Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
In case this is news to you: Jeremiah Masoli is hot. Really hot.
With the Ticats quarterback riding a seven-game streak of passing for over 300 yards, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have their hands full and eyes zeroed in on Masoli’s every move when they head to Tim Hortons Field to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night.
“He’s a great quarterback. He’s good at scrambling, reminds me a lot of Mike Reilly,” Taylor Loffler told BlueBombers.com’s Ed Tait on Wednesday. “Whenever he scrambles, he keeps his eyes downfield, so, biggest thing with the DB’s is once he gets out of the pocket, (we’ve got to) plaster to a man. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us to get the win.”
Masoli ranks second in the league after two games with 676 passing yards as his team hosts Winnipeg in their home opener Friday night.
Winnipeg ranks second in fewest points among teams who’ve played two games with 43, only behind Calgary (21). Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Anthony Gaitor (12) and Adam Bighill (11) rank in the leagues top ten in tackles. Their performance will be crucial in limiting the abilities of Masoli.
The Bombers look to make their argument on defence Friday night versus the Tiger-Cats, and Adam Bighill may need to anchor that performance. (BlueBombers.com)
The Bombers are coming off a convincing win over the Montreal Alouettes. Leaning on the strong performance of their rookie quarterback Chris Streveler to put up the offensive points, the Bombers defence were able to return the favour in holding Drew Willy and the Als to just ten points.
“I think we’ve played good, but not great. That’s what we want to be. We want to be great,” Bombers defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat told the media on Wednesday.
The Bombers defence ranks near the top in just about every defensive category. It’s perhaps still too early to determine whether that’s a legitimate testament of how good this defensive unit is.
That’s why their game against the Ticats this weekend is being seen as the top matchup in Week 3, as it will help determine whether the Bombers performance last week against the struggling Alouettes was a fluke or whether this team is legitimate.
“I just think we need more effort, adding to what we’ve already done. You’re always trying to improve yourself,” said Jeffcoat. “We’re not complacent with what we’ve done; it’s only the third game.”
With files from BlueBombers.com
