GAME 16 | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (10-5) at WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (8-7)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday; Investors Group Field
TV: TSN, ESPN+
Radio: CJOB
The forecast: Periods of rain or snow. High plus 4C.
Vegas line: The Bombers are favoured by 3.5 points.
Streaks: Saskatchewan: 3W; Winnipeg: 3W
Home/Road: The Bombers are 4-3 at home; the Riders are 5-2 on the road.
Series: The Bombers lead the all-time series (since 1936) 134-104-4.
Recent history: The Riders have won both meetings against the clubs this season, having captured the Labour Day Classic 31-23 in Regina and the Banjo Bowl 32-27 a week later here in Winnipeg.
3 STORYLINES
1. ENCORE, ENCORE BLUE ‘D’
We know what some might be thinking here: the Bombers almost blew it last week in Ottawa, surrendering a 32-17 lead with 4:36 remaining – including a TD and two-point conversion with 12 seconds left – to take what looked like a sure-win into overtime. Even so, it was the defence who made the play to seal the deal in extra time, as Adam Bighill forced a Brad Sinopoli fumble that was scooped up by Jovan Santos-Knox.
That five-minute span aside, the Bombers defence did flash some of the same brilliance it served up the week prior in limiting the Edmonton Eskimos to just three points. There has been a lot to like from this bunch during the three-game win streak and even before that in the Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl losses to Saskatchewan.
“There are many areas,” said Bombers coach Mike O’Shea when asked to assess the change in the defence of late. “When we tackle well, when we communicate at a high level, when we execute our assignments well… the biggest being we’ve made more plays when they’ve come our way. Those things translate to better football and better opportunities for our team. There’s a different feel. To pinpoint exactly what that feeling is maybe a little tough. Maybe there’s a level of accountability and the idea that they believe this is their time to succeed.”
2. BRACE FOR THE RIDERS ‘HEAT’
Saskatchewan brings pressure from all over the field, from three-man fronts, to all-out blitzes, to unusual looks pieced together in the brain of head coach and defensive guru Chris Jones.
The Bombers turned the ball over eight times in the two losses to Saskatchewan in September – seven of them interceptions – with two of those picks returned for touchdowns and another brought back to the Winnipeg one yard-line. It’s not just that the Bombers attack made mistakes, it’s how consequential they were made by the Riders D. The message about protecting the football is critical every week, but especially so against Saskatchewan.
“It’s a mix of a really good athletes. They do a lot of different looks and bring a lot of different pressures and a lot of different formations in how they drop,” said running back Andrew Harris. “Mix that in with how they call these plays on defence and they’re really unorthodox in that way, where they call a play that most defences wouldn’t and bringing different guys from different areas. It’s hard to prep for. You can get confused. They force quarterbacks to make mistakes, they’re really good at ripping at the ball and creating turnovers.”
Mind you, the Bombers did have a measure of success against the Riders: they rushed for 193 yards on Labour Day and then did accumulate 325 yards passing a week later in the Banjo Bowl.
“Looking at the way we handled all the pressures Ottawa brought at us last week and how well we picked it up and how Matt (Nichols) was able to find the hot receivers and make the throws, I feel like we took strides forward,” said Harris. “There’s a confidence going into this game for us. It comes down to trusting your eyes and trusting our scheme and executing at a high level.”
3. SPECIALS OF THE DAY
The Riders special teams throw out more weapons than a Michael Bay flick. They have speedy returners and some absolute beasts on their kick-cover units. The Bombers were solid in coverage in the Banjo Bowl, but one mistake in the Labour Day Classic – it lead to a 65-yard punt-return score by Kyran Moore – was critical. And those things can eat up the foot soliders on specials.
“They’re well coached, they’ve got some bigger bodies and guys that can move really well,” said Bombers fullback Mike Miller of the Riders special teams units. “They’ve done a good job all season of limiting big returns and then they’ve had a few big returns themselves because they’ve got some dynamic returners. You’ve got to play sound against that kind of unit.
“That was just a situation where (Moore) got off one tackle and we had some guys over-pursue and he had tons of room. That one stings, obviously. We would have liked to have got him down where we had him and pursued a little better. It’s just a little thing like that can make a huge difference.”
THE QBS
- Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols 36-26 in his career as a starter and 28-14 since taking over from Drew Willy in July of 2016. He is 6-4 in his 10 starts vs. the Riders.
- Saskatchewan’s Zach Collaros is 32-30 as a starter in his career and 5-1 vs. Winnipeg. The Riders are 8-3 in his 11 starts this season.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Bombers aren’t making any changes to their 46-man roster this week, meaning WR Weston Dressler is still a possibility to go against his old club. Dressler left practice on Wednesday after a collision with defensive back Chris Humes and while he returned about 10 minutes later, he did not participate further. If he can’t go, the Bombers could dress Corey Washington in his place.
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#9 Justin Medlock: Lost in last week’s record-setting performance by Ottawa’s Lewis Ward – he has now hit 40 in a row – was the work of Medlock, who was good on all six of his field goal attempts. He has hit 38 of his 43 field goal attempts this year (88.4 percent) and is 29 of 32 (90.6 percent) in his last 10 games. The length of Medlock’s misses this year are 59, 42, 54, 51 and 44 yards.
#1 Darvin Adams: The veteran wideout is coming off a solid outing in Ottawa in which he pulled in a season-high nine passes on 11 targets for 72 yards and a touchdown, adding a key two-point conversion in overtime. It was exactly the kind of game the Bombers have come to expect from their all-star receiver.
#16 Taylor Loffler: Teams worked to stay away from the middle earlier in the season, but Loffler’s work has increased over the last month or so. He had four tackles and an interception in the win over Edmonton and tied with Brandon Alexander to lead the Bombers with six tackles in Ottawa.
X FACTOR
#2 Kenbrell Thompkins: The Bombers know what they have at the import receiver spot in Adams and future hall of famer Weston Dressler. Thompkins seems to be building a rapport with Matt Nichols, as evidenced by the fact that two of his three catches last week for second-down conversions. Of his 25 catches this year, 14 have helped move the sticks on second down. The club needs his adjustment to the three-down game to come quickly to give them another consistent target in the receiving corps.
CRITICAL NUMBER
8: Turnovers made by the Bombers in their two losses to Saskatchewan. Winnipeg was -5 in the turnover ratio in those two defeats.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Adam Bighill has 90 tackles this season, ranking him second to Calgary’s Alex Singleton, who has 94. Bighill is looking to hit the 100-tackle mark for the fourth consecutive year in the CFL (he spent last season with the New Orleans Saints). Only two players have hit the 100-tackle mark in four consecutive seasons since the CFL started tracking the stat: Willie Pless, who did it seven straight years, and Barrin Simpson, who did it four consecutive seasons.
- The Riders Charleston Hughes has 15 sacks this year, giving him 114 in his career. That ranks ninth all-time in the CFL, trailing Grover Covington, who had 157.
- Andrew Harris now has 12,032 combined yards in his career – 7,501 rushing and 4,531 receiving. That has moved him into 19th spot on the CFL’s all-time list. Since the start of this season he has moved past Willie Fleming, Robert Drummond, Brian Kelly, Tom Scott, Joffrey Reynolds, Arland Bruce III and Damon Allen. Harris, FYI, has already posted career highs in rushing yards (1,233) rushing TDs (8) and 100-yard rushing games (5) in a single season.
- The Argos have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, making them just the 10th Grey Cup champion since 1958 not to have a chance to defend their title in the postseason. The others: Edmonton (2005), Calgary (2001), Toronto (1991), Hamilton (1972), Calgary (1971), Montreal (1970), Ottawa (1969), B.C. (1964) and Winnipeg (1962).
QUOTABLE:
“This is the best time of the year. This is football weather. You can breathe the whole time because it’s not too hot. I love it. The fall and the winter, to me, that’s when football is meant to be played.” – Bombers fullback/special-teams ace Mike Miller.
