GAME 15 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (7-7) at OTTAWA REDBLACKS (8-5)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CDT, Friday; TD Place, Ottawa
TV: TSN, ESPN+
Radio: CJOB
The forecast: A mix of sun and cloud with a high of 11C. Cloudy overnight with a high of 4C.
Vegas line: The REDBLACKS are favoured by 1.5 points.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 2W; Ottawa: 2W
Home/Road: Ottawa is 4-2 at home; the Bombers are 3-4 on the road.
Series: The Bombers lead the all-time series with Ottawa-based clubs (since 1961) – the Rough Riders, Renegades and REDBLACKS – (44-31-1).
Recent history: The REDBLACKS pounded the Bombers 44-21 in Winnipeg back on August 17, a result that started a four-game losing streak. Winnipeg has won its last two visits to Ottawa, winning 33-30 last August and 33-20 in November of 2016.
3 STORYLINES
1. RINSE AND REPEAT
It’s much too simple to suggest the Bombers simply serve up a copy of their defensive blueprint from last week’s 30-3 victory over Edmonton against Ottawa. As Bombers cornerback Chris Randle suggested on Wednesday, the Edmonton offence and Ottawa attack are different in their approach and what worked against the Esks might not be successful against the REDBLACKS.
That said, aside from the Xs and Os, the Bombers could bring the same mental approach against Ottawa as last week in the Alberta capital. It might not mean a variety of blitz packages, but it does mean being physical up front, finishing plays and tackling with a vengeance.
“It’s just guys coming to work and doing their job,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “It really is that simple. It’s not letting busts happen, home-run hits happen. That’s why Edmonton has been so successful, they’ve got the most explosive plays in the league. We didn’t give those up.”
Now the key is to make what happened last Saturday in Edmonton the norm, not the exception.
“That’s the challenge,” added Bighill. “We’ve got to come to work ready to do it again. We proved we can do it, now it’s about repeating it all the way to the Grey Cup.”
2. CLEAN UP THE ACT
Interesting fact from the Bombers 44-21 loss to Ottawa in mid-August: it was the only game this year, win or lose, in which Winnipeg did not have a lead at any point in the game.
Ottawa scored on their first possession and added a two-point convert, while the Bombers countered with a TD of their own on their first drive, but opted just for the single-point convert.
But the story that night was as much about the Bombers inability to get the Ottawa offence off the field as anything. That, coupled with their own mistakes, meant Winnipeg spent as much time getting in their own way as trying to defend.
Case in point: the Bombers were nailed for a season-high 11 penalties for 80 yards that night. Many of those penalties came on second down to extend drives, two more came on second-down conversion attempts the Bombers had stopped, only to give Ottawa new life.
Couple that with the three Bombers turnovers – including a fumble recovery for a touchdown by the Ottawa D – and there were a ton of mea culpas after that loss.
“There were a lot of things that could have made a difference,” said head coach Mike O’Shea earlier this week. “You don’t get beat by 20-odd points and it’s just one thing. There are a lot of things that could have gone differently for us. We were off the field a bunch of times and took penalties, too. That was one of the main deals. There were a couple of two-point converts we took penalties on, there were a couple of big plays where we should have been off the field and we extended their drives for them. If we play a cleaner football game, whether we win or not, the game looks a little different and feels a little different scoreboard-wise.”
3. LIMITING THE DAMAGE BY HARRIS… OTTAWA’S HARRIS
Ottawa QB Trevor Harris was throwing darts in the win in August and completed 29 of 39 for 361 yards with one TD against no interceptions. He has had eight games in which he threw for over 300 yards, and finished with an astonishing 487 yards through the air – on 44 of 54 pass attempts – in a game against Montreal on August 11th.
Translation: this guy loves to sling it.
“He’s a great quarterback,” said Bombers safety Taylor Loffler. “He’s really good at the short-passing game, very accurate. On occasion they go deep, but it’s the short and intermediate passing game that is so effective for them.”
And couple the REDBLACKS receiving threats like Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer and R.J. Harris with CFL leading rusher William Powell and that’s a deadly crew to try and contain defensively.
“They do such a good job of getting the ball out quick it’s tough to blitz,” added Loffler. “He’s just so accurate with his shorter passes as a DB you have to be precise with your breaks and know exactly where you have to be. We need to give him different looks and make him uncertain. If they know what (defence) you’re going to be in they can pick apart little holes. And so we need to do a great job this week of disguising things.”
THE QBS
- Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols is 35-26 in his career as a starter and 27-14 since taking over from Drew Willy in July of 2016. He is 5-4 in career starts against Ottawa.
- Trevor Harris of Ottawa has a 29-24-2 career record and is 2-1 in three career starts vs. the Bombers.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Bombers are making just one change to their 46-man roster from last week. Coming onto the roster is LB Kyrie Wilson, with RB Johnny Augustine moved to the practice roster.
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#36 Marcus Sayles, DB: He was sensational in the win over Edmonton, registering his first punt block as a pro – he set a school record at West Georgia with 13 blocks – and six tackles, including a big-time hit on Duke Williams that took the big Eskimo receiver out of the game.
#82 Drew Wolitarsky, WR: Wolitarsky has become a versatile and valuable member in the receiving corps in his second year as a pro and with still only 14 career starts to his name. His 501 receiving yards are the most by a Canadian receiver – not including RB Andrew Harris – since Rory Kohlert had 44 receptions for 594 yards in 2014.
#10 Nic Demski, SB/KR: The Bombers missed his versatility last week in Edmonton – and that’s not a shot at Daniel Petermann, who was solid as a replacement. It’s the threat of what Demski offers as a receiver and ball carrier that can frighten defences.
X FACTOR
#23 Anthony Gaitor, LB/DB: Gaitor was injured when these two clubs met in August and since being inserted at the strong-side linebacker/Dime spot – replacing both Maurice Leggett and Chandler Fenner – he has been steady.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Ottawa PK Lewis Ward is a legit contender for both the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Awards. Ward missed a field-goal attempt in Ottawa’s opener and has hit 37 in a row since then (he is 40 of 41 on the season). The 37 straight is just two back of tying the CFL record of 39, set in 2012-13 by Calgary’s Rene Paredes.
- The Bombers have eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark in each of their last four games against Ottawa, three of them wins.
- Bombers QB Matt Nichols has thrown more TDs (17) in his career against Ottawa than any other CFL opponent. At the same time, he has also thrown more interceptions (14) against Ottawa than any other team.
- Ottawa SB Brad Sinopoli eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for a fourth straight year in their last game, joining a list of just 21 CFL receivers in history who have accomplished that feat. That list includes just one other Ottawa receiver, as hall of famer Tony Gabriel did the same from 1975-78.
- Bombers special-teams ace Mike Miller is now tied for the league lead in special-teams tackles with 16.
- No Ottawa RB had lead the CFL in rushing since Orville Lee in 1988, but William Powell has a 40-yard lead on Andrew Harris – and a game in hand. The REDBLACKS are 5-1 this season in games in which Powell eclipses the century mark.
- Weston Dressler has now caught at least one pass in 122 straight games. He would move past Rocky DiPietro on the CFL’s all-time receiving list with three passes Friday at 707.
- The Bombers seven takeaways last week means the club now leads the CFL in that category with 39.
