Need to Know | Week 18

There were no black arm bands or vigils and certainly no makeshift memorials built around the lockers for Maurice Leggett and Darvin Adams.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers returned to work Tuesday minus two of their biggest playmakers, and although practice was closed to the media, we can guarantee there were still passes being completed while other attempts were swatted down by defenders.

And when the work day was done, there was still laughter in the Bombers dressing room.

Yes, as cold as it might sound, life moved on for the Bombers as they returned to work without two of their biggest stars. It’s a scenario the club will have to get accustomed to ASAP – heading into this weekend’s game in Toronto and for the rest of the season – after head coach Mike O’Shea confirmed Leggett has had surgery on his torn Achilles while Adams will not be available ‘for a number of weeks.’

Asked if that number of weeks for Adams might include the playoffs, O’Shea added:

“That might be a little early. I don’t want to count him out, though. I know he’s going to work hard and I know, given his past (injury) history, he’s always become available earlier than expected.”

So the rest of this week and beyond will be about finding the right ways to replace Leggett and Adams, whether that means moving starters around – like Brandon Alexander or Chris Randle into Leggett’s spot; both of whom have experience there – using a veteran like Kevin Fogg, or planning for the Canadian Football League debut of a newcomer like receiver Chris Givens.

That’s just football; a violent game played by large men who have long been taught to adopt the ‘next-man-up’ mantra.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys in here that can do it,” said O’Shea. “They’re not excited about how they got the opportunity, but they are excited for the opportunity. That’s what this week’s for… we’ll figure it out as we go along.

“You see guys rolling in and out all the time throughout the entire practice, getting reps at different spots just for these kinds of circumstances. We feel good about playing guys if there happens to be a guy who does go down during the game. We’ve already gone through these scenarios and they’ve all taken meaningful reps in different spots.”

Again, there is no other approach the Bombers can take. But replacing Leggett – the club’s top defender in two of the last three years and a candidate again this year – and Adams, one of the best deep threats in the CFL and the club’s only 1,000-yard receiver this season, is hardly as simple as scratching two new names onto the depth chart.

The loss of Adams if offset somewhat by the return of veteran Weston Dressler, who declared himself good to go after practice Tuesday.

“Those are two very big playmakers on each side of the ball,” said Dressler of Adams and Leggett. “Those are ‘X Factor’ type players that you never know when they’re going to step up and make that big play that can change momentum in a game. Those are two guys that can single-handedly win a game for you.

“There aren’t a lot of players like that that can take over at times. It’s tough to overcome that. We feel as a team we’ve got all the pieces to fill in. It’s not about replacing each guy individually, it’s keep playing as a team and doing everything we can.”

“Those two guys have made a lot of plays for us,” added O’Shea. “It’s not easy on a personal level… both well-liked by their teammates, both fun to come to work with. They’re top-top notch guys; guys you like to have around and see in the locker room every day. They’re going to be around. They’re going to be helping with their teammates and making sure everyone knows what they should be doing.

“The players that end up slotting into those spots are excited for their opportunity and they want to do well, too, for the guy who is down.”

More on some of the news and notes on the Bombers’ first day back at work in this week’s installment of Need to Know…

STEP RIGHT UP

Two candidates most often mentioned to replace Leggett are Brandon Alexander and Kevin Fogg. It was Alexander who started in Leggett’s spot when he was hurt earlier in the year, while Fogg filled in for him after he was injured late in the win over B.C.

Part of the coaches’ decision would be based on weighing keeping the secondary intact by leaving Alexander at corner, versus moving a player up into the box who doesn’t have as much experience at the spot in Fogg.

“If they need me at corner, at Dime, at half… wherever, we all know the positions,” said Alexander. “Whatever the gameplan is, that’s what we’ll work with. That’s why you always have to be in tune with your playbook and make sure you know your assignments and everyone else’s assignments because then it makes everything easier.

“Moe is definitely one of our key leaders. It’s not a good thing he’s down right now. But, at the end of the day, guys have to step up right now. Wherever we’re placed at or the gameplan, regardless we all have to come out ready to play. We know that Moe had our backs, we’ve got to have his back.”

“It’s always bad to see a teammate go down,” said Fogg of Leggett. “He’s like a brother to me so it does hit home for me a little bit. But it’s part of the game. It happens. We have to stay together, work like we’ve been working. He’ll get behind us, we’ll get behind him and just continue to move forward.”

STEP RIGHT UP II

One of the intriguing possibilities to replace Adams – if not at his wide receiver spot at least in the offence – is Chris Givens, the former St. Louis Rams draft pick who has 60 NFL games to his credit. Givens was added to the practice roster on September 21^st and has been cramming to learn the offence since.

He spoke about getting used to the ‘Waggle’ – pre-snap motion on offene – but “once you get past the line of scrimmage it’s about getting open and catching the ball.

“I’m just trying to show them I know what I’m doing, show them I’ve been in my playbook,” he said. “I feel very confident in the playbook, in shape and cardio-wise I’m ready to go.”

Givens also offered a glimpse at his personality when asked to describe himself on the field.

“I tell the guys in the locker room it’s like two different people,” he said. “I try be here, be humble, be Christopher. And then once I go onto the field it’s ‘C.G.’ He’s not reckless, but he’s out there trying to prove a point and playing with a potato on his shoulder.

“I played with Steve Smith Sr. a little bit and so once I got to be around him, I understood that there’s a time and a place for everything and once you go out on the field and put that helmet on, then it’s time to get into the alter-ego.”

FAMILIAR FACE RETURNS

Getting Dressler back for an offence that has struggled in the last two weeks is massive. He has 34 catches for 482 yards in just eight games this season, numbers that would translate to 76-1,085 over a full season.

But just as important is the veteran presence he provides in the offensive huddle and meeting room.

“It’s not about doing more, it’s about everybody doing their job on every play,” said Dressler when asked if he felt he had to do more in the absence of Adams. “As a receiving corps, it’s making those plays when you have the opportunities within the game, not trying to go out of your way to do more than what we’re asking you to do.”

FOGG SALUTED

Bombers DB/KR Kevin Fogg was named one of the CFL’s Top Performers of the Week for his handiwork in the win over B.C. on Saturday. Fogg had his first punt return TD as a Bomber – after getting four called back last year – in an 88-yard score. He finished with 127 punt return yards in the game and later, intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards to set up a field goal.

Also saluted were Toronto receiver S.J. Green and Saskatchewan wideout Duron Carter.

COMINGS/GOINGS

The Bombers tinkered with their practice roster on Tuesday, adding three players and releasing three others.

Coming aboard are:

• Running back Zach Bauman (5-7, 192, Northern Arizona University) – Played four years with the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and hit the 1,000-yard mark rushing each year. In his senior season, he rushed for 1,456 yard and 10 touchdowns. He has spent time on the practice squads of the Arizona Cardinals and Edmonton Eskimos.
• Defensive lineman Sam Montgomery (6-4, 257, Louisiana State University) played three seasons with the Tigers where he was named a First-Team All-American in his final season. Selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft, 95th overall, Montgomery has also had stints with the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
• Linebacker Frank Renaud (6-0, 220, Windsor) returns to the club after being released earlier this year. A sixth-round draft choice of the Bombers in 2016, Renaud played three seasons with the Windsor Lancers.

Meanwhile, the club released quarterback David Washington, and defensive backs Jordan Bowman and Antoine Tharpe from the practice roster.