16 receptions, 272 yards and two touchdowns by Arland Bruce III against Saskatchewan. Was that the best game you’ve ever seen by a receiver?
MB: Yeah, that’s three yards from the (team) record so it’s obviously right there, that I’ve ever coached in my ten years in the league. Just a great performance. It’s an Arland Bruce performance but it’s also an offensive performance because the line had to protect, Kevin had to get him the ball and coach Gibson had to call the right plays but Arland certainly delivered.
Was that your plan going into the game – to get Arland the ball so frequently – or did the offence just take what Saskatchewan gave them?
MB: It was a plan to get him the ball more and fortunately by formation they provided those opportunities for him. So that played well for us.
What did you think of Dave Stala’s touchdown celebration?
MB: It was creative, you prefer to see those things when you win but the most important thing is we weren’t flagged for it. Dave’s the type of player who gets attention in our locker room and keeps it real, and is a valuable member of our team.
Marcus Thigpen was named the CFL’s Special Teams Player of the Month, and now he’s gradually working his way into the offence. What’s it like to have a speedy, versatile player like Marcus on the roster?
MB: It’s great, he provides scoring with the four touchdowns he’s scored, both on offence and special teams. He’s another threat that the defence has to account for and he’s a good young man. He’s a hard worker, he’s conscientious and cares, we like having him on our football team.
You’ve added a new punter, Eric Wilbur. What have your early impressions of him been?
MB: Well it’s only been two practices but everything is positive, he has good leg strength and a good lively leg. It seems like he can do all of the things he needs to for us to improve in the kicking game and now it’s just a matter of seeing if will those things translate into a game. I’m sure they will and that’s the most important thing.
Your next four games are against Winnipeg and Toronto. How important is it for your team to secure some wins during that span?
MB: Hugely important. These are games against foes in your own division and are four point swing type of deals so it’s important that we get these wins. We know that, I think they all know that, and it would go a long way to turn our season around early.
After two games in tough environments, how nice will it be to kick off in front of a home crowd this weekend?
MB: It will be nice. The last two games were against two teams that were in the Grey Cup, on the road, and one was a home opener so it’s like playing in the jungle. I think it’s going to make us a better team down the road from the perspective that we’re able to work in those environments, compete well there and hopefully future games will be easier because of it.
This will be the third time you’ve faced Winnipeg in the first six weeks of the season. As a coach, what kind of challenges does that present?
MB: It’s always tough playing a team that many times, both teams are going to have to change some things to not be predictable in certain areas and the fact that they’re well coached. We’re really going to have to rely on our base reads and all our schemes so that we can defend and play against whatever they throw at us.
What are you expecting to see from your team this Saturday?
MB: I expect to see what we usually see. I expect them to come and play hard and compete, and I expect us to do more of the little things better than we have in the last two weeks, especially making basic plays and I believe that if we do those things we’ll have much better opportunities in the future.
