Oftentimes, they get far too much blame for a loss and not nearly enough credit for victories. The position takes both a huge physical and mental toll. No, the offensive line is definitely not a position for the faint of heart. But despite a laundry list of adversity that includes missing starting right tackle Ryker Mathews since the season opener, losing Joel Figueroa for a short time and dealing the unusual grind of this truncated season, Kelly Bates feels they have faced the adversity head-on and are peaking at the most opportune time.
“We’ve certainly dealt with our share of it,” said the offensive line coach about injuries and adversity.
“I thought our personnel group did such a great job with the talent they brought in and we’re so damn grateful for that. Whoever is available, you line them up and play. The nice thing is that their attitude hasn’t changed one bit, regardless of who is in there. They come to work week in and week out with that lunch pail mentality. They expect whoever is in there that the person is going to play very well. That’s the key to working through the adversity that we’ve had.”
Bates pointed to Mathews’ replacement Kent Perkins as a prime example and fellow American rookie Jarell Broxton who filled in for Figueroa for most of the August 28th win at Ottawa before going down with his bicep injury. He also saluted third-year National David Knevel for his work filling in wherever he’s been asked.
“It’s the old cliche, but in the long run, we’re better for it,” added Bates.
“There are growing pains to all of it. It’s a great group of men and they continue to work, regardless of who is facing what.”
Winnipeg Test Beckons
This week’s test against a Blue Bomber defence that includes bookends Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat plus our old friend Adam Bighill is one any offensive line would embrace. Their ability to get to the quarterback is a big reason they boast a league-best 6-1 record. Jefferson and Jeffcoat each have five sacks, tied for third overall amongst CFL pass rushers.
“How can you not be excited about this challenge? They are the premier team in the league and the defence is loaded with great athletes, great players,” stated Bates.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there is a large challenge in front of us. We have earned the opportunity to see if we can rise to it.”
It may not be a battle for first place that we were hoping for, but a victory will no doubt set the tone for the remainder of the season as this race heats up. Every team goes through a little adversity in the win/loss column. The key is overcoming it before it’s too late.
Adversity Affects Backfield
One area that needs to be better as the games get more important and cold weather looms is establishing the run game. They were limited to just 22 yards on the ground in last week’s loss to Saskatchewan with 17 of those coming on two Michael Reilly scrambles. The big-strike ability from this offence has won some games and gotten the fans out of their seats. Nothing wrong with that at all. But to a man, Bates and company know the best offence is one that can beat you in multiple ways.
“From a consistency standpoint, we know our run game isn’t where we need it to be and each man in that room takes that personally,” explained Bates.
“Our focus week in and week out is preparing ourselves so that we put points on the board and ultimately win football games and how that gets done takes on a different identity each week. ”
In Shaq Cooper and James Butler, they know they have the horses. A major key will be taking the pressure off Michael Reilly to come up with those big, electrifying plays.
No matter the situation, Bates is grateful to be with his guys and to have had the chance to lead them from day one of camp after taking over part way through the 2019 season. Even this came with a little adversity of its own.
“You get more time and a better chance to be the teacher you want to be,” he said.
“With COVID and the way we had to approach that; it wasn’t even close to being a real training camp in many ways. The number of days we were given wasn’t the same. The way the meetings were structured and the way that area in Kamloops was affected by the smoke and losing all those practices, it wasn’t a regular training camp. But again, it’s a great group of guys. They did everything they could to put themselves in a position to have success. I’m very appreciative of that.”