Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols looks for a receiver as Saskatchewan Roughriders' Charleston Hughes closes in during first half CFL football action at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Taylor
WEST DIVISION SEMI-FINAL | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (10-8) at SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (12-6)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Sunday; Mosaic Stadium, Regina
TV: TSN1, TSN4, RDS, ESPN2
Radio: CJOB
The forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High -10C.
Vegas line: The Riders are favoured by 2.5 points.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 1L; Saskatchewan: 2W.
Home/Road: The Bombers are 4-5 on the road this year; the Riders are 6-3 at home.
Head to head, 2018: The Riders captured two of the three meetings this year, winning 31-23 in the Labour Day Classic in Regina and 32-27 a week later in Winnipeg in the Banjo Bowl. The Bombers countered with a 31-0 shutout on October 13th at Investors Group Field.
Playoff history: These two clubs last met in the playoffs in the 2007 Grey Cup, a game won 23-19 by the Riders. The Bombers last played in Regina in the playoffs on November 8, 1975, a 42-24 Saskatchewan victory in the West Semi-Final. Add it all up and the Bombers have lost seven straight playoff games to their arch-rivals dating back to a win here in Winnipeg in the 1965 West Semi-Final. The Riders hold an 11-9-1 advantage in the 20 playoff meetings between the two teams.
3 STORYLINES
1. PROTECT THY PIGSKIN
Slipping into our red blazer and goofy hat to play Captain Obvious here and state that in the playoffs, turnovers can not only be critical, but potentially season-ending. Consider that last year, the Bombers were -3 in that department in their West Semi-Final loss to Edmonton.
And so, while the Bombers finished tied with Calgary in both the turnover ratio (+13) and forcing turnovers (49), the mistakes made in the three games Winnipeg and Saskatchewan played this year were particularly massive. The Riders had two long Pick-6s in their Banjo Bowl win and another interception in the Labour Day Classic that was returned to the Bombers one yard-line. The Bombers got two defensive scores of their own in the season series, both from Anthony Gaitor.
So, protect the football? Heck yeah.
“Especially in weather like this,” began Bombers slotback Nic Demski. “We’ve got the best run game in the CFL. We’ve just got to take care of the ball, make sure there are no turnovers. Receivers have got to make their catches, make their plays. The O-linemen, we know they’re going to handle their stuff up front. It’s all about ball security. We’ve got big trust in our defence and special teams speaks for itself. We’ve just got to go out there and do it.”
2. THE HARRIS FACTOR
It was during Mike O’Shea’s session with the media on Thursday when the Bombers head coach was asked to sum up the body of work of Andrew Harris since the running back’s arrival here in Winnipeg.
Without hesitation, O’Shea offered this:
“Masterpiece.”
Yup, that perfectly sums up the contributions of the 31-year-old Winnipegger over the past three seasons that have included three consecutive team Most Outstanding Canadian Player honours, CFL honours in the same category last year, three straight West Division All-Star nods and two – soon to be three – years on the CFL All-Star Team.
“It’s awesome, and he’s not done yet,” said O’Shea. “He’s been phenomenal; everything about him, everything he does. I thoroughly enjoy watching him work.”
The Riders? Not so much, especially after watching Harris go to work on them in the Labour Day Classic when he rushed 15 times for 158 yards and added one catch for 15 more yards.
In the two games after that the Riders worked to take Harris out of the Bombers attack by spying him with a linebacker or a defensive end peeling to follow him. In the two games after the Labour Day game, he had 20 carries for just 57 yards and three catches for 16 yards.
And as much as a Chris Jones defence offers multiple looks, the Bombers should expect more of the same when it comes to Number 33.
“The important part is finding out what we’re trying to achieve on offence and doing the best I can to contribute to that,” Harris said this week. “I always talk about being a good pass catcher, blocker or runner, so it’s whatever role they want me to be in and seizing that opportunity.”
That’s where the circumstances have changed considerably since last year’s West Semi-Final loss to Edmonton. The Bombers surrounded Matt Nichols and Harris with Timothy Flanders, L’Damian Washington, Clarence Denmark, Julian Feoli-Gudino, Matt Coates and Weston Dressler (with a broken hand) last year.
This Sunday that compliment includes a healthy Dressler, Darvin Adams, Nic Demski, Kenbrell Thompkins and Drew Wolitarsky, who has morphed into a force in his second year.
“If their whole focal point is to try and stop me and shut me down,” said Harris, “we have a lot of good athletes on the field that can make plays.”
3. THE COLLAROS WATCH: SMOKESCREEN OR LEGIT CONCERN?
The ol’ Twitter machine was smoking late Friday morning when reporters in Regina were firing out missives that Brandon Bridge was taking some reps with the Riders No. 1 offence at Friday’s practice.
Starter Zach Collaros did not finish the Riders last game after getting walloped by B.C. Lions defensive end Odell Willis. He did clear concussion protocol and was on the field all week, but that hasn’t stopped speculation from being fuelled further, even with head coach Chris Jones downplaying the story on Friday.
“It was important for us to learn the scheme and the sense of what they do as a team, as a unit, moreso than breakdown just the quarterback,” said veteran cornerback Chris Randle. “We have a great understanding of what Bridge can bring, what Collaros can bring. We all have an understanding of that. It was really an emphasis on the system and how they like to operate and some of the things they do as an offence in all and whichever quarterback it is, we’ll be ready for it.”
The Bombers insist they are ready for either pivot. Collaros, FYI, had a 79.5 QB-efficiency rating this year – lowest among the 10 QB qualifiers in the league this year after throwing nine TDs against 13 interceptions. Bridge, meanwhile, had a 72.8 rating and had one TD vs. three picks.
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 7-4 in his career against the Riders and 1-2 as a starter in the playoffs (the win coming with Edmonton in 2014).
- Saskatchewan’s Zach Collaros is 34-31 as a starter; 5-2 vs. the Bombers and 1-1 in the playoffs.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Bombers are making six changes to their 46-man roster from last week’s game in Edmonton, bringing aboard WR Darvin Adams, OL Sukh Chungh, DB Brandon Alexander, S Taylor Loffler, DB Abu Conteh and LB Kyrie Wilson.
Moved to the one-game injured list are OL Geoff Gray and Cody Speller, DB Chris Humes, SB Corey Washington and WR Ryan Lankford, while RB Johnny Augustine is shifted to the practice roster.
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#38 Ian Wild, LB: The uncertainty surrounding the status of LB Jovan Santos-Knox – he hadn’t practised Wednesday or Thursday before Friday’s closed session – means the veteran Wild or Kyrie Wilson may be asked to step in and fill the void. Wild certainly will know the defence, as one of the most intelligent players on the roster, and has 37 career starts at weak-side and middle linebacker during his days as a Bomber. Santos-Knox has morphed into an emerging star since his first start in the 2017 Banjo Bowl, however, and has blossomed beside Adam Bighill this season.
#1 Darvin Adams, WR: If, as expected, the Riders work on blanketing Andrew Harris to limit his effectiveness, the Bombers will need one or more of their offensive weapons to step up and deliver. Enter Adams, who led the club in receiving his year and added 10 TDs. He’s a home-run threat with nine catches of 30 yards or more, but is also an underrated second-down conversion receiver.
#4 Adam Bighill, LB: Stating the obvious here: dude can flat-out play. Remember this stat line from the 31-0 last month? Eight tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble that led directly to a TD. If the Bombers get more of that…
X FACTOR
#10 Nic Demski, SB: Demski ranked second to Andrew Harris in offensive touches this year with 59 receptions for 554 yards and an additional 34 carries for 248 yards. Those numbers represent good production per carry/catch at 8.6 yards. But the Manitoba product also returned 12 punts and another 14 kickoffs this season, meaning he could be a busy man on Sunday.
CRITICAL NUMBER
151: The Bombers and Riders finished tied for first in the CFL this year with 151 points off turnovers.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Old home week: The Bombers roster features eight players who once played for the Riders in Nic Demski, Kienan LaFrance, Jeff Hecht, Chad Rempel, Jermarcus Hardrick, Weston Dressler and Pat Neufeld. The Riders have four former Bombers in their lineup in Sam Hurl, Cameron Marshall, Jovon Johnson and Brendon LaBatte.
- The Riders 15 return touchdowns – 11 defensively, four more on special teams – represent 37.5 percent of all the team’s majors this season, which is a CFL record. Saskatchewan managed just 25 offensive touchdowns this season, last in the CFL. By comparison, the Bombers had 53 offensive touchdowns and 59 in total. Get this: in eight games this season, the Riders defence had more or at least as many touchdowns as the offence.
- Related to the above: the Riders intercepted the Bombers eight times in the three meetings this year and generated 30 of their 63 points from those eight mistakes.
- The Bombers offence has scored three touchdowns in each of the last seven games. They were the only CFL team to score at least two TDs in every game this year.
- In Matt Nichols three playoff starts, he has thrown for 59 yards, 390 yards and 371 yards. Oddly enough, he got the win in his first start when he completed 12 of 23 passes for just 59 yards for the Eskimos in a win over the Riders. His 35 completions in the loss to Edmonton in the West Semi-Final last year was a Bomber record and the third-highest in CFL history.
