THE CANADIAN PRESS
As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers get set to embark on the final third of their 18-game CFL adventure, Head Coach Mike O’Shea remains the eternal optimist. Never mind that his team has lost five of six games to tumble from first to last in the ultra-competitive CFL West Division. O’Shea remains resolute in his belief that the Bombers have championship potential.
He states, and rightly so, that nothing has yet been decided in terms of the CFL playoff picture. And probably won’t be for a few weeks yet. Throw in the fact that the Bombers have finally enjoyed a bye week (the last team in the CFL to do so this year), and the sky’s the limit from O’Shea’s window to the world.
| Idle Bombers ready for action |
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With a much-needed bye week, the Bombers stayed idle both in the CFL West and this week’s Pinty’s Power Rankings. Could a win vs. Hamilton help them climb the ladder? |
So, even though it appears the Bombers’ season of great promise (they were 5-1 and in first place in August) has turned into a season of great challenge, now at 6-6, O’Shea’s not buying. He is even looking on the bright side of having quarterback Brian Brohm lead the team when it returns to action Saturday night against Hamilton at Investors Group Field.
As this is written, starting quarterback Drew Willy has recovered surprisingly quickly from a sprained throwing shoulder suffered during their September 13th loss in Vancouver. And Willy has not been ruled out of starting against the Ti-Cats. If he can’t play, the 29-year-old Brohm will get his first CFL start, and O’Shea says he has nothing but confidence in what Brohm can do.
“These guys are here for a reason,” says O’Shea. “Brian has been impressive from day one. He understands the offence, has the arm strength, he is a real professional. I’m anxious to see him play.”
Brohm isn’t some kid fresh out of college either. He is 29 years old, was a second-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2008 before spending time with Buffalo. He last started a game with the Bills in 2010, and has been searching for a football home ever since.
Brohm spent the 2013 season on the Hamilton injured list and the Bombers acquired him in a trade in March of this year on the recommendation of assistant GM Danny McManus, who was impressed with Brohm while he was with the Ticats last year.
Willy’s status isn’t the only injury concern the Bombers have. Middle-linebacker Ian Wild will miss Saturday’s game with a neck injury while receiver Nick Moore remains sidelined with a slow-healing ankle sprain. There are other injury concerns, but as all teams know, you play the hand that injuries deal you.
For the Bombers, it’s quite simple. They have six games left to play, and the six-game sprint to the end of the season begins on Saturday night at 5:30 central time against a surging Ti-Cat team.
While it’s impossible to predict how everything will shake down as the teams in the West start playing mostly head to head matchups this weekend, I think it’s fair to suggest the Bombers will need to win at least three of their remaining games and maybe four if they are going to make the playoffs. And one of those wins will almost certainly have to be against the BC Lions on Oct. 25th at Investors Group Field.
That game will settle the season series between the two clubs. And, the outcome of that game might not matter if the Bombers don’t beat the Ticats this weekend.
