Drew Willy will play half the game as a tune-up for the regular season.

He’s been given the keys to a new muscle car and, as much as Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy must be itching to let the thing loose, he understands fully and completely how this works.
Canadian Football League preseason games are more often about finding rhythm and timing – all while working in vanilla schemes – and getting ready for when it all is for real. It often means a high-powered beast comes out of second gear only for a moment and teases everyone, including the man behind the wheel, at the possibilities.
And so as much as winning last week’s exhibition debut against the Montreal Alouettes got River City buzzing, and a win Monday in Ottawa in the final dress rehearsal would only enhance that vibe in advance of the regular-season opener, it’s about a methodical build to November. ...

Thus the question that was put to Willy Sunday afternoon in Ottawa at the team’s hotel: with those kinds of restrictions in place in the preseason, how does a quarterback really know he and the offence are ready for prime time?
“I don’t know if you ever know if you’re ready,” began Willy. “We’ve gotten off to good starts the past couple of years in the opening game, but it’s a long season, a marathon, and really you want to be playing your best football at the end. You’d like to get off to a hot start and keep the consistency going.
“For myself, it’s just getting more and more reps, not necessarily even game reps. There’s different situations I need to be put in, whether it’s game or practice.”
Willy will start Monday’s game against the REDBLACKS and figures to play at least a half. Matt Nichols will also see his time at the controls increase, meaning Dominique Davis and Bryan Bennett might get limited snaps behind centre. That’s part of the delicate balance coaches must deal with in preseason – using games to evaluate personnel while at the same time getting their starters the work they need to be ready when the curtain lifts.
Willy said he’s got a grip on Paul LaPolice’s playbook and that there are no play calls that would have him momentarily racking his brain. But there’s also a second component to being a quarterback at the controls of a new attack.
“… To be able to coach it and teach it is the big thing,” said Willy. “If there’s guys in the huddle that are young and they’re looking at you and saying, ‘How do I run this route? Or how do I do this?’ and with a certain amount of play clock time, I’ve got a lot to think about. That’s where you know that you really get it, you’re able to teach it or tell a guy in the huddle exactly how you want it done within a certain time limit.
“It’s getting to the point where I can relate it exactly how Coach LaPo and Coach Buck Pierce want it and be able to teach it to the other guys.”
Now, as much as Bomber Nation cringes whenever Willy goes down in a heap, the club’s QB1 said his job is to get rid of the ball quickly. And with flashes the offence has shown, he believes the engine will soon be purring.
http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/06/1...ke-wpg-at-ott/