βNo. No. Not at all. Personally, I just like to play there because the fans are so loud, and, theyβre a bit more crazier than other fans. You know. And me being from Europe, Iβve been to a lot of soccer games, and the fans, they are crazy too. They just love the sport. They love their home team, I just love the energy and I try to feed off that.β
At the the time in August, you mentioned that Winnipegβs offensive line, so far that season was the most exhausting to face. Do you still feel like that answer would be the same now?
βYeah, yeah. I still feel the same way about them. You know, if you play Winnipegβs offensive line, you know theyβre gonna play hard for 4 quarters. You gotta make sure that youβre ready to play a team like that because if youβre not, theyβre just gonna, simply said, theyβre just gonna dominate you and and and put you on the ground. So you gotta Make sure you know thatβs whatβs gonna happen, so you gotta make sure you come up to play and, put your hand in the dirt and go as hard as you can every play. Otherwise, itβs gonna be, a long night playing against their O-line because they play so so well together. Like, they block well together, they play really hard, so you gotta make sure youβre ready to go.β
Coming back to the environment of the Winnipeg fans, how are you personally feeling about going back there for another playoff game?
βWell, itβs like itβs just itβs like the same scenario as last year, you know. So, of course, itβd be great to have the Western Final back in BC, but Itβs not, so we gotta accept that and go out there tomorrow and give our best, and thatβs about it, you know. Thatβs thatβs all we can do. Play as hard as we can, for 4 quarters, and I hope we can come up with a win, tomorrow.β
Do you think that either team is more suited to play in cold weather?
βWell, we have a lot of guys out that have played in CFL for a while, so theyβre used to the cold. And they have a lot of guys that have been around the league for a while, so. And we were at the stadium today just, trying to fill trying to feel the the grass and everything, and for me personally I donβt think itβs as cold as last year. Last year was pretty cold for me. That was probably the coldest game Iβve ever played in, so now itβs not even gonna be freezing at game time. So, it shouldnβt have that big of an effect, to be honest, on either team.
Iβm gonna open the door for a little controversy, feel free to decline this question. I asked you previously [in August interview], I asked you which was your least favorite city to visit, and you said it was Winnipeg. What are your least favorite things about the city of Winnipeg?
βWell, thereβs just not a lot to do here. You know? Weβve got the arrows around the corner, and thatβs about it. So thereβs not, if you go to Toronto, we can just walk around and explore the city a little bit the day before the game, and itβs a nice city, but thereβs not a lot to do. And thereβs snow everywhere and stuff, but I still love to play here. Like, itβs itβs still the best, other than BC plays, of course, itβs the most fun to play in.β
Last week, you had a solid run stop against Kadeem Carey. Looking at Winnipeg, itβs been a bit remarkable how Brady Olivera, he has 260 carries. What are your thoughts on Olivera, and does playing him change the preparations at all, or are the preparations always the same?
βYeah. For us, the preparation is always the same. You know, we always try, like, last week, we faced a great back, this week, we face a great back again, and I hope we can do the same again. And we feel confident that we can do the same again against Oliveira. If you look at the 1st game, I think we did pretty good on limiting him because once he gets going, heβs, heβs pretty hard to stop. So I hope we can do that again, tomorrow, and weβve done the preparation to make sure that we can limit him.β
What do you think is the most dangerous part overall of Winnipegβs game that is key to minimize for BC to get the win?
βYeah. I feel like just as just like how we are in offense, they are in offense. Once they get going, they just, itβs just full gas all the way through the game, and they, Like, the 2nd time we played them, they scored pretty quickly. Same as our offense. If our offense can score pretty, if our offense can throw 3 touchdowns in the first quarter, itβs gonna be hard to to stop them as well, so thatβs probably, their biggest threat to us.β
Last week the Lions were very successful in getting pressure on Jake Mayer. You had a QB hurry as well. And Winnipeg is a team, theyβve had obviously so much success in the passing game. Do you feel like itβs more important this week to get pressure on the quarterback?
βWell, itβs important for, itβs important every week to get pressure on the quarterback because if the quarterback can just stay in the pocket and not really worry about scrambling or worrying about getting hit. The QB is gonna have a good day, so every single game, we try to put as much pressure on the QB as possible. And even if Collaros, if he gets pressured, heβs still heβs a very good scrambler, so we gotta make sure we hit him, early and often and get him on the ground as much as we can.β
I was looking at Winnipegβs entry list earlier. They have, Dalton Shone, Nick Demski, Jeremy Murphy, Rashid Bailey, and Jackson Jeffcoat, all listed as questionable. There was a week earlier in the season, Winnipeg had 12 players listed as questionable. And a lot of them were full practice participants and they still listed them as questionable. So BC looking at all the players listed as questionable, does that change the game-day preparations, or is there somewhat of an in-house understanding that the injury reports are sometimes used for misdirection?
βYeah yeah exactly. Just what you said, you know. Maybe it might be used as misdirection. I think I think that theyβre not dressing Schoen, which is I think thatβs, official. So, thatβs all, you know. Like you said, Bailey was on the game-time decision, a couple other guys Demski as well I think. But weβre still thinking that theyβre gonna be a full go. So, yeah, thatβs just how it goes sometimes, you know.β
Looking at Winnipegβs defensive side of the ball, What are some players that stand out to you when you watch them?
βI think itβs pretty obvious Adam Big Hill, you know. Heβs definitely the captain of that of that defense, heβs so smart. A couple of guys that play for us now have played with him, and they have nothing but praise when they talk about him. Heβs a great guy, great linebacker, all over the field. Could read an offense like a book, you know.
βSo, and then and then we got Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat, theyβre just very big threats on the edge as well. So they have a all-around, just solid defense, and they donβt make a lot of mistakes as well. Thatβs probably one of their biggest successes on both offense and defense. Theyβll never kill themselves. They donβt make a lot of mistakes, and thatβs I think a big part of their success.β
Coming into this game the odds makers predict Winnipeg to win, does that ever have an impact on the mentality when youβre a underdog or does it add motivation? Is there a change in the pressure? Does it impact any way in which you prepare for the game or how you see things?
βNo, for me, if I see that stuff, like, the game still has to be played, you know. I think I read somewhere that we have, like a 3 percent shot of making the Grey Cup, but thatβs just all numbers and just the media trying to blow stuff up and make it bigger than it is, you know.
I donβt really pay a lot of attention to that.β
βThey could think whatever they want about me or our team. I donβt really care about that as long as my teammates respect me and my coaches respect me. Thatβs all that matters and everybody sees how much everybodyβs working on the team, so donβt really care about all that stuff.β
Do you wanna make a prediction on who you think is gonna win the east finals between Toronto and Montreal?
βYeah, so one of my one of my, best friends plays for Toronto, so I have to I have to go with Toronto, you know, so I hope I can face I can see him next week. And, after the season, we actually have a bachelorβs that weβre attending both together for a friend that plays in Edmonton. So, itβs gonna be a great bachelor party for 1 of us, so I think itβll be fun to play against him in the Grey Cup.β
Who was that?
βThomas Costigan.βΒ
I appreciate you taking the time right before the game to come to answer my questions.
βAbsolutely, no problem. Hope I could see you in person next week.β
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