Bob Irving
CFL.ca
With their two-game pre-season schedule now history, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are prepared to move into the CFL regular season, facing one of the most unusual schedules that has been seen in quite some time.
The Bombers will play their East Division rivals, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, four times in their first seven games. Considering that the two teams closed out the pre-season in Hamilton Sunday with the Ticats winning 38-20, it will be five meetings over an eight-game span, a virtually unheard of scheduling quirk.
Both teams are embracing it with good humor and a positive attitude. Hamilton coach Marcel Bellefeuille says he thinks he’ll be seeing Blue in his sleep over the next few weeks, but both he and Blue Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice reasoned that they have to play one another four times this season anyway, it doesn’t really matter when the games fall.
The Blue Bombers have had two outstanding rookies emerge from their training camp. Receiver Terence Jeffers-Harris, who is just 22 years old, was expected to make an impact, and has. The 6-foot, 1-inch 215 pounder from Lawrenceville, Georgia, has speed and power to go along with his size.
He wasn’t able to play in the 2008 season due to NCAA transfer rules, and then was declared academically ineligible at Vanderbilt last year, so he hasn’t played for 2 years. But, Jeffers-Harris has shown the kind of raw ability that could make him a CFL Most Outstanding Rookie candidate.
On the defensive side of the ball, 23-year-old linebacker Marcellus Bowman has been outstanding in the pre-season on both special teams and at weak side linebacker. Bowman was a safety at Boston College, but at 6-foot 2, 225-pounds, he is ideally suited in today’s CFL to play the outside linebacker position. He has been a beast on special teams, and has delivered some of the biggest hits of the Bombers two pre-season games.
LaPolice has yet to declare his starting quarterback for the Bombers July 2nd season opener against Hamilton at Canad-Inns stadium, but the consensus is he will go with Buck Pierce, who has started 34 CFL games, ahead of Steven Jyles, who has started only one. Washington State product Alex Brink appears to have solidified his hold on the number three quarterback spot.
The Bombers still have to sort out their secondary and their offensive line, although it appears they will start the season with two import offensive tackles. Andre Douglas from Temple and Kelly Butler from Purdue have both been impressive in training camp with Douglas getting a chance after veteran Glenn January suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the opening pre-season game.
Lots of optimism in the Blue bomber camp as they get set to begin a new era under the guidance of LaPolice and General Manager Joe Mack.
