GAME 18 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (10-7) at EDMONTON ESKIMOS (8-9)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
TV: TSN, ESPN+
Radio: CJOB
The forecast: A mix of sun and cloud, high of 6C.
Vegas line: The Eskimos are favoured by 4.5 points.
Streaks: Edmonton: 1L; Winnipeg: 5W
Home/Road: The Bombers are 4-4 on the road this year; the Eskimos are 6-2 at home.
Series: The Eskimos lead the all-time series (since 1938) 102-89-3.
Recent history: The Bombers and Esks have split their season series this year, with Edmonton winning here in the season opener 33-30 and Winnipeg winning on the road in the Alberta capital 30-3 on September 29th. Winnipeg has won in each of its last three trips in Edmonton, dating back to Matt Nichols first game as the clear-cut starter in July of 2016.
3 STORYLINES
1. REST VS RUST VS STAYING HEALTHY
Inject Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea with a truth serum and he would admit – begrudgingly, even while under the influence – that it would be better to go into next week’s West Division Semi-final in either Saskatchewan or Calgary with a healthy squad than to win Saturday afternoon in Edmonton.
It’s long been his mantra to focus on what’s in the here and now than to look too far ahead or fixate on what’s behind. All that said, anybody with a bump or a bruise might get the chance to take this weekend off and heal. That’s a tough thing for a player in this business to wrap his head around, but it’s the smart play heading into the playoffs. Here’s Bombers centre Matthias Goossen with an excellent take on this weekend and a player’s mentality:
“We all know in here we are blessed to play football,” he said. “Any time you can play in front of a crowd and get paid for it, it’s never a meaningless game. We take a lot of pride in our team… it doesn’t matter who’s in there, it doesn’t matter who’s playing or who we’re playing. People might say it’s ‘meaningless’, but this is a meaningful game for us because we want to continue to hold up our standard.
“Anybody who has been playing football for 20 weeks would like a week off, but your mind doesn’t want that… you want to be out there with your brothers. I mean, after Week 1 I think your body is telling you it’d be good to get a week off but it’s about grinding through it. I always say we have six months to play football a year,” added Goossen. “A month from now I can lay in my bed and not get up for days if I want to. But now I’m full-go, 100 percent, get in early, stay late. It’s the most important thing right now.”
2. NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES
The circumstances Saturday – a game that has no impact on the standings a week before the playoffs – affords the Bombers the opportunity to evaluate players under real conditions heading into the postseason and into 2019. That usually doesn’t happen often for a club at this stage of the season unless their campaign has been a bit of a tire fire.
What that means for the Bombers is players like young Canadian receivers Rashaun Simonise and Daniel Petermann will start and catch passes from Chris Streveler and Bryan Bennett. It means Manitoba Bisons product Geoff Gray will see his first CFL action along the O-line. It means Charles Nelson, who has a sparkling resume from his days at Oregon, will get a look at receiver and returner.
And it means a player like defensive back Chris Humes will have a chance to play after waiting for a long time on the practice roster.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase my skills, another piece of this defence and just go out and help us get a win,” said Humes, a star during his days at Arkansas State who had a look-see with the Oakland Raiders last year. “We play the game to win. We practice to win. And that’s the expectation around here.
“In life, every day you are being evaluated by somebody. I take it really seriously and that’s why I work on my craft every day. I’m just excited, man. I’ve been out here trying to make plays on this practice field ever since I came back (after being released). The team has rallied around me and they want to see me ball out there. I’m excited for that.”
3. THE ESKIMOS… WHAT GIVES?
The last few weeks haven’t exactly been cheery in Edmonton, with the Eskimos going just 2-6 in their last eight games and being eliminated from the playoff picture with Winnipeg’s win over Calgary last weekend.
Oh, and did we mention Edmonton is hosting the Grey Cup at the end of this month?
All of this has led to some spicy storylines coming out of the Alberta capital, from reports head coach Jason Maas has ‘lost’ the room, to rumours QB Mike Reilly is headed to B.C. as a free agent this offseason, to speculation GM Brock Sutherland is already putting out feelers to coordinators across the CFL to gauge interest in a possible coaching vacancy.
So, Coach O’Shea, what should the Bombers expect out of Edmonton Saturday afternoon?
“Their very best. Absolutely,” said the Bombers boss. “Their head coach and their quarterback are extremely fiery competitors so I would expect nothing but the best from them. If any of our guys are expecting anything less they’re being foolish because they’re going to step on the field and there’s going to be a tough battle from the get-go, probably a very physical battle. Obviously, Edmonton wants to win the game and win the game in front of their fans and finish on a higher note than they have right now.”
THE QBS
- Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols is 38-26 in his career as a starter and 29-14 since taking over from Drew Willy in July of 2016. He is 4-2 in the regular season against the Eskimos.
- Edmonton’s Mike Reilly has a career record of 53-42 and is 8-4 lifetime vs. the Bombers.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Bombers are making five changes to their 46-man roster, bringing aboard WR/KR Charles Nelson, CB Chris Humes, OL Cody Speller, OL Geoff Gray and WR Ryan Lankford. Moving off the roster are WR Darvin Adams, LB Kyrie Wilson, DB Brandon Alexander, DB Abu Conteh and OL Sukh Chungh.
Adams, Alexander, Conteh and Chungh have all been moved to the one-game injured list, joining safety Taylor Loffler.
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#17 Chris Streveler, QB: He’s been everything and then some this year as a straight-from-college rookie in his first pro season. He’s rushed for nine TDs, thrown for 10 and led the Bombers to a 1-2 record in three starts to open the year when Nichols was injured. That seems like eons ago now and it will be intriguing to watch his progression all these weeks later.
#68 Geoff Gray, OL: It’s uncertain how many snaps Gray might get on Saturday, but the Bombers drafted the Manitoba Bison in the first round back in 2017 because they loved his intelligence and his athletic gifts. Has the skills to play tackle or guard, but tracks to line up inside in the future.
#84 Ryan Lankford, WR: He’s established himself as a receiver and returner in parts of four years in the CFL.
X FACTOR
#12 Charles Nelson, WR/KR: The Bombers were intrigued enough by his speed to take two looks at him this season – back in training camp and then again recently when he was added to the practice roster. The club’s kickoff returns could use a spark, and the question is could Nelson do enough against the Eskimos on Saturday to earn consideration for the playoff game next week?
CRITICAL NUMBER
+57: The Bombers turnover ratio since 2016. The club leads the CFL with 48 forced turnovers this year and is +14 in the takeaway/giveaway category. Get this: from 2012-15 the Bombers turnover ratio was -60. They were first in the CFL at +29 in 2016, second last season at +14 and are first again this year at +14.
MISCELLANEOUS
- The Eskimos hit the halfway mark at 6-3, and have then gone 2-6 in their last eight games to miss the playoffs. Since the inception of the 18-game season in the CFL, 57 different teams have started their season at 6-3, with only two squads then not qualifying for the playoffs – the 2018 Eskimos and the 2014 Bombers, who were just 1-8 in their last nine games and finished last in the West at 7-11.
- The Bombers have hit the double-digit win mark for the third straight year, after cranking out 11 wins in 2016 and 12 last year. The last time the club accomplished that was in 2001-2003 when the team went 14-4, 12-6 and 11-7. The last three head coaches to post three consecutive 10-win seasons or better are Mike O’Shea (2016-18), Dave Ritchie (2001-2003) and Cal Murphy (1984-86).
- Drew Wolitarsky and Nic Demski rank third and fourth in the CFL among Canadian receivers in yardage this season. Ottawa’s Brad Sinopoli is first with 1,376 yards on 116 catches, Hamilton’s Mike Jones has 727 yards on 44 receptions, followed by Wolitarsky with 650 on 45 and Demski with 535 yards on 57 receptions.
- Weston Dressler has caught a pass in 125 consecutive games, the sixth-longest streak in CFL history.
- Edmonton’s Mike Reilly has gone over 5,000 yards passing for a third straight season. Only two other players have matched or bettered that, as Doug Flutie did it four years in a row from 1991-94, as did Anthony Calvillo from 2002-05.
