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Breaking: ‘Bombers’ Sick Bay Overflows, Key Players Out of Action
The bench area on the west side of Princess Auto Stadium can be a popular hangout for Winnipeg Blue Bombers players during the week.
The area is most frequented by those missing practice due to injury, who mostly gab with each other and let out the occasional hoot when someone makes a big play.
It was packed on Monday.
Among the group were defensive end Celestin Haba and defensive tackle Miles Fox, both of whom were added to the six-game injured list following last week’s 23-19 defeat to the Ottawa Redblacks.
They joined six others on the six-game shelf, two of whom — end Tyjuan Garbutt and tackle Cam Lawson — are also from the defensive line.
Indeed, depth along the front four of the defence is wearing thin while the urgency to get a win is growing.
It’s only Week 3 and the limping Bombers are deep into their reserve of players, while some fans around town are ready to hit the panic button after the club’s 0-2 start.
Four rushers remain from the initial 45-man roster: ends Willie Jefferson and Devin Adams, and interior linemen Jake Thomas and Tanner Schmekel, who were thrust into an ironman competition against Ottawa after Haba and Fox left the game.
The club will likely need to make some callups from the practice roster to have some more bodies for Friday’s contest against the B.C. Lions at home (7:30 p.m.).
“I don’t know that any of our guys would look at that,” head coach Mike O’Shea said, refuting the notion this season’s injuries present a greater challenge than in the past. “I think what they see is, in the Ottawa game, they see four guys slugging it out on the defensive line and not coming off and playing like animals — still running to the ball late in the game.
“I don’t think they look at it from the other perspective. Also, the guys that are going to get their opportunity, they don’t look at being out there as (the defensive line being) gutted, because it’s a great opportunity for them, and the vets around them look at it as good opportunities where we can get guys to get in and learn.”
Opportunity is certainly staring the pair of young linemen in the face, with an extended run in a starting role on tap.
“It’s time to go,” Adams said. “It’s time to attack the situation, the opportunity of a lifetime, while in the lifetime of the opportunity. I gotta get to it, I can’t hesitate, I can’t hiccup — that’s what they expect. It’s next man up, that’s why we have this many guys.”
Thomas, who has played in all 18 games in seven of the last nine seasons, said it can take a couple of games for a new group of defensive linemen to find their groove together, making last week’s reps with Schmekel, Jefferson and Adams that much more important.
“The biggest issue isn’t so much the communication, it’s just getting used to tendencies. I can kind of look at Willie and I know what he’s going to do, so it’s just learning those things with the new guys. But, Devin’s jumped in and even just through a few quick weeks, I feel like we’re starting to gain some chemistry,” Thomas said.
The front four, understandably, showed signs of being depleted against the Redblacks, who rushed for 128 yards on 21 carries— an average of more than six yards per tote.
They will have an entirely different challenge in front of them when quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. comes to town. Though he uses his legs sparingly, Adams Jr. is as much of a threat to gash the defence on the ground as he is through the air.
He’s rushed 12 times for 41 yards and a major in two contests this season.
“I don’t know if it changes anything with the injuries, per se, but anytime you play a scrambling quarterback it always puts us under the magnifying glass a little bit more,” said Thomas. “It’s easier to take risks when there’s going to be a pocket passer and say if you jump inside, they don’t have that threat to roll out.
“Anytime that we play a scrambling quarterback, we just need to know that we got to be gap-conscious upfront and hunt as a unit, not just individuals.”
Then there’s the offence, which has produced 31 points in two games — a far cry from what it’s experienced since Zach Collaros came to town.
It’s hard to stack good days when you’re stacking injuries, and the Bombers certainly have on both sides of the ball with star receiver Kenny Lawler, another player on the six-game list, and running back Brady Oliveira missing last week.
Collaros isn’t ready to accept that as an excuse for the offence’s early woes, and neither will the Lions once they are between the white lines.
“That’s why football is a beautiful game, especially offensively. I always say 12 guys have to be precise and it’s rare when that happens but when it does it’s really a beautiful thing,” Collaros said. “So, we have to get to that point, obviously, and then if there is a mistake, as a quarterback I can’t compound it and make it worse.
“There was a play (against Ottawa) where a guy went the wrong way and I had to dirt the ball. The next play I threw an interception and made it worse. As the leader, as the quarterback, you can’t compound it and make it worse.”
Schoen, Nichols, Wilson miss practice
Another trio of starters were missing from Bombers practice Monday.
Receiver Dalton Schoen, halfback Deatrick Nichols and linebacker Kyrie Wilson watched from the sideline.
O’Shea suggested each player is on track to play in Friday’s contest, signalling their off day was maintenance-related.
Schoen, like the rest of the offence, has yet to fully get going this season. He’s racked up nine receptions for 105 yards — the longest just 13 yards — through two contests.
First-year receiver Jeremy Murphy ran with the starters in Schoen’s place.
