{"id":752694,"date":"2026-06-22T01:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/752694\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T01:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:49:11","slug":"we-got-hit-in-the-mouth-now-its-about-how-well-we-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/752694\/","title":{"rendered":"We got hit in the mouth. Now it’s about how well we respond."},"content":{"rendered":"

They took some shots \u2014 a series of jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts \u2014 and have had almost two weeks to deal with the pain, heal from it and then come up with some plans to counter-punch.<\/p>\n

And the timing of the bye week might not have been more perfect for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence, what with the unbeaten Edmonton Elks and heavy hitting running back Justin Rankin about to climb into the ring against them next for Thursday\u2019s home date at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n

Rankin, FYI, leads the Canadian Football League in rushing after just two games with 281 yards and a stellar 8.9-yards per carry average. He\u2019s already scored three times in the Elks\u2019 2-0 start and has added 10 catches for 145 yards.<\/p>\n

This matchup for the Blue Bombers comes after the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats each rushed for 171 yards in Winnipeg\u2019s first two starts of 2026, including a 112-yard effort by Dedrick Mills of the Stamps, with Larry Rountree III rumbling for 124 yards in the loss to the Tabbies.<\/p>\n

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Defensive end Kydran Jenkins at practice this weekend<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sit on that for a little bit over the bye week,\u201d said linebacker Tony Jones. \u201cAnd you\u2019re not necessarily thinking about the good plays you made, it\u2019s the ones you left on the field or messed up. You sit on that for a few days and then after that you\u2019re looking forward to the next game and how we can beat a good team in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a whole defence we weren\u2019t on point or as sharp as we need to be. We know what we have and what we bring to the table when all 12 of us are clicking at an elite level as far as communicating and doing whatever our job is. I just felt it was more so dull than anything. Kudos to them \u2014 they came out ready to play the game, but we all felt we weren\u2019t as sharp as we needed to be. We\u2019re still trying to play elite as one. On defence, all it takes is for one person to hop out of a gap or miss an assignment and it can create an explosion play and then that momentum change is huge. You make it 10 times harder on yourselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re fired up to get back out here. It\u2019s almost like a learning curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how we can play. We got hit in the mouth. Now it\u2019s about how well we respond.\u201d \u2014 Tony Jones<\/p>\n

The 100-yard games by Mills and Rountree III against Winnipeg\u2019s defence marked the first time they have given up triple-digit rushing totals to a single back since Weeks 14-15 of 2024. The backs that hurt them then? Rankin, who had 157 yard and 109 yards rushing against the Blue Bombers defence. In his four career games against Winnipeg, he has posted three 100-yard games and holds an 8.3-yard average.<\/p>\n

Hello.<\/p>\n

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Jake Ceresna<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat talent and he really works at being a good teammate,\u201d began defensive tackle Jake Ceresna, who played with Rankin in Edmonton. \u201cHe\u2019s a phenomenal athlete and the offence really runs through him. We\u2019ve got to make sure we do our best job to contain him and make sure he doesn\u2019t get those big explosion plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo defence wants to give up 100 yards rushing. None at all. And they\u2019re going to continue to run against us until we can show we can stop it. That\u2019s a big emphasis is showing we can stop the run and we can plug it up. We\u2019re really focussing on that this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winnipeg\u2019s defence allowed a league-low 34 touchdowns against last season and ranked third in lowest net offence against (344.3 yards), second in passing yards allowed (261.4) and third in yards rushing (94.1).<\/p>\n

And the Blue Bombers were just 2-7 in the nine games their opponents eclipsed the century mark in rushing last year. Head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said this weekend the mistakes made on defence can be \u201csolved with one or two words of communication before the snap \u2014 just checking in with guys to make sure they know what they\u2019re assignment is so they could execute at a higher level.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As for the matchup with the Elks \u2014 and corralling Rankin \u2014 O\u2019Shea had one serious answer and one not so much after Sunday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good,\u201d he said of the the Elks. \u201cThey\u2019re dialled in, they\u2019ve got a couple wins and I\u2019m sure they\u2019re feeling confident and they should. Rankin is one of the best players in the CFL. I don\u2019t know what his yards per play is but I\u2019m sure it\u2019s extremely high whether he\u2019s running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield. He\u2019s making a lot of people miss and when he does that, he\u2019s got enough speed to run by guys and he\u2019s got enough shift that he\u2019s very hard to bring down.\u201d<\/p>\n

And how do you contain that, he was asked?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe usual,\u201d he said. \u201cYou play 13 guys. Hopefully they don\u2019t notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just shooting ourselves in the foot out there (against Hamilton) by not being where we were supposed to be and not executing the call,\u201d added Ceresna.\u00a0 When we rewatched the film, it was really us not doing our jobs and if we were in the right places we\u2019d have played a lot better. We know that. We know we\u2019ve got to be more assignment sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just getting used to a defence. It\u2019s trusting that the guy next to you is going to be where he is supposed to be so I don\u2019t have to worry about trying to make his play; I just have to do my job. And if we all do that, all 12 of us doing our job, we\u2019ll be OK. It\u2019s like we\u2019re trying to overdo things and when we do that, we create holes and seams.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUOTABLE: Ceresna will be facing his old squad on Thursday. We started to ask him if he gets fired up for a matchup like that before recalling he\u2019s also suited up for Ottawa and Toronto and then suggesting it would be exhausting if that happened before every game he played against his old squads.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, no kidding,\u201d said Ceresna with a chuckle. \u201cAll of a sudden it\u2019d be like Kevin Glenn or Shawn Lemon and you\u2019ve got seven or eight teams you\u2019re getting more fired up for. Every damn week you\u2019ve got someone to get fired up for.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s just another game. I don\u2019t try to get into that. It\u2019s just stay with my process and it\u2019s another team this week and another team to prepare for. I really just try to be where my feet are.\u201d<\/p>\n

OUCH REPORT: The latest from Sunday\u2019s practice session:<\/p>\n

Injury Report: June 21, 2026#ForTheW<\/a> | @DoctorsManitoba<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iEERWP5otO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) June 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n