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“This is professional football,” said Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you when you have injuries or anything of the nature — it’s part of the game. This is where you start to build your roster and find out about your guys.”

Quarterback Dominique Davis is one of the players who is banged up and he’s listed on the roster as the third-stringer, behind Jennings and Will Arndt.

“I don’t think the playbook necessarily changes (for them),” said Bombers coach Mike O’Shea. “The system is the system. Dom Davis is athletic and can run the ball and Jonathon Jennings can, too. He’s quick and has great escapability. We run into that a lot in the CFL. It’s been going on for decades and decades. We’ve got to make sure we’re on point.”

Asked about his team’s quarterbacks, Campbell said: “We’re happy with what Dom is doing. The QB is always a focal point. Whether you win or lose, he gets a ton of credit or more blame than he deserves.”

After starting the regular season with two wins, the Redblacks have lost two straight. It hasn’t been a disaster — they’ve made good plays in both games — but the consistency has been sagging. An offence major contributors from 2018 now wearing different uniforms and a defence that was supposed to be the team’s calling card are still works in progress.

“We feel good about our defence,” said Thorpe. “The ebb and flow and momentum, the ability to capture moments and build on those — in pro sports — those things can go either way. There were moments in last week’s game that could have changed the momentum of the game. We’ve got to make plays at opportune times. It comes down to inches. It comes down, for us as a defence, to tackling, the ability to play the ball, to put the quarterback under some duress and be able to play some coverage — all those things factor in. We have guys who are playing and learning new positions. We’re working hard to correct things that need correcting and keep building on the things that we’re doing well.”