SCOUTING THE ARGONAUTS

[IE]

UPDATE

Spergon Wynn gets the start at quarterback in place of the injured Damon Allen. Eric Crouch moves from third string to backup.

Receiver R. Jay Soward returns from a one-game league suspension.

Receiver Arland Bruce did not accompany the team yesterday because of a death in the family but is expected to return for the game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Take the Winnipeg crowd out of the game by forcing the Bombers to make mistakes.

INJURIES

QB Damon Allen (finger); LB Michael Fletcher (knee); LB Chuck Winters (knee); CB Leron Mitchell (groin).

SCOUTING THE BLUE BOMBERS

UPDATE

QB Kevin Glenn is feeling the pressure after serving up two interceptions in opener.

Free-agent signing Donnovan Carter, who was courted heavily by Toronto as a linebacking prospect, is one of three new starting 'backers.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Stop the Argos special teams returners from big gains.

INJURIES

KR/SB Albert Johnson III (leg).

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Roberts vs. Williams

CFL's best running back and its most hyped eager to face off
WINNIPEG -- In a league known for passing, they were two running backs who met in passing.

Toronto Argos' feature running back Ricky Williams and his Winnipeg Blue Bombers' counterpart, Charles Roberts, met for the first time yesterday, in advance of tonight's game at Canad Inns Stadium.

The gregarious Roberts is the opposite of the enigmatic Williams, whose responses leave his inquisitors perplexed. While Roberts is not afraid to speak his peace, Williams is all about peace and love.

Roberts, who led the CFL in rushing yardage last year with 1,624, walked over to Williams after the Bombers practised and before the Argos' practice, to introduce himself.

"I've never met him before," Roberts said. "He seemed like a good guy, there's no animosity or nothing like that obviously.


"He seemed like a good dude and I just wanted to meet him. He said, 'Hi, nice to meet you.' It was just a cordial greeting."

Roberts said he usually talks to the opposing running backs, but this meeting had a little more meaning. Roberts happened to be in college when Williams rushed for 2,000 yards with the University of Texas in 1998.

"(In 2002) when he was leading the league in rushing in the NFL, I was trying to run like him. He's a great running back. I'm a great running back, I think. People will see that (tonight)."

Roberts rushed a mere 12 times for 71 yards and caught three passes for 39 yards in the Bombers' 27-17 season-opening loss to the Montreal Alouettes. Critics pointed to the Bombers' decision to veer from the running game as a contributing factor to the loss.

Williams ran 18 eight times for 97 yards -- much of it in the second half -- and caught two passes for 24 yards in the Argos' season-opening 27-17 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"I'm not real anxious to outshine him," Roberts said. "It would be good to outrush him. I like to outrush any running back I'm head-to-head with. It would be a little extra, but other than that, I just want to do it for myself."

DOWNPLAY

Williams tried to downplay the idea the game tonight is between he and Roberts.

"I'm not on the field when he's on the field, so I don't have much to do with that," Williams said. "But from what I hear all the guys say, he's the best back in the league. It will be fun for me to have a chance to watch him.

"I'm not an extroverted guy in that sense, I'm more introverted," Williams said of his demeanour to his opposing player the day before a game. "After the game, I'll probably comment on how well the other running back played because I have a lot of respect for the position. But I'm excited to see him play. The way the guys talk about him is something special."

 

[IE]

Protect home turf

Re-establishing dominance a high priority

Never mind the wayward Williams for the moment, the Blue Bombers have a much more important goal in mind tonight.

Winnipeg plays host to the Toronto Argonauts and ex-NFL tailback Ricky Williams at Canad Inns Stadium (7 p.m.) and the Bombers are determined to re-establish that fear of godless punishment on anyone who dares invade their turf that they once enjoyed.

And they want to do it in their CFL home-opener.

"The first game is the most important," Bombers defensive lineman Doug Brown said yesterday. "You kind of set the tone for what it's going to be like for teams to come in and play here.

"It's paramount that we come out and show not only Toronto but every other team what it's going to be like if they come to our house to play here."


And that lesson may not be pretty.

"What you want to do in any league is when people come into your house, you want to make sure it's a point that no one else can win in this place except us," said Bombers offensive lineman Dan Goodspeed, who is known for his nastiness. "When you have that mentality and the other teams see you start having a good record at home and the crowd getting behind ya, it's just hard to play.

"Just look at Montreal last week. They know they're hard to beat at home. Their crowd gets into it and we end up screwing away a quarter. That's what we can do at home. If you get that confidence at home that you're not going to lose, it's hard to be beat at home."

Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry believes that it is one of three things a team needs to do to become great -- win all home games, all games against division rivals and win the close games.

"If you can do all three of those things, you're bound to have a pretty darn good season," he said.

Of course, stopping Williams will just be one of many focal points in reaching that goal tonight.

"If we can go out there and do what we need to do and focus on just not Ricky but focus on their offence, then we'll be fine," said Bombers defensive lineman Ron Warner, who faced Williams in both the NFL and in college. "Then, we'll be able to set a tone and let everybody know around the CFL that we're for real."

And Argos head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons saw plenty of potential in the Bombers when they lost to the Alouettes in Montreal last week.

"They were a team that is an invigorating bunch and very, very talented, and only beginning to know themselves in the new re-design," he said. "They're a team that's going to get stronger and stronger as the year goes on. We are very, very impressed. And hopefully, they don't mind delaying the maturation process at least another 48 hours."

But Berry hopes they don't wait any longer.

"The first (win) would be nice, not just for me but for the players," said the rookie head mentor.

"The Winnipeg team needs to and would like to get that first win done with so that they can reflect more on what's happening today and what's gonna happen tomorrow, based on yesterday."

And it will be up to quarterback Kevin Glenn to establish those winning ways.

"It's our home turf, you've got to be ready to play," Glenn said. "We want to be undefeated at home."

 

[IE]

Building on positive signs

Win tonight would give fans new hope

Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans tonight will finally get to see the 2006 edition of their team up close.

Will it be love at first sight?

Or will they be reaching for the barf bags?

A big win tonight over the East Division rival Toronto Argonauts would go a long way in giving fans hope for a season in which the Grey Cup will be played in Winnipeg this November.

Fans who watched Winnipeg's loss to Montreal on TV last week have already seen several positive signs, including the play of the defence, the offence in the first quarter and a special teams touchdown.


Summon all that went well

The Bombers tonight will be trying to summon all that went well last week and discard the mistakes: two late interceptions by quarterback Kevin Glenn, a missed 49-yard field goal that swung the momentum in Montreal's favour and a not-so-good return game.

Standing in Winnipeg's way tonight will be former Bomber quarterback Spergon Wynn and everybody's favourite child of the 1960s, running back Ricky Williams.

Even though he wouldn't say it yesterday, you can bet Wynn would love nothing more than to scorch the team that didn't give him a chance last season.

Williams, meanwhile, will attempt to clear the 100-yard rushing mark in his first CFL road game and, if he gets the chance, likely lead a post-game rally for world peace.

If the Bombers don't beat the Damon Allen-less Argos, there won't be much love on Maroons Road.

---

REMEMBER WHEN ...

... Argos P/K Noel Prefontaine drilled a 20-yard field goal on the last play of the game to give the Boatmen a 35-32 win over the Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium on Oct. 16, 2005? Argos QB Damon Allen completed 26 of 39 passes for 484 yards and two touchdowns.

KEEP AN EYE ON ...

Argos RB Ricky Williams, No. 27. Now that he has one full CFL game under his belt, it'll be interesting to see how he fares in his second. The Miami Dolphins star had 97 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards in his debut last week.

QUIRKY STAT ...

The Bombers allowed only 265 yards of total offence to the Montreal Alouettes last week. Last year the Bombers never allowed fewer than 300 yards in any of their 18 games.

Forecast ...

Cloudy periods with a 30% chance of showers early in the evening. A daytime high of 24 C.