Three questions as Blue Bombers prepare to open 2024 season (2024)

Whenever a book on this era of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is written, it will need only one page to tell their story.

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The same page the whole team seems to always be on.

Even with obvious question marks heading into the 2024 season — an unproven returner, two new mainstays on the offensive line and several new starters on defence — there’s little worry.

“Why would you be worried?” safety Brandon Alexander said Wednesday, on the eve of the season opener and Grey Cup rematch with the Montreal Alouettes.

Nobody’s new by the time they hit the field for training camp, Alexander said.

By then, they’ve already moved on to fine-tuning the engine.

“So we come into the season and we’re confident,” Alexander said. “It’s not arrogance or anything like that. We just have a standard that we go by and things we abide by. As long as the standards stay the same, we’re always going to be confident in our abilities.”

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With four straight Grey Cup appearances and two championships during this dynasty, it’s tough sledding poking holes.

But there are some unknowns.

1. Is Myron Mitchell the next Janarion Grant?

That is to say, is Winnipeg’s return game going to be better than 2023?

You saw what Winnipeg’s return game looked like without Janarion Grant for much of last season.

It can’t get much worse.

The Bombers finished sixth and eighth in punt and kick return averages, respectively. They finished eighth, meanwhile, by generating just eight big play returns (30 yards or more on a punt return, 40 or more on a kickoff). It’s a nine-team league.

Mitchell, a first-year CFLer, is being handed the reins after winning the job out of training camp. In fairness to Chris Smith, who was injured after returning a 109-yard punt to the house in Winnipeg’s final pre-season game last week, Mitchell would have been Winnipeg’s second choice, at least to start.

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With a lot of college experience handling those duties but none in the Canadian game, he has no choice but to perform.

“I feel back at home at the position,” Mitchell said. “That’s something I’m real comfortable with, catching balls, fielding punts.”

On Tuesday, Mitchell and Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea reviewed the Canadian rules before and after practice.

“I won the job, but I want to keep the job,” Mitchell said.

Special teams, as a whole, must be better, especially in coverage.

The Bombers tied for the most punt return yards allowed (13.2) and were eighth in average kickoff return yards allowed at 24.8.

Paul Boudreau, who spent seven years as special teams coordinator under O’Shea, didn’t have his contract renewed in the offseason.

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Winnipeg turned to longtime special teams player Mike Miller, who holds the CFL record for most special teams tackles in a career with 226 and a single-game record with seven, to take his place.

Kicking was less of a concern, as they finished third in field goal percentage and second in average kick-off yardage. They’d like to see their gross and net putting averages improve after finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, with then-first-year CFL kicker Jamieson Sheahan.

2. How will the offensive line fare?

Jermarcus Hardrick, a two-time CFL all-star and the 2023 West Division’s most outstanding offensive lineman, is in Saskatchewan, and Geoff Gray doesn’t appear to be returning to football.

Some will see that as two glaring holes in an otherwise stout front-five.

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Liam Dobson sees an opportunity.

The 2021 third-overall pick in the CFL now has a chance to cement his name among a long list who have planted their flag along that offensive line.

“Both those guys were very talented football players who left roles important to this team,” Dobson said. “But it just presents opportunities for new guys to step in.”

Dobson replaces Gray, while Eric Lofton, who was with Winnipeg in 2022 and was cast off by the Riders this past offseason, moves into Hardrick’s old spot.

“Liam’s been around the organization for a couple of years, and I thought he had a really good camp,” quarterback Zach Collaros said. “Eric has had some repetitions with our offence, with the guys in our room. Communication is a big deal. He’s going to slot right in there and do really well.”

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The Bombers allowed 33 sacks last season, the second-fewest in the CFL but 14 more than first-place Toronto.

They also helped running back Brady Oliveira to a league-high 1,534 rushing yards and a Most Outstanding Canadian title.

3. How does the best defence get better?

O’Shea may not care much about the stats, but they painted a glowing picture of his defence in 2023.

Fewest points allowed, fewest yards given up and fewest touchdowns against by a mile.

But as is the case on the offensive line, there are changes. Gone is Jackson Jeffcoat as Winnipeg’s elite edge-rusher opposite Willie Jefferson. That’s Celestin Haba’s job now. Cam Lawson, who was part of that rotation on the d-line, is on the six-game injured list, as is defensive end Tyjuan Garbutt.

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Linebacker Adam Bighill is also out long-term, with no timetable for his return in sight.

And both of Winnipeg’s corners are new, with Demerio Houston with the Argos and Jamal Parker also sidelined with injury.

“There’s no such thing as replacing a person because that person has their own dynamics and their own thing they bring to the table,” Alexander said.

Instead, the new guys bring something new, and the defence changes their shape to incorporate whatever that is.

Remember: the same page.

“We don’t have to see the game the same, but as long as we can get the job done the same, that’s all that matters,” Alexander said.

sbilleck@postmedia.com

X: @scottbilleck

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