Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
On paper it doesn’t make sense to rave about a defence that gave up 28 points and 523 yards, but really there is so much about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that feels unconventional. I understand the crazy finish between Montreal and Toronto will be the lead headline, but it was the Bombers’ defence that caught my attention. Bigger picture, Winnipeg may be the most compelling team of the 2019 season but we will get there in a moment.
There is a reason why all of us writers for CFL.ca picked the Edmonton Eskimos to win on Friday night. The last time these team met Winnipeg won 28-21 in a game they were out-gained 445 to 283 yards. The Eskimos were 4-0 at home and without Matt Nichols, Mike O’Shea had to turn to Chris Streveler to make his first start on the road. Streveler’s young career is littered with big plays, but that’s a tough spot for the 24-year-old who came in with just over 150 career pass attempts.
It would be easy to shrug off Winnipeg’s 34-28 win over Edmonton as a simple bend-don’t-break night for the Bombers’ defence, but that wouldn’t do justice to all the athletes in Winnipeg. I find “bend-don’t-break” is sometimes code for “lucky” — that a defensive unit was getting dominated all night but was fortunate that their opponent just couldn’t execute near the goal line. That was not the case on Friday night.
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Twice in the second quarter Chandler Fenner prevented potential touchdowns, the first time by turning to face the incoming pass at the right time on a jump ball by Trevor Harris intended for Tevaun Smith. Fenner bodies up Smith like Dennis Rodman getting an offensive rebound. Then, near the end of the quarter, Fenner is in about as difficult a matchup as you can get as a defensive back, facing DaVaris Daniels one-on-one with Daniels running two double moves. The Eskimo receiver is able to get past his defender but a moment later, Fenner flashes back into the action and manages to gain enough ground for a leaping pass deflection. If he is half a second late, Edmonton would have produced that elusive touchdown.
Fenner wasn’t the only star of the night. Winston Rose knocked down a potential touchdown pass intended for Greg Ellingson, while Marcus Rios was right with Ricky Collins, perfectly breaking up a pass that would have led to a first-and-goal from the three if not for a perfectly timed break up. All of these plays turned potential touchdowns into yet another busy night for Sean Whyte, who made seven field goals. Even more impressive was that none of these plays had even the whiff of pass interference. In an era where the rules favour the offence, each of these moments was textbook pass coverage.
Speaking of Rios, his interception touchdown was a combination of his fingertip control to keep the deflected ball from hitting the ground and the chaos created in the pocket by the Bombers rush that resulted in Trevor Harris‘ pass being deflected by Alex McCalister.
Of course I’ve saved the best for last. My favourite statistic from this weekend: Coming into Week 11 the Eskimos’ offensive line had only allowed three sacks. Willie Jefferson sacked Trevor Harris three times. There can’t be a faster defensive linemen in the CFL. Harris had no chance on Jefferson’s first and third sacks, both coming in under three seconds with Willie blowing past both the left and right tackles. Jefferson’s versatility was on display as his second sack came with him lining up in the interior, and of course with his power forward-like wing span we were treated to his eighth pass deflection on the year. Jefferson is as much fun to watch as any CFL player and nobody on the field has a better time reveling in the moment like the two-time CFL All-Star. The Bombers have put together a hell of collection of athletes with Jefferson being the tip of the spear.
Bigger picture, Winnipeg is such an interesting team to follow. There’s a reason I started off by using the adjective “unconventional.” They have been out-gained by 407 yards by Edmonton in two games this season, yet O’Shea’s team has accounted for half of the Eskimos’ losses. For the next five to six weeks they will be led by a quarterback who is as much fullback as he is passer. With less than four minutes to go, Streveler had almost as many rushing yards (87) as passing (89). He is a joy to watch but for his long term health he will need to learn how to avoid so many big hits, and for the health of his team he is going to have to become a more consistent passer. He doesn’t need to be Mike Reilly but there will be moments where Winnipeg will need him to convert some late-game second-and-eights with his arm and not his legs.
They are led by a 32-year-old running back who absolutely is in the conversation for MOP. That fact alone is an outlier as beyond Jon Cornish in 2013 you have to go back to 1978 with Tony Gabriel winning it to find a Canadian who has won the CFL’s highest honour. It is official; Andrew Harris is not slowing down. I have no idea how he is doing it but in his 10th season Harris could end up having his most dominant campaign.
Of course, many sports fans will rightfully raise an eyebrow at Harris’ production with the news of his two-game suspension for testing positive for Metandienone. I have no idea what to believe considering how many times Harris has successfully passed drug tests over the years, but you have to balance that with the fact that sports history is littered with players denying taking any illegal substance and it came out they knew what they were doing. Big picture, Harris has been incredible throughout his career and has never tested positive in his 10 CFL seasons. This story will be a part of his legacy but it shouldn’t define his career.
I don’t have the foggiest clue what to expect with Winnipeg with their young quarterback learning on the job, but I can guarantee a couple things. They will be in every game, they will be wildly entertaining on both sides of the ball, and I can’t see all of us writers again unanimously picking against them again.
