Blue’s Bighill making presence felt

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This article was published 07/07/2018 (2870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Bighill has a reputation for being a big play, big game player.

On Saturday night, the 5-10, 230-pound middle linebacker made good on that potential payoff when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed the NFL free agent midway through training camp.

Bighill registered a team-leading six tackles and added a pair of interceptions, including an emphatic 55-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter as the Blue Bombers cruised to a 41-19 triumph over the B.C. Lions at Investors Group Field.

That performance, against the team he spent the first six years of his professional career, felt particularly good to the 29-year-old product off Montesano, Wash.

“It does,” said Bighill, noting the teams play a return matchup in Vancouver in Week 5. “I think it’s bragging rights for the week and I mean it’s a game, obviously, that I had circled on my calender just from all my relationships back there. I’m sure they felt the same way about playing me and it’s a lot of fun to play against guys you’ve around for so much of your career.”

Bighill said the trash talk was held to a minimum.

“There really wasn’t (much),” he said. “I think there was a lot of mutual respect. (Wide receiver Emmanuel Arseneaux’s) always gonna say a little something but that’s Manny and I love him for it. At the end of the day, it was a ton of fun out there against those guys.”

Both interceptions came on plays where B.C. quarterback Jonathon Jennings missed his intended target.

“I mean, I’m an athlete — I’m gonna get out and make some moves and score,” said Bighill. “I made a few people miss. (I was) a running back back in the day. I love to carry the ball. I’m gonna do something special with it.”

Bighill was happy with the bounceback from Winnipeg’s defence, which held the Lions to 280 net yards on offence.

“I think I missed a tackle or two, those always bug me, but defensively overall, we really executed,” said Bighill. “Last game in Hamilton we felt like we didn’t execute very well and we came in tonight, and I mean every defence has weaknesses, and it’s our job to execute and make those weaknesses smaller and make it harder on the offence to try to move the ball down the field.”

The four-time CFL all-star expected his unit to continue to improve.

“We didn’t do a lot of special things tonight but what we did was solid,” added Bighill. “We didn’t bring in a gigantic defensive package and run everything under the sun. We just executed our stuff really well. I’m telling you, when you execute those are the things that happen. And it comes down to being consistent.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14