REGINA – Mike O’Shea has seen a lot in his years in the CFL. It’s a run that includes almost as many years as a player (16) as it does as coach (14), with the last 10 spent as the bench boss of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
There’s also few people who care about the three-down game more than O’Shea, who still ranks second all time in the CFL in defensive tackles (1,151). So, while O’Shea isn’t one to overhype a game or opponent – or much of anything, for that matter – he certainly understands the importance the Labour Day weekend has to the league and its fans.
“I’ll never forget my first game in a Toronto uniform, stepping onto the field on Labour Day in Hamilton,” O’Shea told the Free Press in the bowels of Mosaic Stadium Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s Labour Day Classic between the Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers Mike O’Shea understands and appreciates the importance the Labour Day weekend has to the league and its fans. (Heywood Yu / The Canadian Press files)
“I heard it and felt it. And I really appreciated it. It lets you know that the CFL is alive and well.”
The Bombers and Roughriders meet for the 58th edition of the Classic, with Saskatchewan winning 37 times to Winnipeg’s 20. Winnipeg has won the last two, but have just one victory in the previous 15.
Mosaic Stadium is sold out, and while some Bomber jerseys will be in sprinkled throughout the crowd, a majority of the 33,350 patrons will be clad in green. O’Shea and the Bombers are well-versed on how loud ‘Rider fans can be, so as per usual, they spent the last week of practice back home piping artificial noise into IG Field in an attempt to replicate Sunday’s raucous environment.
Add that to the fact Winnipeg is the more experienced team and possesses the most continuity from last year to this season and the Bombers are confident they’ll be able to not only get through it, but even enjoy playing in front of some extremely excited fans.
“It’s not that it’s easy. You have to work at it, but they’ve worked at it before and for a number of years,” O’Shea said. “They know what to expect, which is a big part of the battle, and they know that they have to stick to the process in order to function as an offence.”
HURTING BUT HEALTHY
No team will claim to be healthy at this point in the season, with every player, whether out with an injury or not, dealing with some aches and pains.
But while attending to various bumps and bruises is a regular part of playing in the CFL, there are teams bitten by the injury bug worse than others. When it comes to the Bombers, there might not be a healthier club, as the Blue and Gold are only down a few players, with some of those on the mend and close to returning.
“Nobody’s in great shape,” O’Shea said. “They feel great two days before training camp and then two days after training camp starts, no one’s ever perfect and they won’t be for the entire season, and they won’t be for an x-number of weeks or months after the season. That’s contact sport. Football is a tough game played with tough men and they’ve managed to put themselves back together every single week to get onto the field.”
The Bombers will welcome back defensive back Jamal Parker, who missed time for personal reasons. It won’t be long until linebacker Thiadric Hansen (Achilles tendon), defensive end Celestin Haba (hip) and linebacker Malik Clements (hamstring) are also available.
A big part of the Bombers’ lack of serious or long-term injuries has to do with players going above and beyond to take care of their bodies, as well as a leadership group that both encourages and holds the team accountable. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players are only expected to be at the team facility for 4.5 hours, with much of that time spent on the field practising or in meetings.
“It certainly takes a lot of commitment from the players. It’s very easy to leave at the end of the day and not spend the extra hour-and-a-half putting in the work,” O’Shea said. “It’s very easy to show up half-an-hour before and get your breakfast and go into a meeting. It’s difficult showing up an hour-and-a-half before and lifting before you’ve even started meetings, before even eating, and staying after and getting the extra work in.
“We have a very committed group of guys, and not just that, they really hold each other accountable, which I don’t think is difficult with these guys. There’s not a lot of dragging guys in to do extra work. Sometimes young guys don’t quite understand what it’s going to take to play a full season and be as healthy as you possibly can. The vets take them under their wings and drag them a little bit, but for the most part they’ve got a great understanding of what it’s going to take to play for a full season.”
HOUSTON, HE’S GOT A BIRTHDAY
Sunday will carry a bit of an extra-special feel for Bombers defensive back Demerio Houston. Not only is it his first Labour Day Classic but it also happens to fall on his 27th birthday.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Demerio Houston is hoping to celebrate his birthday with a couple of interceptions. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)
“My wishes are two interceptions, with one of them being a pick-6,” Houston, who is a father of five, including twins that came this season, said. “But also, to win the game, that’s most important.”
Nice catch there at the end. In fact, Houston had been doing quite a bit of catching in his third CFL season.
He currently leads the CFL with seven interceptions and his three fumble recoveries is also tops in the league. Houston will make just his 22nd start against the Roughriders.
“I’m on a good pace, striving for my goals and achieving them at this point,” Houston said. “We still got a long season ahead, so just trying to build on it.”
RIDERS RECEIVERS A TALENTED BUNCH
Two players the Bombers defence will want to keep an eye are Shawn Bane Jr. and Samuel Emilus, both of whom have been making a lot of noise this season, ranked in the top-10 among receivers in yards. Entering the weekend, they’re at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, with Bombers receivers Dalton Schoen (5th) and Nic Demski (6th) just ahead.
The Bombers defence will want to keep an eye on Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Shawn Bane Jr. who is ranked one of the top ten among receivers in yards. (Heywood Yu / The Canadian Press files)
Bane has 55 receptions for 656 yards and two touchdowns, while Emilus has four TDs to go with 35 receptions for 577 yards. The duo was particularly dangerous in a Week 2 loss to the Bombers, as Bane made six grabs for a team-high 132 yards and Emilus reeled in seven catches for 78 yards and a franchise record-tying three TDs.
“I was just trying to be in places that they weren’t,” Bane said. “I feel like I’m an elite athlete, so I just try to utilize that often and make every play that comes my way.”
“There was no secret sauce,” added Emilus. “I wish every game was like that, but at the end of the day we’re here to win some games and that’s the goal this week.”
Following a tumultuous 2022 season when the Roughriders missed the playoffs in a year they were hosting the Grey Cup, the front office spent the offseason overhauling the offence. And while the signing of quarterback Trevor Harris understandably highlighted the winter moves, they also overhauled the receivers in hopes of unleashing a more prolific attack.
Out the door were the likes of receivers Shaq Evans, Duke Williams, Kyran Moore and Jake Harty. Brought in were experienced veterans such as Bane, who had spent his first two years in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders, and Jake Wienke, who had made a name for himself over three years as a member of the Montreal Alouettes.
But that wasn’t going to be nearly enough. If the Roughriders were planning to move the chains and put up points, they needed some of their current roster players to take on a bigger role.
That’s been the case with Emilus, now in just his second season, as well Tevin Jones, who started just five games last year but has exploded this season, recording 44 catches for 599 yards and two TDs. With Kian Schaffer-Baker, who, like Emilus, is a talented Canadian, as well as the recent emergence of Jerreth Sterns, Saskatchewan looks in pretty good shape when it comes to starting receivers, to the point where they’ve decided to put a healthy Wieneke on the one-game injured list for Sunday.
“Probably not,” Roughriders head coach Dave Dickenson said when asked if he expected the likes of Emilus and Bane to impress so quickly this year. “We had high hopes for all those guys, but I think they’ve just really gravitated and really embraced Kelly Jeffrey’s offensive system. And I think they’ve taken ownership of the room.”
A SHIFT IN CULTURE
Among all the issues that plagued Saskatchewan last season, perhaps the team’s culture was its biggest problem.
There was the Garrett Marino fiasco that lingered far too long before the Roughriders finally issued the defensive lineman his release. That was just one of several distractions, as Saskatchewan lost its last seven games and eight of its final nine to finish the year 6-12.
The culture is much different this season, according to Dickenson, which was the always the plan. With a record now of 5-5 (good for third in the West), the club remains hungry and has a good chance to carve out a playoff spot in the final half of the season.
“That’s one thing we thought about in the offseason, especially when you make a change at quarterback,” Dickenson said. “It gives players a chance to establish kind of a new sort of leadership in the locker room. We cleaned house with the receivers, as you saw, and we got a new quarterback in, so we knew the offensive identity was going to be very different than it was a year ago and they’ve really gelled so far.”
Twitter: @jeffkhamilton
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.
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