Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Brandon Bridge was watching from the sidelines, the deafening waves of a packed Winnipeg house washing over him with each Bombers touchdown scored in the Banjo Bowl last week.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders backup quarterback watched the Bombers’ ritual of jumping up on the wall in the end zone when they score touchdowns. He saw their o-linemen suctioned to the wall and watched as their entire offence started to get in on the act, sitting on the railing and feeding the frenzy at Investors Group Field.
Well before he knew he’d end up getting into that game, Bridge knew what he wanted to do.
“When they scored I saw them all jump up there and I said, ‘You know what, we’ve got to shut that down,’” he said on Thursday.
“I said, ‘Whenever I score I’m going to do it.’”
He got his chance, going in for an injured Kevin Glenn late in the third quarter. He made an athletic play from the 10-yard line, hurdling his way into the end zone. When he got up, he went straight into the beer-fuelled belly of the beast and threw himself into the crowd. Or, he tried. to.
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“That Bomber fan pushed me down and I said ‘Oh, they don’t like me,’” Bridge said, getting some laughter out of the scrum of reporters around him.
Like his 4-8 passing for 67 yards, the one rushing touchdown and the interception he threw in the game, that play was a small sampling of what Bridge is about. As the backup, he’s never sure of when he might get to lead the offence, but he’s ready. And he’s a competitor.
He enters Friday night’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats shrouded in mystery — he could be getting the start if Glenn’s hand is still hurting — but he swears up and down that he’s as in the dark on the matter as much as anyone else has been this week.
“I saw Kevin Glenn out there throwing today. He actually looked pretty good,” he said when asked if this weeklong will he/won’t he was just a show.
“But I’m confident. I took a lot of reps this week, so if the coaches do call upon me I am prepared and I am ready. We are still waiting on what Kevin Glenn says.”
Bridge said that Glenn wore a glove in the team’s walk through practice Thursday morning, trying to get a feel for the ball. Riders coach Chris Jones didn’t offer any hints, saying that he’d decide on his starter on game day.
“I want Kevin to play and if he can’t play we’ve got some good quarterbacks behind him,” Jones said. “It’ll be their opportunity to go and show why they should be the starter.”
With Bridge taking the majority of the reps in practice this week, he’s the safe bet as starter should Glenn not be able to go. The Mississauga native won the backup job in training camp and has shown well in the few times he’s gotten into games this season.
At six-foot-five, 230 pounds and just 25-years old, Bridge fits the bill of what GMs around the league look for in a quarterback.
“He really has (grown playing backup),” Jones said. “He’s taken the bull by the horns. You see him in there studying and watching film, that type of thing. It’s going to be interesting to see where he is.”
Bridge said his increased attention to the game comes from growing up and the expectations he’s put on himself as a potential starter this week.
“You want to get in the extra film and you want to get the trust of the locker room, that’s the main thing,” he said. “If people don’t trust you, your coach isn’t going to put you in. So I want to be prepared.
“I was watching extra film just in case I do have to start, at least I’m ready and the coaches have that confidence (if I) come in early and leave late. If Kevin Glenn doesn’t play at least we have confidence in this guy that he can go out there and get the job done.”
If he does start, he’ll have some friends and family in the stands. His parents are coming in from Mississauga, along with a couple of friends.
“It’d mean a lot (to play close to home). I definitely want to win,” he said.
“I want to set the tone and get us on the right track. We lost our last game and it was very disappointing. We were on a hot streak and (Hamilton is) on a hot streak. Hopefully we can knock them off their little run and hopefully we can get back in the win column.”
Having been with the Riders since the middle of last season, Bridge is tired of seeing his team down and out.
“I think our guys are hungry. Everyone wants to go out there and set the tone from the first kickoff and really show everyone that Saskatchewan is a team that you have to worry about,” he said. “It’s not like the past couple of years, losing and being at the bottom of the West. We actually have something to play for and we’re actually a dominant team.”
If Bridge is in the game, his teammates know that they’ve got someone that’s not afraid to throw himself into a pile of defenders or a few thousand fans. Things like that carry a lot of weight.
