It came exactly as advertised and just as everyone expected for a Canadian Football League pre-season game.
In other words, Friday night at Investors Group Field offered up a share of spectacular moments offset occasionally by a flubbed line or two, and just enough of a tease from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to leave their faithful clamoring to fast forward to the home opener on June 14th.
The Bombers knocked off an Edmonton Eskimos squad in name only – the green and gold brought only five starters for their preseason finale – with a 33-13 victory in front of an announced crowd of 23,034 that screamed out dress rehearsal.
Winnipeg will be in Vancouver next Friday for its final pre-season game and will need four more quarters to help with the evaluation process before having to declare the roster on June 9th.
Here are some notes from one man’s perch in the press box…
THE QBS
Matt Nichols started, as expected, and finished the night 7-for-13 for 107 yards with a 15-yard TD strike to Adarius Bowman and had a pass picked when he made the right read but had the ball sail on him.
But there were also some tense moments early when Nichols was flushed forward in the pocket and after dumping off a pass to avoid pressure, landed on his hand and then headed to the sideline. Alex Ross then came in at QB and ran for eight yards and Nichols was back at the controls on the Bombers next possession.
“I got a little banged up,” said Nichols. “I just had to throw some tape on it, rub some dirt on it and get right back out there. It was just something I needed checked out real quick, but it wasn’t a big deal.
“It felt like we started a little slow, but I think we picked up pretty good there halfway through the first quarter and the first drive of the second quarter. I thought we did some good things… I felt like I saw the game well and made some good throws. I had one obviously sail on me a little bit… those things happen, but other than that I thought we were moving the ball well.”
Chris Streveler, the prolific rookie from South Dakota, was one of the night’s true stars, popping off the page with a superb performance that saw him go a perfect 10-of-10 for 140 yards, including an 80-yard TD toss to Myles White. Streveler also rushed four times for 37 yards – fumbling the ball after a 20-yard run – all part of a jaw-dropping effort that might help alleviate some of the concern about the Bombers QB depth chart behind Nichols.
“It just felt really good to get out there and play in a game,” said Streveler. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work, as every team has, just practicing and to get to go out there and play against somebody else in a game setting was so fun. It felt good for a lot of guys to get out there and play against somebody else and hit somebody else and make plays in a game setting. It was really fun.”
Alex Ross, meanwhile, didn’t jump out at all in his time at the controls, going just 1-for-8 for eight yards and rushing once for eight yards.
OTHER STANDOUTS
RB Johnny Augustine was a late signee just before the start of rookie camp when it became clear that Kienan LaFrance wouldn’t be healthy to start camp. The University of Guelph product, who had stints with Edmonton and Saskatchewan last year, ripped off an 18-yard TD run and finished the night with eight carries for a robust 81 yards.
“One thing we’re told is there’s only a small amount of teams in the CFL, so basically when you go out there you’re trying to make an impression on your team, but you’re also trying to impress other teams as well,” said Augustine. “Just this moment, today… I said before last year at the combine I know I can play at this level and today I hope I showed people that.”
The Bombers D-line was simply ferocious from start to finish, veterans and rookies alike. Working against an Eskimo line that featured Tommie Draheim (13 starts) and Kelvin Palmer (10 starts) at tackles, the Bombers were particularly effective from the edge – ends Tristan Okpalaugo and Chris Casher both registered sacks and Craig Roh had one wiped out by an unnecessary roughing penalty – while tackle Drake Nevis also picked up a sack. Winnipeg is stacked at defensive end, with Sam Montgomery making three tackles later in the game in his time on the field… Steven Clarke was credited with an interception in the first quarter, as the Bombers forced two turnovers and limited Edmonton to just nine first downs and 151 yards net offence.
A.J. Coney and Donteea Dye handled all the kick-return chores for the Bombers; Coney had 121 yards in returns (68 yards on a missed field goal, 26 yards on three punts and 27 on two kickoffs); while Dye had 84 yards in returns (34 on four punt returns and 50 on two kickoffs).
FYI
All three Winnipeg Rifles – receiver Brendan Naujoks, defensive lineman Hayden Nellis and safety Andrew Ricard – saw action in the game, with Naujoks showing up on the stats sheet with a special teams tackle… Adam Bighill started at middle linebacker and finished the night with two tackles before exiting early… A total of 12 different Bombers pulled in at least one pass, with Myles White’s 80-yard TD leading all receivers in yardage while Nic Demski had three catches for 38 yards to lead the Bombers in catches… Useless stat department: the Bombers tied both pre-season games last year, making this the club’s first pre-season win since a 36-13 win over Montreal back on June 8, 2016… Winnipeg’s first two draft picks in 2018, receivers Rashaun Simonise and Daniel Petermann, each pulled in a pass; Simonise a leaping grab for eight yards, Petermann covering six yards with his… Kickers Justin Medlock (38 and 45 yards) and Félix Ménard-Brière (25 and 43 yards) combined to go 4-for-4 on the night… The Bombers starting secondary featured Chris Randle and Brian Walker at corner, with Kevin Fogg and Steven Clarke at halfback and Taylor Loffler at safety.
THE COACH SAYS
“There are a lot of good things to build on. At times we played a good, physical style of game. We rebounded nicely from a punt return we gave up… we came back out on defence and took the ball away (Clarke’s interception) that put us in good position. It’s pretty exciting to be back, just to get guys out on the field again and have them play and guys running around and making plays, hits and blocking… it’s good stuff.” – Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.
