It’s been a common theme this week, with the accompanying questions posed to every member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who happened to step in front of a camera or a microphone.
Just how do the Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions – both clubs having already locked up home playoff games – approach Friday night’s regular season finale at IG Field?
It’s a fair question, even if the responses are entirely expected.
“How are we approaching it? It’s a fist fight,” said Blue Bombers right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick after walk-through on Thusday. “I’m loving it. I know we’re playing against a good B.C. team, but it doesn’t matter what week it is – we all get the chance to put on a jersey and that means everything.
“The other thing is, we’re led by (Mike) O’Shea, man. We never look at the standings, but this is important because this is the game this week. We know there’s a bigger picture, but we treat every week like it’s the Grey Cup.”
There are still any number of storylines swirling around this one – and we’ll get to the most compelling in a moment – but there is also no shying away from this: no matter the outcome Friday night, the Lions will host the Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Place in the Western Semi-final next Sunday, with the Blue Bombers welcoming the winner to the Western Final here in Winnipeg on November 13th.
“The truth is football is played one way,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “You go out there and you play it one way all the time. I don’t think you have that different idea from one week to the next.
“We’re looking to go out and play football the way it should be played and if we play smart and play the way we should play, we’re looking to win. We’re not focused on that (possibly facing the Lions again in the Western Final), but inevitably there is a possibility we could see them again, so this film could be important.”
O’Shea said he is a believer of in-game momentum – a play or series of them that can swing the chances of winning to one team. But expecting the result of Friday’s game – win or lose – to carry over two weeks to the 13th is a stretch.
“Momentum is obviously a thing,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “We want to prove that we can play at the level we want to play at come playoff time. At the same time, the fact is this game isn’t helping us get into the place we need to be. Playbook-wise it can’t be everything you want it to be just because that’s the way things go. We’re going to come out here and play our brand of football – physical, fast, clean and definitely go out here and expect to win.”
“… It’s an opportunity for everyone to get better here. The details and everything we need going into the playoffs is going to be in this game here. It’s a chance to make sure we’re progressing and staying sharp and everyone on our roster is getting better in the fact we can all pull this thing together the right way now. We’ve been playing good football. This is an opportunity for us to level it up again here.”
That’s critical for the Blue Bombers, who have been preaching all year about ‘finding an edge.’ And it’s an approach that has clearly worked through a 14-3 record.
“Everything is about winning around here,” said receiver Rasheed Bailey. “We just want to come out and do our jobs, but we don’t play to lose. We have a strong coaching staff that believes in us, puts us in the right positions… we’re not letting up. We’re coming to play. We’re coming to win. It’s the Bomber Way.
“To be honest, we don’t care about them, we just care about us. At this point in the season if you’re thinking about anything but your responsibility, your team then you’re not in the right position. We’ve been here before. It means everything to go out there and play with our brothers.”
More on the Blue Bombers-Lions regular-season finale in this week’s 3 STORYLINES…
1. WELCOME BACK
The Blue Bombers have made significant changes to the roster that took the field in Vancouver two weeks ago – and with first place already locked up then.
Returning from injury are receivers Greg Ellingson and Drew Wolitarsky, defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and defensive back Noah Hallett, while offensive linemen Stanley Bryant, Pat Neufeld and Hardrick are all back at their posts after getting a break in the last game. As well, quarterback Zach Collaros – who dressed in B.C. – will take the first snap on Friday.
After that, O’Shea said the number of reps some vets get will depend on the game’s circumstances including drive lengths.
“I’m not really sure (how much he’ll play). We’re just going to see how it goes.” said Collaros. “I’m preparing like I’m going to play the entire game, so we’ll see.”
2. ROURKE RETURNS
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke was THE story of the first chunk of the CFL season before his injury. It wasn’t simply that he was putting up some astonishing numbers, it was that he is a Canadian doing so and this league has been waiting for a homegrown star at the position since the day Russ Jackson hung up his cleats.
Rourke is expected to play about a quarter according to the Lions as he attempts to knock off some rust before next week’s semi-final against the Stamps. Rourke is 0-1 in his lone start against the Blue Bombers – Winnipeg’s 43-22 win in Vancouver back on July 9th – in a game in which he threw for 278 yards and had three TDs against two interceptions.
What makes the young Canadian pivot so dangerous?
“It’s his decision making and accuracy,” said Blue Bombers defensive backs coach Jordan Younger. “One, he’s exceptionally accurate. Two, he can throw the long ball well. Three, he does a lot of film study to understand where he should go with the ball and he makes that decision very, very quickly.
“He’s athletic, so he can buy some time and then he can turn those off-schedule plays into big plays because he’s so accurate on the deep ball. And then he’s got a very good receiving corps to throw the ball to. He fits what they have very, very well.”
3. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ’15’
No one in Bomberland has even broached the topic or, it would seem, even been asked about it this week – a win Friday night would mean the club would finish with a 15-3 record and set a new franchise standard for wins in a season.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Collaros. “No, we haven’t talked about it. Fifteen is better than 14, though, so…”
He’s right, obviously. But there is a significance to possibly reaching 15 wins. A Blue Bombers team has hit the 14-win mark four times – 14-2 in 1960 and then 14-4 in 1993, 2001 and then this season – but no team has had 15 victories in a year.
The CFL record, FYI, is 16 – set by a 16-2 Edmonton side in 1989. The 2016 Calgary Stampeders were 15-2-1, while nine other teams finished 15-3 (Calgary in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2014), the Baltimore Stallions (1995), Toronto Argonauts (1996, 1997), Montreal Alouettes (2009) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2019).
