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August 22, 2019

Game Preview | WPG at EDM

Winnipeg Blue Bombers #13 Chris Matthews during practice August 20, 2019

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WEEK 11 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (7-2) at EDMONTON ESKIMOS (6-3)

THE 4-1-1

Kickoff: 8:30 p.m., Friday, Commonwealth Stadium
TV: TSN, RDS-2, ESPN2
Radio: 680 CJOB
Vegas line: The Eskimos are favoured by 6.5 points.
Home/Road: The Bombers are 2-2 on the road this year; the Eskimos are a perfect 4-0 at home. Winnipeg has lost two in a row on the road (Hamilton, Toronto) and hasn’t lost three in a row away from home since 2015.
Recent history: The Bombers reached the midway point of the season with last week’s 32-16 victory over B.C., their second straight. Edmonton has won two straight, including last Friday’s 41-26 decision over Toronto, and reached the halfway mark at 6-3.
Series: The Bombers are 90-103-3 all-time vs. the Eskimos, including a 28-21 decision in their home opener back on June 27th.
FYI: This is the second and final regular season meeting between the two clubs this year. Should the Esks beat the Bombers by eight points or more on Friday and the teams finish with identical records, the next tiebreaker would be their respective records against West Division opponents. The Bombers are currently 4-0 vs. the West; Edmonton is 2-2.


3 STORYLINES

1. THE STREVELER SHOW

We’ve been hammering away on this theme all week, and we’ll keep banging the drum for all the obvious reasons. With Matt Nichols on the shelf for the next four-to-six weeks and Chris Streveler now in charge the Bombers go from a veteran quarterback with a 37-16 won-lost record since he became the unquestioned starter here in late July of 2016 to a second-year pro with a 1-3 career mark.

All of this isn’t to suggest Streveler isn’t ready for the moment, but there is some unknown here.

Can he be an effective pocket passer, in addition to his ability to run over defenders in the open field?

How will his established skillset impact how defences gameplan for both the Bombes run game, and their passing attack?

And how will he handle adversity when it inevitably arrives?

Here’s some insight, courtesy Bombers QB coach Buck Pierce:

“I’ll talk about the first time he stepped on the field and the first time he walked into our meeting room. It’s the maturity, the competitiveness – not just on the field, but in the classroom – and just how he handles himself on a daily basis. Coming in as a rookie, a lot of guys are pretty quiet, they don’t like to ask questions, they’re just trying to fit in… Chris fit in right away. The moment he walked into the huddle he had the respect of the people in that room. At the pro football level, getting the respect of your peers is what everybody is looking for, especially as a young guy.

“Fast forward to now… He worked extremely hard in the offseason. We set goals for him coming into this year and he’s exceeded those. He understands his role and now he understands his role moving forward for however long.

“He’ll be ready. That’s one thing you never have to worry about that guy.”

Streveler becomes the latest No. 2 QB to get his shot this season, what with only two of the CFL’s nine starters – Edmonton’s Trevor Harris and Mike Reilly of B.C. – not having been injured at some point.

Pierce was in the same situation as a rookie and he’s seen pivots come and go during his days as an assistant. And the key to being ready and taking advantage of the opportunity is simple:

“The main thing is preparation,” he said. “Waiting for your opportunity, I think a lot of young guys want to step on the field right away, and for a lot of people that’s not the case. You have to put the time in, because when you step on the field, you want to know what you’re doing and you want to have an understanding of what you’re trying to do in the CFL. In some cases, myself personally, I ended up playing a lot of games as a rookie. You look at other guys across the league and it takes them a couple of years and they’re able to learn and develop so they’re ready for that spotlight when that opportunity comes.

“You prepare like you’re going to be the guy all year, you listen… that’s another big thing. At this level there’s a lot of big egos and at the quarterback position you can’t have that. You’ve got to be willing to learn.”

2. A TALE OF TWO DEFENCES

The defensive dozens for both the Bombers and Eskimos could lay claim to the title of the CFL’s top defence, based on their gaudy numbers – Winnipeg having yielded an average of 17.4 offensive points per game; Edmonton at 17.6.

The Eskimos lead the CFL in sacks with 30, and their front can be a handful for any offence.

“They’re good,” said Bombers slotback Nic Demski. “They play aggressive, they play fast. Their D-line causes a lot of noise up front. They’re the tone setters for that team and as long as we take care of that problem up front, we should be OK. They’re going to hit you in the mouth if you don’t hit them first.”

Critical for the Bombers on Friday will be to do anything to take QB Trevor Harris out of his rhythm. Harris already has 3,051 passing yards this season and has been sacked just three times in nine games.

“Trevor is just very efficient. He knows the system. He knows defences. He’s a veteran,” said Bombers cornerback Winston Rose. “He’s very good at dissecting the defence. He’s been around Ricky Ray, Henry Burris… Trevor’s just a smart, veteran.”

3. A CROWDED SICK BAY

The Bombers not only lost Matt Nichols this week, but will be without DE Craig Roh, while several other players are playing with an assortment of hurts. That’s not just the byproduct of a physical game, but of scheduling – Winnipeg had its first bye in Week 2 and won’t have its second until Week 14 (after the Banjo Bow). That’s the longest stretch between byes for any team in the CFL this year.

Nichols joins WR Darvin Adams, DB Brandon Alexander, LB Jesse Briggs, DB Chris Humes, DE Jackson Jeffcoat, OL Pat Neufeld, PR Charles Nelson and RB Brady Oliveira on the six-game injured list, with Roh and OL Cody Speller on the one-game list.

That’s eight players who have started games this year, not including Neufeld, who would be the starting left guard if he hadn’t been hurt just before training camp.

There was another scare on Tuesday, when RB Andrew Harris was dinged in practice and did not finish. If he couldn’t go on Friday, Johny Augustine would step in as part of that ‘next-man up’ philosophy.

“Nothing changes for me,” said Augustine when asked about the possibility of stepping in for Harris. “It’s still the same process whether they need me on special teams or offence. What I do, even right now – I go get a massage and then to yoga – doesn’t change. I’ve been ready and I’m going to continue to stay ready.

“Whoever it’s against, I’m always just happy to get the opportunity. The last few weeks I’ve been able to go in in the fourth quarter and just do what I can do.”


THE QBS

  • Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler is 1-3 as a starter, including last year’s regular season finale in Edmonton in which he took the first snap as the Bombers rested a lot of their No. 1s with their playoff spot secured.
  • Trevor Harris of Edmonton is 37-29-2 as a starter in his career and 2-3 in games vs. Winnipeg.

3 BOMBERS TO WATCH

#17 Chris Streveler, QB: No further explanation needed, right? A new starting QB means all eyes are on the replacement.

#2 Jonathan Kongbo, DE: The injuries to Craig Roh and Jackson Jeffcoat mean the Bombers first-round draft pick – he was selected fifth overall, just one spot after Drew Desjarlais – will get his first CFL start.

#7 Lucky Whitehead, WR/KR: Whitehead had his ‘Welcome to the CFL’ game against the Eskimos in the Bombers home opener, pulling in seven passes for 155 yards and two TDs – a 75-yard strike from Nichols and a 41-yard score on a hitch pass.

X FACTOR

#82 Drew Wolitarsky, WR: The man they call ‘Wolly’ and Streveler have more than just a friendship off the field that dates back to their college days, the two also have a kinship on the field. His first three TD catches came early in 2018 with Streveler at QB.

NOTABLE:

The Bombers are making three changes to their roster for this week’s game. Coming aboard are DB Dexter Janke, DB Marcus Rios and DE Alex McAlister. Off are QB Matt Nichols, OL Cody Speller, DE Craig Roh and WR Malcolm Williams. The club will dress just two QBs, with Sean McGuire backing up Streveler.

JUICY NUMBER(S): 67/111

The Bombers have been nailed for a league-low 67 penalties this season, totalling 599 yards. The Eskimos have a league-high 111 penalties, covering 913 yards.

FYI

  • Mike O’Shea hits the 100-game mark as head coach of the Bombers on Friday. His record is 52-47 since taking over the Bombers and 40-23 since the start of 2016. Only Bud Grant (102-56-2) and Cal Murphy (86-51-1) have coached more games for the franchise.
  • The Bombers are 7-0 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter; the Eskimos are 5-0.
  • Last week’s CFL games ended a streak of six consecutive weeks of kick-return touchdowns.
  • Andrew Harris is 288 yards shy of passing Fred Reid (4,505) and moving into sixth spot on the Bombers all-time rushing list. Charles Roberts ranks first (9,987), followed by Leo Lewis (8,861), Willard Reaves (5,923), Jim Washington (5,736) and Gerry James (5,541)
  • Trevor Harris has now gone 22 games with at least 20 pass completions. The CFL record is 24, set by Ricky Ray from June of 2005 to July of 2006.
  • The Bombers 15 pass attempts last week was their lowest total since September of 2003.
  • Justin Medlock leads the CFL with six punts inside the opponents’ 10-yard line.