June 21, 2016

Bombers’ Harris hoping to lead culture change in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG — This is the year things will be different.

At least those are the words of Blue Bombers star running back and key off-season acquisition Andrew Harris. The Winnipeg native will wear hometown colours for the first time in his career this weekend and, what’s more, begin the process of changing the perception of his team on the field.

Off the field it began as soon as he signed.

“Man, we’re not gonna suck,” Harris remembers responding to a fan in Winnipeg this off-season. Harris had heard it all from the fans back home – ‘I’m gonna watch the Bombers again’, ‘I don’t watch the CFL’.

‘The Bombers suck’.

“We’re a different team,” Harris replied to that. “That was the past.”

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Drew Willy takes a snap during Bombers training camp in Winnipeg (BlueBombers.com)

The phrase ‘culture change’ is so cliché it’s almost lost all meaning. Not in Winnipeg; not this year. There’s still this label the Bombers just haven’t been able to shake, personified by zero playoff appearances since playing in the Grey Cup in 2011 and countless dashed hopes.

Cliché? Call it what you want. Harris says the Bombers need a facelift.

“The expectations, and I don’t know if that’s in the locker-room, I don’t know if guys are just expecting to lose,” said Harris. “I don’t know. But from what I’ve heard or seen in the city, it’s not a positive outlook on the Bombers.

“My goal is to change that – to change that culture and get that city excited again.”

The losing has gotten old, but everything else in Winnipeg is new. General Manager Kyle Walters spent the off-season overhauling a roster that went 5-13 last season, with many high-profile acquisitions centring on Harris, Ryan Smith and Weston Dressler.

The Bombers’ running game was the fourth-worst in the CFL (84.8 yards per game) so he added a franchise back in Harris. The passing game was even worse (eighth in the league, 231.4 yards per game) so he brought in shiny new weapons for Drew Willy in Dressler and Smith.

The most accurate kicker in league history in Justin Medlock ensures kicking woes won’t cost the Bombers any more last-minute victories, while Keith Shologan and Euclid Cummings will team up with Jamaal Westerman to form one of the more intimidating defensive lines in the CFL.

With Paul LaPolice in place of Marcel Bellefeuille and an offence designed to keep franchise quarterback Willy upright and put the ball in the hands of explosive playmakers, on paper it all looks pretty good.

On paper. Walters knows there are no guarantees.

“All the perceived improvements on paper, everybody’s starting out the same,” said Walters. “You play the games and you win or you lose and that’s how you’re judged; that’s just how it is in our line of work.

“We’re optimistic of the changes we’ve made and we’re happy the guys we’ve brought in are going to make us better, but we’ll see in a few weeks.”

“My goal is to change that – to change that culture and get that city excited again.”
Andrew Harris

BlueBombers.com

Andrew Harris will be the focal point of an up-start Bomber offence in 2016 (BlueBombers.com)

It’s easy to see why the optimism is tempered after things went so wrong a year ago, highlighted by a season-ending injury to Willy. The Bombers started their season reasonably well, but when Willy went down they had no answers. If the Bombers want a better win-loss record, it starts with that position, where they have got to believe they’re much better off than a year ago.

While the young O-line has had another year to grow and gel together, LaPolice has worked on fine-tuning his offence to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, much like the offence we saw in Ottawa last year that allowed Henry Burris to start all 18 regular season games. And if Willy does get hurt, this year the Bombers at least have a qualified backup in Matt Nichols – a luxury they weren’t afforded until after Labour Day last year.

To that end there’s no doubt the Bombers have improved as a football team. The question is will it be enough? Head Coach Mike O’Shea is the only returning head coach in the West but he’s also never made the playoffs. The blueprint set out by Walters looks promising but has not yet yielded results.

Jobs are on the line and while some optimism is in the air, the fans in Winnipeg have heard all of it before. You can only sell so much promise.

“The thing is we don’t have the luxury of a transition period, we just don’t,” said Willy, who threw eight touchdown passes to just three interceptions in his seven starts last season. “It’s one of those things – we’ve got to win from the get-go.

“You’re going all-in,” he added. “A lot of teams don’t believe in building through free agency, but what are you supposed to do? Stay the same? We were 5-13, you’ve got to spark. The fans want to see something different.”

The Bombers have made the changes they deem necessary, but there’s still something missing. In football you can make changes to no end without result. Success starts and ends with a winning culture.

Smith, Dressler, Harris – they’re exciting players, and the energy surrounding the Bombers is high going into the 2016 season.

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Ryan Smith huddles with other Bombers newscomes Andrew Harris and Weston Dressler (BlueBombers.com)

“I have never really had this much excitement going into a season just because, you know, new team, new goals – new everything,” said Smith. “It’s kind of just a sense of urgency to get on the field right now.”

Added Willy: “This is definitely the most excited I’ve ever been for a season.”

It’ll only get better, at least if the Bombers have anything to say about it. When Harris thinks of a culture change, he’s thinking football in November.

“That’s all I’m thinking about,” said Harris. “My goal is just to get us in the playoffs. Get us in the playoffs, and that alone will be huge. Get us in a situation where we’re dominant in the playoffs and we can get a first-round bye.

“I think we have a solid-knit group of winners that work hard and I definitely think it’s attainable for sure.”

A winning culture all starts with a single win. The Bombers kick off their season on Friday, June 24 with a home matchup against Kevin Glenn and the Montreal Alouettes.