STREAMING PPV: Montreal Alouettes @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Nov. 7, 24:00 CET (12 midnight, 7 pm ET)
The Montreal Alouettes got their playoff ticket punched on Friday night but will look to end the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ eight-game winning streak on Saturday.
The Als got an X next to their name when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats topped the BC Lions on Friday night, quelling any chance of a West crossover and simultaneously clinching both Eastern clubs’ playoff berths.
Saturday marks the second time that Trevor Harris will pull on a Montreal Alouettes jersey since coming over from the Edmonton Elks. In his time under centre last week against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Harris threw for 123 yards and a touchdown, coming short of a fourth-quarter comeback.
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Harris is slated to man the Alouettes’ offence for the immediate future amid their playoff push as the sidelined Vernon Adams Jr. and Matthew Shiltz recover from injuries. With an opportunity in front of him to hand the Bombers their second loss of the season, Harris is hoping his experience can lead the way.
“I’m just going to go out and do what I do,” said Harris. “I’m going to go out there and do my best to read coverage, put the ball where it’s supposed to; just trying my best to be the ‘mailman’ and just deliver the mail where it’s supposed to go and let those playmakers do what they do with it.”
Late season, and even post-season, success is nothing new to Harris. In 2018 with the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Harris completed 29 of 32 passes for 367 yards and a CFL playoff-record six touchdowns. He followed that up with 288 passing yards and a touchdown in the team’s loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the 2018 Grey Cup.
Now having a quarter and a full week of practice under his belt, head coach Khari Jones wants Harris to be himself on the field.
“I just want him to do what he’s done his whole career,” said Jones. “Get the ball out to guys, get it in their hands, let them do what they do. He’s good, he’s just a quality football player and I think the guys have really taken to him and having a veteran presence like him who’s seen a lot is good for the ball club.”
Going up against the Bombers’ pass rush that sees the talent of Willie Jefferson, Jackson Jeffcoat and the numerous game-wreckers, the Alouettes will have to keep Harris on his feet. Last week against the Riders, the Alouettes gave up five sacks for a loss of 31 yards. This week, Jones is hoping the week of practice has addressed their performance on the offensive line.
“It was probably one of our best games up front in general,” said Jones. “We haven’t had a whole lot of games like that. With our guys in there, I expect us to be better and I just got to make sure I can help them out when I can with the play calls.”
In Winnipeg, the Bombers are coming off a bye week after shutting out the BC Lions to the tune of 45-0 and look to keep their buzz-saw-like offence rolling.
Through 11 games played this season, the Bombers’ offence leads the league in many measurable statistics. With a league-high 23.4 points per game, 257 points and 5.2 yards per play, the Bombers’ offence has become progressively better every week and as a result, working in tandem with their defence, they have outscored their opponents 304-116.
On Saturday, the Bombers’ offence will be faced with one of their harder tests before the playoffs as they’ll have to go against the Alouettes defence. A defence that Zach Collaros spoke highly of.
“They’re a very good defence, I think they lead the league in a lot of categories,” said Collaros. “They take the football away with a high rate and they also get after the quarterback. It’s going to be a challenge for us and we’ll have to be ready to play at a high level.”
As for their defence, Saturday will see the season debut of Winston Rose who agreed to terms with the Bombers earlier this month.
Rose, 27, was a part of the Bombers’ 2019 Grey Cup run and was named a CFL All-Star before embarking on a new chapter of his football career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Back in blue for the second time now, Rose is excited about the team he is rejoining and is ecstatic about what they look to achieve.
“They having an unbelievable season, 10-1, that’s something you can’t even think of,” said Rose. ”Especially last game, they shut out the BC Lions, I know that’s very hard to – especially in this league – shut out a team. I’m just coming in to do my part and just to help the team.”
With the Bombers being so dominant for such a long stretch this season, teams may fall into the habit of losing focus and looking past games. Head coach Mike O’Shea believes his squad has not fallen into that trap due to the personalities on the team.
“They seem pretty motivated the way they’re practicing,” said O’Shea. “There’s no signs that I need to interject. They like the feeling when they end up on the right side of the scoreboard, they have a process that they stick to and they haven’t given me any signs that they’re letting up on their process.”
AFI, Visaic and the CFL
American Football International is collaborating with Visaic and the Canadian Football League to present 2021 CFL games live. This is more than a livestream. This is a stream of the top flight TSN network television broadcast.
