Friday Night Preview – Bombers Poised To Clinch, Rourke Stresses “Urgency”
WINNIPEG – Willie Jefferson doesn’t like to look too far ahead, but there is something he’d like to see happen after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Edmonton Elks on Friday.
A victory by the Blue Bombers (8-6) in front of a third straight sellout at Princess Auto Stadium would clinch a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season, one in which the team started 0-4.
“We don’t necessarily worry about standings and all that stuff,” Jefferson said Thursday after Winnipeg’s walk-through practice.
“But after the game when we get to the locker room and we get the chance to think about everything that’s going forward, it would feel a lot better to win this game and have that playoff spot.”
The Bombers are riding a six-game win streak and lead the CFL West Division.
The Elks sit at 5-9, fourth in the division and still in the playoff picture.
Friday’s rematch comes after Winnipeg defeated Edmonton 27-14 last week in a game that was tied 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when Winnipeg veteran quarterback Zach Collaros helped engineer three touchdown drives, including running back Brady Oliveira’s first two majors of the season. He finished with 127 yards off 18 carries.
Collaros always follows the team’s one-game-at-a-time mantra and said clinching a playoff spot won’t be a notable achievement.
“I think we’ll be worried about the next game, honestly,” Collaros said. “I know that’s a cliché thing to say and it’s kind of coach-speak and you hear that from me all the time as well, but I’ll be thinking about the next opponent for sure because the goal is the goal.
“You’ve got to start by getting to the playoffs, obviously, but we think we have bigger things ahead of us.”
VANCOUVER – Quarterback Nathan Rourke says the B.C. Lions “have to have a sense of urgency” as they prepare for their final four games of the CFL season.
“There’s a lot of importance in these last four games,” Rourke said after practice this week. “We’ve got to get it going.”
The Lions (7-7) want to get back on track when they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-9) at B.C. Place Friday night. B.C. is coming off an embarrassing 33-17 loss at home to the Toronto Argonauts two weeks ago that left them in second place in the CFL West.
Across the country, a three-game winning streak has put the Tiger-Cats back in playoff contention in the East.
The Lions started the campaign 5-1 but are 2-6 in their last eight games. They head into the weekend two points behind the first-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers and one ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
After looking strong in beating Ottawa and Montreal by a combined score of 75-35, the Lions managed just 222 total yards against Toronto. Rourke was pulled after completing six of 12 passes for 110 yards and no touchdowns.
“We’re trying to piece it together ourselves,” Rourke said in trying to explain why the Lions can be ferocious one game, then kittens the next. “At the end of the day it comes down to being able to play a complete game.
“That’s what all the good teams around the league do. They are able to play four quarters and have their offence help their defence.”
Rourke is 2-3 in the five games he has played since returning to the CFL after failing to land a job in the NFL. The Canadian-born quarterback has completed 79 of 126 passes for 1,099 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. In the last two games Rourke has no touchdown passes and has thrown three interceptions.
Coming out of a bye week, Rick Campbell, B.C.’s head coach and co-general manager wanted to stop any talk of a quarterback controversy in Vancouver by saying Rourke remains the Lions starter.
“I don’t want to create any confusion,” said Campbell. “Right now this is what we’re doing. I want there to be clarity and not a debate going on.”
(Canadian Press)
