Inside the CFL:Don’t count out the Blue Bombers

By GRAHAM KELLY on May 12, 2022.

Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea is a man of few words.

He lets his players do the talking. They, the winners of the last two Grey Cups, are out to achieve what no CFL team has done since Edmonton, 1980-82, that is, win three Grey Cups in a row. While easier said than done, don’t bet against them.

When your reasonably paid veterans bring home the bacon, they want raises. The league salary cap makes it difficult to pay them all what they deserve and so some stars must go. Keeping a championship roster together these days requires great administrative skill. President Wade Miller and GM Kyle Walters possess that skill. The Bombers have lost only six players who started the 2021 Grey Cup against Hamilton, two on defence, four on the other side of the ball.

The defenders missing are strong side linebacker Alden Darby and defensive tackle Steven Richardson. But look who remain. Defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat both made All-Canadian last year. Between them they had 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles. Jefferson, who has the wingspan of a 747, had two interceptions and basically shut down the short passing game on the right side of the field. He is still only 31 going into his eighth year in the league. Jeffcoat, reporting for his fifth season of duty is a year older. Sophomore Casey Sayles and nine-year veteran Jake Thomas man the interior. Because they lost several D-linemen to free agency, to improve depth the Bombers traded for Alouette DT Cam Lawson.

If the opposition finds its way past the front four, they run smack dab into middle linebacker Adam Bighill. Because of his ability and talent for self-promotion, Jefferson gets most of the publicity, but Bighill is the heart and soul of the defence and by far Winnipeg’s best player. He was named 2021’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, the third time he’s won it. Only Wayne Harris, Dan Kepley and Willie Pless have received the honour more often. They are in the Hall of Fame. Bighill will join them soon after he retires. He turns 34 in October. Rounding out the linebacking corps is import veteran Kyrie Wilson as well as Canadians Jesse Briggs and Shayne Gauthier.

Want to bypass the front seven and go deep? The entire secondary is intact with the exception of safety Brandon Alexander whose return will be delayed by an injury. Canadian Nick Hallett will hold the fort. Half the 2021 CFL all-star defensive team were Blue Bombers. They’re all back. Says O’Shea: “I like our defence.”

The offence lost three stars. Gone are future Hall-of-Fame running back Andrew Harris, wide-out Darvin Adams and the league’s leading receiver Kenny Lawler now with Edmonton. Coming over from the Elks is the great Greg Ellingson. He joins starry Canadians Nic Demski, Drew Wolitarsky and Brendan O’Leary-Oranger. Import veterans Rasheed Bailey and Janarion Grant are back. Former Ti-Cat J.R. Saunders could replace Adams but he hasn’t played since 2018.

Andrew Harris, with 9,661 yards is the sixth leading rusher in CFL history. But he’s 35 and carried a big price tag which the Bombers couldn’t afford, so he signed with Toronto, a casualty of the salary cap. His position will be split between Johnny Augustine and Brady Oliveira. The offensive line is again anchored by 2021 Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Stanley Bryant, Michael Couture, Pat Neufeld and Jermarcus Hardrick. Departed left guard Drew Desjarlais will likely be replaced with an American.

Zach Collaros was the all-star quarterback and winner of the Most Outstanding Player Award in 2021. Plucked from the scrap heap in 2019 by Kyle Walters, Collaros has been born again in Blue and Gold. Once regarded as injury-prone the 34-year-old is seemingly indestructible and at the top of his game. A major concern for the Bombers is that there is no one behind him.

Another major concern is the kicking game which was a disaster last year until former Lion kicker Sergio Castillo came aboard late in the season. But now he’s with Edmonton, leaving the Bombers with holdovers Ali Mourtada and Marc Liegghio who combined for a league worst 58% field goal percentage in 2021. Liegghio is a good punter.

The Western playoffs are usually close. Lack of a kicking game could spell disaster.