Trevor Harris ‘may know our defence better than some of our young guys’: Bombers DC Jordan Younger

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Jordan Younger knows he won’t be able to pull the wool over Trevor Harris’ eyes in the Banjo Bowl.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defensive coordinator has been duelling Saskatchewan’s veteran quarterback for almost the entirety of his coaching career. The two began as teammates with the Toronto Argonauts in 2012 — when Harris was a rookie, and Younger was eyeing retirement — and their battles in the years since have created a unique game-planning challenge.

“It’s hard when you’ve got that type of familiarity with each other,” Younger told the media this week. “He may know our defence better than some of our young guys know our defence.”

The Bombers were forced to field a relatively young secondary in their Labour Day Classic loss to Saskatchewan. Boundary cornerback Major Williams has started all season, but remains a rookie. On the opposite side, fellow first-year Ridge Texada got a long look in his second career game. Youngsters Trey Vaval, Jake Kelly, and Jaylen Smith all saw significant minutes.

While the unit held the Riders in check early on, Harris took advantage of the inexperience on a couple of key drives in the second half and ultimately secured a 32-26 victory in overtime. The 40-year-old pivot finished 23-of-33 passing for 362 yards and one touchdown, putting Younger into a bind thanks to his decade of experience.

“We’ve played Trevor Harris 30 times. You know he knows what we do. I can’t tell a new corner, a new halfback, a guy that’s playing safety how to trick him with something he’s seen 30 games’ worth,” Younger said.

“What can I do when I’ve got three new DBs out there that give them a chance to succeed? The more people I commit to the rush, the more isolated they are. You know that the other team’s offence is going to attack the new pieces. If you make the picture clear for them, it makes it easier to attack those guys.”

The Blue Bombers struggled to disrupt Harris throughout the game, generating just five quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus. They also recorded their lowest pass rush win rate of the season at just 22.2 percent, down from a previous season-low of 47.2 percent.

While some of those difficulties can be attributed to Harris’ legendary quick release — he is getting rid of the ball in an average of just 2.14 seconds this year, by far the fastest in the CFL — Younger only dialled up seven blitzes, choosing instead to rush with three or four. That was a conscious decision to take away the Riders’ first read and protect young players on the backend, though it was ultimately unsuccessful.

“Certain quarterbacks who like to hold on to the ball, push the ball down the field, pressures are much more likely to work against those guys. The quarterbacks that like to play low to high, where they like to throw the ball short, get the ball out of their hands quickly. Well, the pressure, if they see it coming, you’re just playing into their hands as far as making it easy to determine who they should throw it to,” he explained.

“I’ve got a decision to make. Do I put (young players) in the fire and just say, ‘Alright, you’re by yourself.’ Or do I say, ‘We’ll put it on our veterans, our ability to communicate, and then cloud the picture.’ The strategy didn’t work this time. It didn’t work often enough.”

Younger says he would’ve liked to have been more versatile with his defensive looks against the Riders and brought unique pressures or coverages that might have caught Harris off-guard. However, he didn’t feel that he had the personnel to execute those concepts last week due to the amount of defensive injuries that Winnipeg is dealing with.

“I’m not feeling sorry for ourselves, but Cam Allen, Redha Kramdi, Michael Griffin, Jaiden Woodbey — those are all the guys we use that kind of do those things,” he said. “When you lose those guys, you not only lose the ability to be multiple; you lose your voices, the people that communicate and make the checks. If you’ve got a bunch of guys out there who don’t have a lot of experience, you’ve got to play to their strengths.”

That could change this week, as Kramdi is expected to make his return to the lineup after missing the last six games with a hand injury. The Canadian defender, who has experience starting at both strong-side linebacker and safety, is a key piece of the Bombers’ scheme, and Younger believes it is no coincidence that the team has gone 2-4 in his absence.

“One of the best I’ve ever been around, and he can communicate at a high level at every level of the defence,” he explained. “He can talk to the guys at the front end. He can talk to the guys at the second level. He communicates with the guys in the back end, and most importantly, he knows when to do it, because you don’t always get to talk to all three. Based on each call, you may want to prioritize your communication. That ability makes us a better football team.”

Whether that will be enough to disrupt Harris remains to be seen.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4) at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday, September 12, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met in the Labour Day Classic last week, where the Roughriders won 32-26 in overtime at Mosaic Stadium.

The weather forecast in Toronto calls for a high of 15 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and Crave in Canada, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 620 CKRM in Regina or CJOB 680 in Winnipeg.