He is their workhorse and their offensive meal ticket.

And even through their recent slide, Andrew Harris’ role in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence remains so constant it should be carved in stone as a commandment.

Yes, even with the Bombers on a four-game skid that has turned 5-3 into 5-7 and dropped the club into the Canadian Football League’s West Division basement, the touches for the gifted running back are virtually identical this season as a year ago.

That’s not insignificant, given Harris was not only an all-star in 2017, but the league’s rushing champion and the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player. What’s intriguing though, is how those numbers break down and what it might say about how teams are defending the veteran running back and the Bombers offence.

First, the basics – Harris had 211 touches through 12 games last year for a combined 1,376 yards. Through the 12 games this season, he has 207 touches for 1,323 yards.

Here are the Harris numbers, in more detail:

Combined totals:

2018: 207 touches for 1,323 yards – 6.39 yards per touch
2017: 211 touches for 1,376 yards – 6.52 yards per touch

2018 rushing through 12 games: 165 carries for 984 yards
2017 rushing through 12 games: 135 carries for 739 yards

2018 receiving through 12 games: 42 receptions for 339 yards
2017 receiving through 12 games: 76 receptions for 637 yards

Those numbers essentially reveal this: the 34 less receptions Harris has this season compared to last year are represented by the 30 more carries he has through two-thirds of 2018.

And so, what are we to read into that?

“Each game is just so different,” said Bombers offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice after practice on Tuesday. “There could be a game where he has seven catches. Take the game against Edmonton last year when we 38 first downs (in a 33-26 win last August). We had a couple plays for him to catch the ball, and for whatever reason, they went for big yards. That was his 100-100 game (105 rushing; 120 receiving). Some games just go that way, others don’t.”

The Bombers continue to be the CFL’s top rushing team in 2018, averaging 135 per game – 22 yards per game more than the second-ranked team, Hamilton, at 113.4. And Harris, obviously, has played a mammoth role in that ground attack.

But his receiving totals are off last year’s pace – when he set a record for receptions by a running back with 105 – because not only have the Bombers tried to balance their passing attack, but defences are defending him differently.

“It’s a whole new year with new guys,” LaPolice said. “There are a lot of factors in play. It’s like earlier in the year when (Nic) Demski was doing really well and Adarius (Bowman) wasn’t getting as many touches.”

There’s also this…

“At this point last year, we had quite a few injuries at receiver and so I was leaned on to catch the ball a little more out of the backfield and running routes,” Harris said recently. “We have some outstanding receivers and so there’s no need for me to be out running routes as much as we used to do.”

All these numbers do play into a common theory around the CFL in which teams are trying to limit the effectiveness of Harris as a runner, but especially as a safety valve for Matt Nichols in the passing game.

“There are teams who play man-to-man on him so that he can’t get check downs,” explained LaPolice. “That happened in the last couple of weeks against Sask… teams are so worried about him catching and getting a first down they are playing man-to-man on him so then when the quarterback looks to him it’s, ‘Oh, he’s covered.’

“But there’s only 20 catches a game on average (Winnipeg is averaging 20), while the leading team in the league (Ottawa) is averaging 26 a game. We’ve got six guys in our offence… my guys are always talking about getting the ball more. Get more first downs and we’ll be on the field longer. We’ve got to get our play totals up. If we have six more plays that’s possibly six more catches.”

BOMBER REPORT | September 18

OUCH REPORT:

WR Weston Dressler and OL Jermarcus Hardrick continued to take all the reps with the No. 1 offence on Tuesday, with Robert Priester and Kevin Fogg sharing work at the one corner spot opposite Chris Randle.

DE Jackson Jeffcoat and LB Maurice Leggett, meanwhile, are not practising and will not likely suit up against the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.

JOHNNY VS. ANTONIO:

The Bombers have had the bye week to do prep work for Friday’s date with the Als and even Monday’s announcement from Montreal of the QB change from Antonio Pipkin to Johnny Manziel won’t dramatically impact those preparations.

“They possess a lot of the same skills,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “Elusive. Creative when they can move around a little bit. They can both make the throws they need to make. I don’t think the planning would change for either guy, which is kinda nice, right? If you had two completely different quarterbacks you’d have to have something in mind, but both are in the style that they can extend plays and then drive it down field.”

STATE OF THE UNION: OFFENCE:

Here’s LaPolice when asked to assess the Bombers offence and the play of Matt Nichols of late:

“There are a lot of things we do very well, whether it’s running the football or putting points up. We’ve just got to eliminate critical mistakes. Moving the ball has been OK for us against good talent, we’ve just got to eliminate critical mistakes that can put points on the board and hurt our opportunities to be successful.(Nichols) has to play better. I’m not saying he’s playing fine, but we certainly believe he can respond.”

KEEPING THE FAITH:

O’Shea was asked if he thought his team was just a couple of plays away from winning over the last few weeks.

“No doubt. Absolutely. But I think any team that suffers a loss would say that, too. There are a couple games that would have been a little more out of reach for us but it’s always a few plays here, a few plays there. Limit the opposition plays and make a couple more plays yourself and you get on the correct side of the ledger.

“I still have a lot of confidence in the team and think that they’re just a play away from feeling pretty damn good.”