduled to return soon – but Saturday’s game was as physical as any this season.
Wide receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino and linebacker Maurice Leggett didn’t finish the game due to injuries, and Andrew Harris took a helmet in the back late in the first half, but did return.
“I’m sore, but made it through the game and so that’s a good sign,” said Harris. “There was no way I was going to come out of this game unless I was unable (to play). It was just tough it out.
“Everybody’s got nicks and bruises. It’s Week 15 (of the CFL schedule) and everybody’s going to be banged up a little bit.”
Harris finished with 54 yards rushing on eight carries and nine receptions for 81 yards, keeping him on a good pace for his quest to become the first player in league history to rush for 1,000 yards and finish with 1,000-yards receiving.
As we pointed out in our game story, Harris would need to average 41.4 yards rushing and 56.4 receiving to make history.
ESKIMOS QB MIKE REILLY DID HIS THING… by completing 31 of 46 passes for 311 yards – his 10th 300-yard passing game of the season – but the Bombers defensive front did bring some decent heat, with both Trent Corney and Tristan Okpalaugo registering sacks.
But Okpalaugo was hardly satisfied afterward.
“There’s some things we need to clean up, but I thought we did decent,” said the Bombers defensive end. “I wanted more pressure, but as long as we get the ‘W’, I’m happy.
“Any time you can come in to one of your Western rivals’ home and get a ‘W’, that’s big.”
ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEVELOPMENTS, THEN… aside from the significance of the win, was the overall defensive effort. The Bombers held the Eskimos, the fourth-highest scoring offence in the CFL (27.3 points) to just 19, marking the second consecutive week the club has limited an opponent to 20 points or less.
“Our defence played exactly how we wanted to play and how we’ve been talking about playing for a couple of weeks now,” said T.J. Heath. “We’re finally getting it together. Our young guys are making a lot of plays, C-Rand is still making plays, the offence and special teams are doing their thing… right now this train is rolling.
“We’re pushing ourselves. We get to one level and coach asks us to get to another level. That’s how we’re building on each week and it’s working now.”
The Bombers led the Eskimos 8-0 at the half – the first time in a decade an Edmonton club had been shut out in the first 30 minutes – and while the guys in green and gold moved the ball in the third and fourth quarters, the victory had the defence’s fingerprints all over it.
“I think we did a good job,” said Randle. “Edmonton is really good at attacking the ball in the air and for the most part I think we held our own… they had two or three situations where they won those battles, but we won most of our battles. The front seven did a great job when we were forced into pass protection by getting pressure, didn’t let him escape the pocket and controlled run as well. All and all, we had a great effort, but we can always get better.”
“We haven’t peaked yet. That’s what we want to do. We want to peak at the right time and as long as we’re getting better and fixing our mistakes, keeping level headed and not being content with where we are, we’ll get better.”
AND, FINALLY… a look at the remaining schedule for the teams jockeying for position in the West and the fight for a home playoff date.
- Calgary (12-1-1): bye | @ Ham | vs. Sask | @ Edm | vs. Wpg
- Winnipeg (10-3): vs Ham | vs B.C. | @ Tor | vs B.C. | @ Cal
- Saskatchewan (7-6): @ Tor | vs. Ott | @ Cal | vs. Mtl | vs. Edm
- Edmonton (7-6): @ Mtl | vs. Tor | @ B.C. | vs. Cal | @ Sask
- B.C. (6-7): vs. Ott | @ Wpg | vs. Edm | @ Wpg | vs. Tor
Given all that, Adams was asked afterward if this was the biggest game of the year… so far.
“We’re going to keep our head down and keep grinding,” he said. “(Winning in Edmonton) is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is winning the Grey Cup.
“We feel like we haven’t done anything. We’ve still got to grind and we’ve got practice next week.”
