Kickoff: Sunday, August 18th, 6 p.m. CDT; B.C. Place, Vancouver, B.C.
TV/Streaming: TSN, RDS2, CBS Sports Network, CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB
Streaks: Wpg: 1W; B.C.: 3L
Road/Home: The Blue Bombers are 0-4 on the road so far this year; the Lions are 3-0 at home.
Scene Setter
He’s dynamic, exciting, lightning-quick in his decision making and a threat with his arm while dangerous on the run. And he’s a Canadian at a position that has been dominated by Americans since the dawn of the three-down game.
That’s just part of why there has been an over-the-top buzz about Nathan Rourke’s return to the B.C. Lions from the NFL this week leading up to Sunday’s critical matchup with the Blue Bombers.
“It’s great for the CFL,” said Blue Bombers defensive back Deatrick Nichols of Rourke’s return. “He’s mastered the CFL. He’s mastered the game so we know he knows what he’s doing.
“They’re still going to do their same things. Once you play in a system… I was telling some of the guys I could go back right now and play the same system I did in college. Offence is probably no different, with the only thing that changes is the vocabulary.
“He’s got his job to do this week, we’ve got ours.”
There’s also this nugget: Rourke is 0-3 in his three career starts against Winnipeg, including the most-recent matchup — the 2022 Western Final. Worth noting: one of those losses should come with an asterisk, as he returned from his foot injury to start in the 2022 regular-season finale in Winnipeg and took 16 snaps before being replaced by Vernon Adams, Jr.
Over those three starts he’s completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 646 yards with four touchdowns against four interceptions. Just by comparison, in those same three games Zach Collaros completed 74.5 percent of his passes for 534 yards with six TDs and one pick, while also being limited in that ’22 regular-season finale.
So, what are we to read into all this, if anything? Past performances hardly dictate what happens in the future, but they do indicate Rourke and the Blue Bombers do have a history.
“We want to go out there and be as dominant as we can, especially on first down to get him into second and long situations,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “We want to try and make it rough for him. It’s his first game back and we want to make it memorable for him, give him nightmares.
“He’s seen us play. I’m sure he’s been watching film, but he’s been in the NFL and it’s been a while since he’s seen 12 guys on the field — he’s been looking at 11.
“He’s had this week to practice again. We’re going to show up and give him a show.”
THE DEPTH CHART
The Blue Bombers have made two changes to the depth chart this week. On are WR Kenny Lawler and DE Celestin Haba. Off are DT Devin Adams and WR/KR Kody Case.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Stakes Get Higher
The Rourke return makes for an interesting storyline but it is truly a subplot to the bigger picture in play on Sunday — the Blue Bombers and Lions are trying to get their games right heading into the second half of the season in what is already a wacky West Division race for playoff spots.
The Blue Bombers are out of the postseason discussion currently after their 0-4 start, but have since gone 3-2 — including the dominant 25-zilch win over the Lions in their last game before the bye week. B.C., meanwhile, has dropped three straight.
A win by the Blue Bombers would not only pull them into a third-place tie with the Calgary Stampeders, who lost Thursday night, but give them the season series against the Lions. The two sides split the first two meetings in Winnipeg this year.
The Blue Bombers also own the tiebreaker against the Stamps, FYI.
“The second half of the season has got to be about momentum and just building our team to be the team we want to be in November,” linebacker Adam Bighill told bluebombers.com earlier this week. “You don’t just get to November and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to be a different team now.’ You get to this half and the back third of the season and you want to be trending the right way in terms of execution and performance and attention to detail. You want to be winning and playing good football.”
Winnipeg has this meeting against the Lions on Sunday, followed by a visit to Winnipeg next week by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and then the annual Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl throw down with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That’s followed by a home-and-home with the Edmonton Elks, a trip to Hamilton, a home date with Toronto and then the regular-season finale in a visit to Montreal.
2. Help En Route: Lawler and Haba Return
One of the dominant narratives to the first-half of the Blue Bombers season was how crowded the infirmary had become with one starter after another dropping due to injury. Two position groups, the receiving corps and the defensive line, were devastated by injuries to pass catchers Dalton Schoen, Kenny Lawler, Drew Wolitarsky, Keric Wheatfall and defenders Cam Lawson, Celestin Haba, Miles Fox and TyJuan Garbutt.
Lawler, the game-breaking star receiver, and Haba, an emerging force at end, are back Sunday to bolster the lineup.
“I worked really hard coming into the season to come in here and kill it,” Lawler said. “Having the arm injury set me back but with where we are in the season now it’s more than ever about whatever the team needs from me.
“I’m not worried about accolades, I’m not worried about statistics. It really is about going 1-0 and giving the guys whatever they need. That’s all that really matters. And when we’re kicking ass all that other stuff comes with it. You’ve got to let those things coming to you. I just know when I’m on the field, the plays are going to come.”
Winnipeg ranks last in the CFL with just five passing TDs and last in sacks with 14.
3. TDs > FGs
Simple math here, but a critical area the Blue Bombers must improve in the second half of the season is their score-zone production. Winnipeg has 11 score-zone touchdowns this year — worst in the CFL so far — and Sergio Castillo has already connected on 28 field goals.
“We need to stay on the field, have less turnovers and obviously put more points on the board,” said slotback Nic Demski. “We’ve had some really good drives this year but they’ve ended in threes. And as much as we like Serge, we want to end the drive with seven.
“So, that’s what it’s got to be about in the second half of the season for us: staying on the field, less penalties, less turnovers and more TDs.”
A telling number, courtesy the CFL: Collaros is 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) for 48 yards with two TDs and no picks in the score zone this season. Only Ottawa’s Dru Brown has a lower completion percentage (31.3) in that area among starters so far this season.
Also worth noting: Collaros has completed 75 percent of his passes for 1,222 yards with four TDs and four picks in his last four games.
“We’ve gotten better at moving the football but there’s still a lot of things to clean up, even dating back to the last game,” Collaros said earlier this week. “There’s alignment issues. Assignment and alignment are the two things you can take care of, without there being any variables. So we need to do a better job of that.
“… We’ve done a pretty good job of staying ahead of the chains the last couple of weeks on first down, and converting second downs. We need to get a lot better at scoring touchdowns, something we’ve done well in the past. But we need to continue to strive for and score more.”
The Last Word:
“Everything counts now. It’s getting interesting and it feels even more like you’re playing for something. No matter what situation you’re in — playing for the first seed or the third seed — everybody is playing for something. You’ve got to love everything that comes with it right now. It’s part of our journey.” — Blue Bombers defensive back Deatrick Nichols.