Not the same old, same old in the Blue Bombers-Edmonton Elks rematch

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Seeing the same team two weeks in a row usually creates a sense of familiarity.

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In one area, that wasn’t the case on Friday for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Edmonton.

This time, the Elks will play veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson at quarterback after allowing the more mobile and unpredictable Tre Ford to lead the offense a week ago.

“It’s a different dynamic in the passing game,” Winnipeg’s Willie Jefferson said Thursday. “Tre can shoot the ball, but he’s not a pocket passer. For Bethel-Thompson, he wants to stay in the pocket. He wants to push the ball down the field, allow receivers to make moves and get open.

For a quarterback scout like Jefferson, the concept of a more stationary target can be appealing. But everything depends on time. If Winnipeg can’t cover receivers tightly and Bethel-Thompson gets rid of the ball quickly, Jefferson and Co. he might not even get close to the quarterback.

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“Timing is one of the most important aspects of football,” Bombers defensive coordinator Jordan Younger said. “It’s hard to explain without sitting down in front of game film and breaking it down. However, the moment when everything happens is completely different when Ford is on the field and when Bethel-Thompson is on the field.

This begs the question: Which style is Winnipeg’s defense better suited to?

“We fit both situations pretty well,” Younger said. “But it’s knowing it’s going to happen now when it was completely different in the last game.”

Regardless of who the quarterback is, Edmonton’s game presents a unique challenge. No one puts up more yards on the ground than the Moose, averaging nearly six yards per run. They accumulated 195 yards last week, but lost to the Bombers 27-14.

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“We were able to get around it because we canceled the passing game,” Jefferson said. “If we can eliminate some of those mid-game explosions on first down and get them off the field on second down… we can have a really good game and keep our numbers low.”

THE BOMBS ARE GOING AWAY

He has already set a CFL record for most successful long bomb field goals (over 50) in a season. However, Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo is not completely satisfied.

“It could be better,” Castillo said. “There are a few longings I would like to reclaim. Even though there were some long ones… if (coach Mike O’Shea) trusts me to go out there, I should be making those kicks. It doesn’t matter if it’s the mid-1950s.”

Castillo is coming off a game that ended his streak of 10 straight field goals, with two of his attempts hitting the goalpost.

The last time this happened?

“Maybe I’ll play Madden,” he said. “It was just a strange day. They turned right, even the ones I created. So I should have been aiming for left center because that was the type of ball I was hitting that day. I should have trusted my gut and just done it.

“You won’t have A-ball every day.”

QUOTABLE

“Of course you have to start by getting into the play-offs. But we think we have more important things ahead of us.” — Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros on potentially securing a playoff berth on Friday.

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