Montreal Alouettes @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers: June 8, 2016

[Will]

Talk.

[Will]

Each Alouette QB (if they are indeed dressing 7) gets 8:30 to show their stuff.

[Will]

The Als offensive line will be worth keeping an eye on. With Picard retiring and Bourke leaving there are questions. Ruby just got beat bad by Westerman on the previous series.

[Will]

Glenn putting up decent stats, but pretty clear that Winnipeg's D isn't showing everything out there. Extremely soft coverage.

[Kenners]

Hella flags by the bombers!

[Will]

Hella flags by the bombers!

Par for the course for the pre-season.

[Will]

Sucks to see Jeff Keeping go down. Hope he is all right.

[Kenners]

Fumble? Knee looks down

[Will]

The Bomber 35th stringers may be better than Montreal's 35th stringers. Just sayin'

[doubleblue]

I liked the young Bomber QB's, Davis and Bennett. This might be Nichols last year in Winnipeg if they continue to develop. Winnipeg is going to make some noise this year with Harris, Dressler and Smith being added to the offense IMO. O'Shea finally has a decent offensive co-ordinator in LaPolice.
So, Good job Walters. For Bringing in some good talent and building up the Canadian depth.

The battle for third place in the West is going to be interesting between BC and Winnipeg. You have to give Calgary and Edmonton the two top spots.

[KCargosfan]

I liked the young Bomber QB's, Davis and Bennett. This might be Nichols last year in Winnipeg if they continue to develop. Winnipeg is going to make some noise this year with Harris, Dressler and Smith being added to the offense IMO. O'Shea finally has a decent offensive co-ordinator in LaPolice.
So, Good job Walters. For Bringing in some good talent and building up the Canadian depth.

The battle for third place in the West is going to be interesting between BC and Winnipeg. You have to give Calgary and Edmonton the two top spots.

Amazing he has lasted this long.

[ArgoRavi]

Amazing he has lasted this long.

I only realized last night that Nichols, Bo Levi Mitchell and Vernon Adams were all QBs at the same school - Eastern Washington. I believe that Mitchell and Nichols overlapped by a year while Adams redshirted during Mitchell's final season.

[gilthethrill]

I notice the Winnipeg kicker Castillo went 4-4 in FG's. He won't beat out Madlock (not at typo), but he may find employment elsewhere in the league.

[Will]

I notice the Winnipeg kicker Castillo went 4-4 in FG's. He won't beat out Madlock (not at typo), but he may find employment elsewhere in the league.

I believe he did miss 1 field goal, but yeah he definitely upped his stock for a job somewhere.

[R.J]

Alouettes Glenn and Bridge looked impressive. Also liked what I saw from the Bombers Dominque Davis.

[jerrym]

The win was important for the Bombers' psyche.



Don’t tell the Bombers their 36-13 pre-season win Wednesday night over the Alouettes doesn’t count for anything.
True, they’ll have to wait until June 24 to impact the standings, but a strong showing in all three phases has their 2016 campaign off to a strong start.
For a team seeking a culture change, winning in pre-season matters.
“It’s huge,” said running Bombers running back Andrew Harris, who powered his way to a six-yard gain on his first unofficial carry as a Bomber. “This city needs it, this club needs it and I’ve been telling the guys to get used to this.”
Bombers fans watched intently as the Winnipeg native put on the royal blue for the first time on Wednesday. Harris headlines a trio of major off-season additions that have given the Bomber offence a brand new look.
Ryan Smith was the first one involved with a 32-yard catch on the Bombers’ first completion. Weston Dressler was the holder on field goals but didn’t take any offensive snaps. In the end, it was Harris that energized Bombers fans the most.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/06/09/harris-ive-telling-guys-get-used/

[jerrym]

Castillo looked good going 4/4 on FGs.



Sergio Castillo was perfect on four field goal tries and Tim Flanders scored on the final play of the first half, leading the Bombers to a 36-13 pre-season win over the Alouettes on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.
Bryan Bennett contributed a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to seal the deal, sending Winnipeg to a 1-0 record in pre-season on a night that saw several quarterbacks play for both clubs.
Bombers fans hoping to see Andrew Harris and Ryan Smith weren’t disappointed, as Smith made a 32-yard catch from Drew Willy in limited action while Harris showed off his impressive downhill running style on a screen play that went for a touchdown but was called back.
Justin Medlock kicked his first field goal as a Bomber from long range, but in the end it was his backup Castillo making the biggest difference, hitting three of his game-high four field goals in the third quarter to pace the Bombers to the eventual victory in the CFL pre-season opener.
Weston Dressler did not get reps on offence for the Bombers but served as a holder on special teams, while Drew Willy and Kevin Glenn each played for the entire first quarter.
Glenn, named the Alouettes’ starting quarterback going into pre-season, finished a busy night with 14 completions on 19 attempts for 140 yards and a touchdown, including a strike to Nik Lewis early in the second quarter to give the Alouettes a 7-3 lead.
Willy finished his day with three completions on six passing attempts for 52 yards.
Glenn and Willy each played the entire first quarter, which ended in a 3-0 Bombers lead on a 47-yard field goal by free agent signing Medlock.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/06/08/castillo-kicks-bombers-pre-season-win-als/

[jerrym]

Video of Als Chandler Jones TD on a pass from Cato:

http://en.montrealalouettes.com/2016/06/09/terrific-touchdown-of-chandler-jones/

[ArgoRavi]

Alouettes Glenn and Bridge looked impressive. Also liked what I saw from the Bombers Dominque Davis.

Do you mean that Glenn and Cato looked impressive? Bridge barely played.

[jerrym]

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;It&#39;s huge. This city needs it, this club needs it.&quot; - <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewharris33">@andrewharris33</a> on tonight&#39;s win<a href="https://t.co/sHx4nUc8ji">https://t.co/sHx4nUc8ji</a></p>&mdash; Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wpg_BlueBombers/status/740778326826983424">June 9, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[KCargosfan]

I only realized last night that Nichols, Bo Levi Mitchell and Vernon Adams were all QBs at the same school - Eastern Washington. I believe that Mitchell and Nichols overlapped by a year while Adams redshirted during Mitchell's final season.

And Mike Reilly went to Central Washington.

Glenn = Illinois State
Ray = Sacramento State
Lulay = Montana State
Jennings = Saginaw Valley State

It's interesting how the majority of the starting quarterbacks are from I-AA schools (or D-II with Jennings).

Throw in Burris (Temple), Willy (Buffalo) and Trevor Harris (Edinboro), and all the QBs likely to get major playing time outside of Durant (North Carolina) are from smaller schools.

[jerrym]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Results are in! You voted Timothy Flanders the <a href="https://twitter.com/impactsecgrp">@impactsecgrp</a> player of the game vs MTL on <a href="https://t.co/zpMMChiUC5">https://t.co/zpMMChiUC5</a> <a href="https://t.co/fYeYlpktAc">pic.twitter.com/fYeYlpktAc</a></p>&mdash; Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wpg_BlueBombers/status/741704927060205568">June 11, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[jerrym]

Matt Nichols discusses how he feels after TC and first preseason game.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;I think from top to bottom this receiving core has a lot of great understanding.&quot; - <a href="https://twitter.com/MattNichols16">@MattNichols16</a><a href="https://t.co/S9Rzuabo4V">https://t.co/S9Rzuabo4V</a></p>&mdash; Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wpg_BlueBombers/status/741702349807181824">June 11, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[jerrym]

Willy discusses TC prep, basic preseason game strategy vs regular season complexity and receivers.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;It&#39;s fun to play in front of our fans and get some momentum going.&quot; - <a href="https://twitter.com/Drew_Willy">@Drew_Willy</a> on the first win.<a href="https://t.co/TD8fRmmPTc">https://t.co/TD8fRmmPTc</a></p>&mdash; Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wpg_BlueBombers/status/741700963572973568">June 11, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[jerrym]

Recap of the game:



Some lines were completely forgotten, others brutally flubbed. And so, as initial Canadian Football League dress rehearsals go, it pretty much met any and every expectation.
All that said, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 36-13 sloppy-but-entertaining victory over the Montreal Alouettes in front of 23,334 at Investors Group Field Wednesday night did offer up enough to leave this team’s diehards wanting more.
Much more.
Quarterback Drew Willy started and exited without getting dinged, the spiffy new free agent additions flashed small sample size evidence of why so many in this town are giddy about their arrivals and – just as important – a handful of the newcomers did what they were supposed to do by popping off the page to make the coaches’ evaluations difficult.
Granted, the 2016 edition is still very much a work in progress and the club has little time to hone things further with the preseason finale going this Monday in Ottawa against the REDBLACKS. But a win is a win is a win, as the old saying goes, even if it is just an exhibition. ...

WHO STEPPED UP
– Kicker Sergio Castillo: He might just be the longest of long shots in Bomber camp as he is battling the most accurate kicker in CFL history in Justin Medlock, but after missing his first attempt from 44 yards, he then connected on four straight from 35, 44, 39 and 49. Put it this way: he might be in tough here, but helped himself with his performance.
“I’m just thankful I got another opportunity after I missed the first one,” said Castillo. “You’re going to have misses here and there. I just saw it as an opportunity to bounce back.”
– DL Adrian Hubbard: He can play both end and tackle and with the Bombers looking for someone to anchor the other side of the line opposite Jamaal Westerman, his first night’s work was solid.
– RB Timothy Flanders: Benefitted from a replay that overturned a fumble, but showed a burst and later scored on a one-yard TD at the end of the first half.
–WR/KR Quincy McDuffie: Made one glaring error, and it likely cost him a TD, when he whiffed on a pass near the goal line that was intercepted. But showed explosiveness in the return game that hinted at why the Hamilton Tiger-Cats kept him around as insurance to Brandon Banks the last couple of years.
– QB’s Dominique Davis and Bryan Bennett: They’re battling each other for the third-string gig behind Drew Willy and Matt Nichols and were both solid. Yes, it’s only the preseason, but Davis was way more decisive than in his first CFL start last November in Toronto.
And Bennett, the hard-throwing product of Southeastern Louisiana and Oregon, ran for a score and hooked up with Fred Williams for a 28-yard TD inside the final three minutes.
“I don’t look back at old games, but I did want to build off that,” said Davis, when asked if it helped to have last year’s start under his belt. “I just take it one day at a time and transfer it from practice to the game.
“There were some good things and some things I need to work on, but I’ll get in the film room tomorrow and work from there.”
– New guys Ryan Smith, Andrew Harris, Euclid Cummings, Medlock and Keith Shologan: Smith pulled in a 32-yard pass from Willy, Harris had a superb catch-and-run TD wiped out by a penalty; Cummings was a beast on a third-and-short stop while Medlock crushed a 47-yarder to open the scoring. Weston Dressler, FYI, suited up but was limited to holding for Medlock and did not take any offensive snaps. He’s been a bit banged up in the last few days.
“This is huge, it’s huge,” said Harris. “This city needs it, this club needs it. I’ve been telling the guys, ‘Get used to it.’ The feeling of winning is something you need to get used to and you’ve got to understand how to do it and appreciate it.”

http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/06/08/wpg-vs-mtl-game-recap/
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[jerrym]

Upon further review of the game:

http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/06/09/upon-further-review-wpg-vs-mtl/