Tiger-Cats know that it’s always tricky in Winnipeg
Mike O’Shea cannot be trusted.
It’s not just the permanent smirk or his history of abandoning the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a player — sins for which the faithful have yet forgive — but the fact that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach has a reputation for unleashing nefarious special teams trickery at every opportunity.
It’s a lesson Ticats head coach June Jones learned the hard the way in Week 3 when O’Shea called for a fake punt on a thirdand-four early in the second quarter. It was executed perfectly, leading to a first down and field goal.
“Coming off a bye week, they’re going to do some funny things. You can’t practise them but you have to be assignment perfect and if you are, you’ll have those things covered,” Jones said this week. “But one break, one missed assignment and they run the fake? Guess what, it’s not fun.”
The two teams face each other in Winnipeg on Friday night. The Ticats won the first matchup 31-17 on June 29, seizing on the rawness of rookie quarterback Chris Streveler. But veteran Matt Nichols is back behind centre and Winnipeg is entirely different team with him at the helm.
Things have changed in Hamilton, too. The trade of backup Johnny Manziel to Montreal saw receiver Chris Williams and Canadian defensive end Jamaal Westerman join the Ticats. Westerman also spent the last three seasons in Winnipeg.
Westerman said the Ticat coaching staff picked his brain this week on what to expect from the Bombers, particularly on special teams.
“I know Osh (O’Shea) and I know he likes to get after it on special teams. I told them a lot of the code words but I know they probably changed a lot of things,” he said. “As much as I can give, I try and give but if they switch it and we’re all looking for one thing, they hit us
with something else. You give what you know but you do it with a grain of salt.”
But Westerman did (jokingly) say he knew the secret to stopping Canadian running back Andrew Harris, the CFL’s leading rusher. The key: uniform police.
“I got all the secrets. He doesn’t like hot games, he likes to roll up his pants so his calves can show ... hopefully he’ll follow the CFL rules,” Westerman said on a conference call while Harris chuckled in the background. “Hopefully he’ll get real tired and runs out of gas.”
If Jones is trying to get a handle on O’Shea’s trickery, the Bombers head coach says his defence is adjusting to Hamilton’s offensive system, the run-and-shoot. After
the Ticats’ 50-point outburst last week against Montreal, they are first in the CFL in net offence and second in offensive points per game.
“It’s been around, obviously, but it’s new again to this league so there is some adjustment in there,” O’Shea said. “There are certain things that aren’t just your normal combinations that you see out there.”
The coaches gave virtually identical answers when asked to assess their teams.
“Growing, you know, getting better,” O’Shea said.
“I feel every week like we’re getting a little better,” Jones said.
We’ll find out Friday who’s telling the truth.