Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran quarterback Buck Pierce will start in Sunday's Eastern Final against Hamilton. REUTERS/Fred GreensladeFRED GREENSLADE/Reuters
Winnipeg Blue Bomber quarterback Buck Pierce left no doubt he is ready play in Sunday's CFL East Division Final.
"I don't think there is any doubt in anybody's mind," Pierce said today after the Bombers went through their final preparations for Sunday's game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Pierce added he was "100 per cent" confident he could play all four quarters.
Pierce's health has been in question since he went down with a knee injury in Winnipeg's second-last game. He hasn't played since then but started practising this week. Pierce is known for taking some hard hits and still managing to keep going. He made mention of that Saturday.
"I keep coming back, I keep getting up to lead a team to a championship," he said.
Pierce said the Bombers need to come out quickly and aggressively against Hamilton, a team Winnipeg beat all three times during the regular season. "We want to give the defence a chance to lock it down," he said.
The Bombers have made a remarkable turnaround this season. The club went 4-14 last year but finished this season 10-8 and in first place in the East. However, Winnipeg was 3-7 in their final ten games.
Defensive tackle Doug Brown reflected on the team's turnaround today, joking that this year's team doesn't have mojo, "it has swagger." "It's a form of mojo. It's like mojo 2.1 version," he said with a smile.
Brown, 37, also mentioned the importance of winning Sunday since this is expected to be his final season and the last game at the Canad Inns Stadium, known for much of its 58-year history as Winnipeg Stadium. The Bombers are moving to a new facility across town on the campus of the University of Manitoba.
Brown, who has played for 11 seasons, said winning would be a way to pay homage to the many Bombers who have played at the stadium over the years.
Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice said he would leave it largely up to his players and leaders on the team, including Brown, to fire up the Bombers Sunday.
But for his part, LaPolice said the key to beating Hamilton will be stopping their big plays and shutting down their running game, which made several huge plays against Montreal in last weekend's East semi-final.
"I really thought [Hamilton's]offence responded every time Montreal responded," LaPolice said. He singled out Ticat receivers Marcus Thigpen, Chris Williams and running back Avon Cobourne as players the Bombers have to stop. "If you don't wrap them up they are going to turn a six-yard gain into a 60-yard gain," he said.
It is expected to be cold Sunday, with temperatures around -10, meaning both teams are likely to play conservatively and rely mainly on their running game at least at first. LaPolice would not commit to that, but he said stopping the running game is something the Bombers have focused on all season.
He added that the wind will be a bigger factor than the cold Sunday. "It's sometimes hard to throw the ball with the wind, because the ball will hang up in the air," he said. "We'll have to monitor the wind."
LaPolice added that he tried to keep his players as relaxed as possible Saturday.
"I told them at the end of the team meeting, just guys relax, trust each other, trust your coaches and trust your athletic ability and to believe why you are here."
Paul Waldie