THE CANADIAN PRESS
WINNIPEG – If Buck Pierce had his way, he’d be leading the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
Instead, he’ll be resting sore ribs on the sidelines.
Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice decided late Wednesday to sit the seven-year veteran for the crucial CFL East Division contest. The Bombers enter the game atop the standings with a league-best 8-4 record, but Montreal is close behind with a 7-5 mark.
Pierce said he was disappointed with the move, but it makes sense.
“It was coach LaPolice’s decision and it’s probably best to get me healthy down the stretch,” Pierce said following his team’s walkthrough Thursday. “So, obviously, I’m good with that and we’ll go from there.”
Pierce re-aggravated a rib injury in last week’s 25-24 road loss to Toronto, which was his career-high 12th straight start.
LaPolice said the decision to sit Pierce wasn’t a difficult one.
“Buck just still had soreness,” he said. “I think it was more sore than it was the previous time we played Montreal.”
“When I heard that after talking with him, that made the decision easy.”
Sophomore Alex Brink will make his second start with the Bombers, backed up by rookies Justin Goltz and Brandon Summers.
Brink dislocated the shoulder of his non-throwing arm in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss and was replaced by Goltz. The shoulder was immediately reset and he said he feels fine.
Veteran pivot Michael Bishop arrived in Winnipeg this week. LaPolice said he’ll soon sign a practice-roster agreement with the team he played for in 2009.
Montreal will be starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who’s also coming off an injury that surprisingly isn’t putting him on the bench.
The 18-year veteran was knocked unconscious in last week’s win over Edmonton and sustained a concussion. He’s since passed a number of tests under a protocol for concussions.
“There wasn’t a point where I was getting headaches or dizziness. There was nothing like that whatsoever,” Calvillo said after arriving at the team’s Winnipeg hotel.
“It was actually the weirdest thing in the world how I felt because I’ve had concussions before where I got dinged, I’m laying on the ground, I’m conscious, but I know my head is just not right and I miss a couple games for that.”
“This one being knocked out and not having any post-symptoms after the hit, like after 10, 15 minutes, is pretty weird.”
Hearing that Pierce wouldn’t be playing didn’t really surprise him.
“All I know is bruised ribs hurt very bad,” Calvillo, 39, said. “Whether they’re broken or bruised, it’s very difficult to play with them so I give him a lot of credit for playing the last couple weeks and doing what he’s been able to do.”
“If he’s sitting out, I think everybody knows that he’s a true warrior and something’s really bugging him.”
Pierce initially bruised his ribs in a Sept. 11 loss to Saskatchewan. He played through the pain the next week and led the Bombers to a 25-23 road win in Montreal.
It was Winnipeg’s only victory in its last four games. Brink’s first start for Winnipeg last October 11 against B.C. was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
He was booed by the home crowd in the first half and pulled in the third quarter after completing 4-of-18 passes for 61 yards. Steven Jyles replaced him and the Bombers won 47-35 in overtime.
This time around Brink thinks he’s way more prepared.
“Just having a full year under my belt, that experience in itself, but then another training camp, some quality game experience this year,” he explained.
“And then the confidence that I gained from playing well against B.C., the little bit I played against Saskatchewan and then in Toronto before I got hurt (last Saturday).”
Brink has completed 25-of-39 passes for 257 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions this season.
Bomber veteran receiver Terrence Edwards said he has the “utmost confidence” Brink can lead them to a victory.
Winnipeg defeated the Alouettes when Pierce played a game that would give him the CFL offensive player of the week honour.
“We can beat them, we have beat them, so that’s the positive that you take out of it,” Edwards said.
“Buck was amazing that game. It’s going to take a whole total team effort to beat them again… As an offence, I think all 12 guys have to raise their game up to the next level without having (running back) Fred (Reid), having (backup running back) Carl (Volny) and Buck.”
Reid and Volny tore ACLs in the loss against the Argonauts and are done for the season. The Bombers will also be missing defensive linemen Doug Brown (shoulder) and Rodney Fritz (hamstring).
Montreal has linebacker Shea Emry, safety Etienne Boulay and backup safety Tad Crawford on the nine-game injured list because of post-concussion symptoms. Defensive tackle Moton Hopkins will miss the game with a knee injury.
Bomber defensive lineman Odell Willis’ job is to get to quarterbacks, but he isn’t aiming to send Calvillo to the sidelines again.
“You never want to see nobody in the state that he was in …” said Willis, who leads the league with 11 sacks.
“You don’t want to see nobody in that predicament because it’s a beautiful thing to come out and play this game that we’re blessed to do.”
