He ran through and around defenders, made the tough catches look easy and was as fresh at the end of Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice as when he took his first rep.

Same old, same old for Andrew Harris, right?

Yet, watching the club’s workhorse do his thing during Wednesday’s session did constitute a newsflash for everyone in Bomber Nation and across the Canadian Football League – after all, he didn’t finish Friday’s win over the Montreal Alouettes and was a non-participant on Tuesday. And it was evidenced by the gaggle of reporters feverishly thumbing out tweets to announce his return to the practice field the minute No. 33 was spotted in his gear.

Asked afterward what it would have taken for him not to be available for Saturday’s crucial West Division showdown against the Edmonton Eskimos, Harris shrugged, then offered this:

“I don’t know… if I couldn’t run or couldn’t do the things I can do. At this point, everyone’s nicked up and banged up and it’s the guys across from us, too.

“There’s no one player that’s completely healthy unless they’re coming off the practice roster or unless they played minimal games. So, we all know that. Everyone’s going through the same things right now. It’s just about mental toughness and being smart about what you do off the field.”

The Bombers got other good news from the infirmary, too, as receiver Darvin Adams was back at his post with the No. 1 offence as well. And when he was asked if he was feeling OK and ready to go on the weekend, Adams said, “Like a champ. It would have taken a broken leg or something like that not to play.”

Harris had rushed seven times for 44 yards in Friday’s win over Montreal before exiting the game in the second quarter after an eight-yard run. Kienan LaFrance finished the game, rushing eight times for 23 yards.

“After I got up I just didn’t feel right,” he said. “I mean, Kienan is definitely a very capable back as are the other guys in the lineup and I just felt having someone else in the game was more beneficial than me being in there. After talking with the staff, we didn’t go forward with me going back in and Kienan did a good job.”

Harris has earned the trust of the Bombers coaching and training staff that if he had taken the rest of the week off and declared himself good for Saturday the club would have given him the thumbs up to suit up. Part of this is just being smart about getting the best out of Harris – after all, it’s better to have him take a Tuesday off to be fresh on Saturday than to be worn out by the time the ball is put on the tee in Edmonton.

There’s that, plus the fact Harris’s 216 offensive touches – 172 carries ad 44 receptions – ranks second in the CFL to Ottawa’s William Powell, who has 245 touches (208 carries and 37 catches). Rest between games now can be massive when the playoffs start. Or, in the Bombers case, in the pursuit of a playoff spot right now.

“It’s crucial,” said Harris. “Any time you’re getting the ball, getting over 10 touches a game the bumps and bruises accumulate. It’s just staying on top of certain things, staying flexible and staying strong. It’s just being smart about how you handle week to week. It’s something this coaching staff and this training staff are very careful with and I definitely appreciate the fact they trust me enough to have me have those kind of days off and still put me in the lineup with missing some practices.”

BOMBERS REPORT | September 26, 2018

OUCH REPORT:

The Bombers welcomed back RB Andrew Harris and WR Darvin Adams, but DB Brandon Alexander did not practice on Wednesday. His spot was taken by Chris Humes. Head coach Mike O’Shea did provide an update on injured DE Trent Corney, indicating he has been allowed to return home to rehab.

DEFENDING THE CROWN:

Harris has given up his rushing lead in the last couple of weeks and now trails Ottawa’s William Powell by 113 yards (1,141 to 1,028). The two finished 1-2 in rushing last year, with Harris on top.

“It’s in the back of my head,” said Harris of the rushing title. “The O-line would probably be more worried about it. For me, it’s just situating ourselves in the best possible way to be going forward in the playoffs. If that means relying on the run more and accumulating yardage, then so be it. But I’m not really thinking about the rushing title, I’m thinking about getting wins right now.”

But he also admitted exiting Friday’s game against the Als also stung because of the groove he was in, having averaged 6.3 yards per carry before leaving.

“That was a hardest part,” Harris said. “You get in certain games and after you get the ball a couple times you can really feel it, you’re just in a zone. I definitely felt like we were on pace to do some damage in the run game and personally going to have a good game. But it’s not about me and my personal game, it’s about who is going to be best for the team and the safety of myself and the rest of the guys out there.”

FYI:

The CFL announced Wednesday that Alouettes DL Gabriel Knapton has been fined for ‘delivering a blow to the head’ of the Bombers Kienan LaFrance in last week’s game. As per league policy, the amount of the fine was not disclosed.

BRING THE HEAT:

The Bombers registered a season-high five sacks last week – three of them by DE Craig Roh. But bringing down Johnny Manziel isn’t the same as chasing the elusive Mike Reilly, the Eskimos QB and the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player.

“He’s one of those guys that if you’re not constantly harassing him he’ll make you pay for it,” said Bombers DE Gerald Rivers, who began this season with the Eskimos. “He’s not a run-around Johnny or any of those other guys that make you miss. But he will tuck it when he needs to, when the game’s on the line he’ll put his head down and try and run for it.

“It’s one of those things where we’ll try to keep him corralled and then making sure you’re constantly harassing him and in his face, affecting the arm, trying to get a hand out there… anything that can help disrupt and help the guys on the back side.”

“With Manziel, he’s a guy that’s probably looking to run first a bit more, than pass first,” added Roh, who now leads the Bombers with six sacks. “With Reilly, he’s got just as good an arm as he does legs. He’s definitely looking to stay in the pocket a bit more and definitely take a few hits to get the ball downfield and make that big play.

“Any time you can get a hand on the quarterback, you can get into his head and get him thinking about the rush more than the pass you’re winning that battle.”

OLD HOME WEEK:

Bombers QB Matt Nichols is returning to Edmonton, where he began his CFL career, and it’s worth noting this: he is 2-0 in his last two visits to the Alberta capital. Asked if he had a comfort level playing in Commonwealth Stadium, Nichols offered this:

“I do, honestly. I was there for a long time, practised in that stadium every single day and the last couple of times we’ve gone back there it definitely feels like a place I was at for 5 ½ years. I definitely have a comfort level in that stadium. I enjoy going back there and enjoy it more when we come back with a win.”

Nichols still has some pals on the Esks roster, most notably LB J.C. Sherritt and DT Almondo Sewell. Here’s Nichols on Sewell, the dominant force in the middle of the Edmonton D-line:

“You can feel his presence when he lands on you. He’s a big dude that it seems like every game he’s back there at least a couple of times getting close to me and letting me know that he’s there. He’s a very talented football player and someone that, if you can, you would like to avoid being hit by, that’s for sure.

“’Mondo’ has said to me before that, if he can, he’s not going to completely drive me to the ground and land on me with all his body weight on me,” added Nichols with a grin. “Those are things where you as you become longer-term pros, you take care of each other a little bit that way. But at the same time I know he’s licking his chops and wants to come hit me in the backfield. My job is to make him miss.”

THE 700 CLUB:

There isn’t a player or coach in the Bombers locker room who won’t heap praise on Weston Dressler whenever they get the chance. That includes O’Shea, who weighed in on the veteran receiver moving into the 700-career receptions club last week.

“That means you’ve been available for a lot of games and are sure-handed,” O’Shea said of Dressler. “It’s quite an accomplishment. We don’t often celebrate personal accolades in this room, but I find it pretty remarkable and something he should be proud of. But Weston being the way he is, those are things that most good professionals are going to think about when their career is over and not during the season when they’re working for that ultimate prize.”