He’s already posted the same yardage total as a year ago and has been the author of at least two of the most memorable catches in the Canadian Football League season.

He is fifth in the league in receiving yardage, with three of the men ahead of him all having played one more game.

He is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers bonafide deep threat, and a target Matt Nichols trusts more and more every day.

He is exactly the kind of guy former Bomber head coach Dave Ritchie would have referred to when he said, ‘Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’

So heck yeah, Darvin Adams could hop up on a soapbox at this very moment, thump his chest and make one of those look-at-me declarations for his work through the first eight games of the 2017 season.

Except…

“I’m not in the bragging business, man,” began Adams this week as the Bombers continued preparations for Thursday’s game in Montreal against the Alouettes. “I just want to show it.

“I’m just going to keep my head down and keep grinding. There’s a lot of great guys in this league, guys who every week are constantly making plays. And that gives you the incentive to step your game up because everybody has.”

Adams has certainly stepped up his game this season. The Auburn product has racked up 44 catches for 559 yards and five TDs through the Bombers 6-2 start and has scores in his last two games. His work against the Edmonton Eskimos in last week’s win – eight catches for 90 yards – were his best totals of the ’17 season.

Trot those numbers out in a discussion, though, and he quickly turns the conversation to the bigger picture.

“For me, the main thing is really not the numbers,” he said. “I’m just really happy that I’ve been able to stay healthy and be part of something so good like we’ve got going on right now.

“The numbers are going to come. I mean, they wouldn’t have me here if I couldn’t play football and that goes for anybody out here. I’m blessed to be healthy and helping the team any way I can.”

There’s a foundation to that big-picture take, of course, and Adams is completely up front about it. He missed two games in his first year with the Bombers, 2015, and was sidelined for 10 more last year with a broken collarbone.

Having the game taken away from him not only gave him that new appreciation for the craft, but also saw him change his offseason training. He came into training camp a year ago at 189 pounds and was up to 197 when 2017 opened.

“In the offseason, I really focused on my training because I got hurt the first year I was here and then last year too,” Adams explained. “It hit me that maybe I was training wrong or doing something wrong in the offseason. I told my trainer I wanted to bulk up and get stronger, especially with the way I try to play physical and throw my body around.

“I feel bigger. Coach always says, ‘when you step in, get big’ and I feel bigger. But it’s not just about the offseason, it’s about the in-season. Most people look away from lifting weights and they study for the game. But in order to take the game to the next level and be a pro, you have to focus on all of it.”

The Nichols-Adams chemistry has also been percolating for a while now. Remember, a lot of his numbers last season before the injury were with him playing pitch-and-catch with Drew Willy before he returned for the final two regular season games – with Nichols then at the controls.

More than once this season the Bombers QB has referenced Adams coming to him in the huddle or on the sidelines and suggesting he will make a play if the ball comes his way.

And as that trust grows, so will the touches and the numbers.

“It’s getting better,” said Adams. “Our main objective is to protect the ball. The Grey Cup is the ball… protect the ball and we go to the Grey Cup. Matt is focused on that and getting us in the right place. But me making more plays with him and him giving me a chance has made our chemistry better.

“I always go up to him and say, ‘Look, either I’m going to catch it or the ground is going to catch it.’ It’s not going to be intercepted. I think I’ve shown him, not just talked about it, but shown him in practice and in games. It has to be an everyday thing.”

BOMBERS REPORT – August 21, 2017

SOME LOVE FOR THE OC

The Bombers are averaging 31.8 points per game through their 6-2 start, first in the CFL. Only once this season – in a 29-10 loss to Calgary in Week 2 – have the Bombers been held to under 30 points.

Bombers offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice was asked after practice Monday how the attack they are running now differs from when he was the club’s O boss back in 2002-03.

“There are some things we still do on offence that I did in 2002 and 2003 with Milt Stegall and Charles Roberts and Mike Sellers and Arland Bruce,” he said. “But you evolve with all the places you’ve been and we try to cater it to the strength of our players and certainly to the strengths of Matt (Nichols). After a year of being with him, we know what he does well. You try and have your system in place and then adapt from that.”

The Bombers’ average net offence is 390.3, third in the CFL, and the club is first in first downs (208), first in rushing (103.1 yards per game) and sixth in passing (306.5).

Add all that up and that makes for a tough offence to defend.

“He’s done an amazing job,” said Andrew Harris of LaPolice. “Last year I think he got a feel for the type of athletes he had in the offence and this year he’s morphed us into putting us into positions to succeed. It’s understanding what we’re good at and not so good at and just playing to our advantages.

“Across the board, from the O-line to the way I run to the way Matt throws the ball, to how he reads defences to how receivers run their routes, he’s definitely grown a lot in that aspect.

“I mean, you can be an offensive coordinator in this league for years and things change a lot. Sometimes offensive coordinators get stuck in their ways, but he’s really innovative and asks what we like and how we feel doing certain things. It’s a give and take in that aspect. If we don’t feel comfortable with something, it’s easy to communicate that to him. If we see something or like something, it’s easy to communicate that to him as well and get that into the playbook as well.

“I just feel like it’s growing beautifully.”

OUCH UPDATE

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea would not confirm any possible lineup changes this week, but CB Brandon Alexander was getting a lot of work with the No. 1 defence.

“He moved around well today, but until we find out how he feels tomorrow it’s tough to say,” said O’Shea.

Safety Taylor Loffler has not practised, but remains likely to start in Montreal. Meanwhile, Travis Bond has missed the last two days of practice as he returned home following the death of a close friend, but O’Shea expects him in the lineup Thursday.

“He’ll get caught up quick,” said O’Shea. “He’s smart.”