HAMILTON — Despite all the heat he is taking from fans, Drew Willy is truly only a decent game away from a potential quick turnaround of public opinion.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback has been a scapegoat for the team’s 0-2 start to the CFL season because of his ineffectiveness in the first half of both games, but a more consistent performance Thursday night in Hamilton — and at least a competitive result — would go a long way to restoring public confidence.

Willy is actually second in the CFL in passing yards (661) and passer rating (105.5), thanks to putting up big numbers in the fourth quarter of losses to Montreal and Calgary.

Another 300-plus-yard passing game from him, with some balance throughout the night, could get the Bombers in the win column and make his season stat line look pretty darn impressive.

Bombers coach Mike O’Shea certainly thinks Willy has been better than the fan discontent would indicate.

“I would think so, yeah,” O’Shea said on Wednesday at Tim Hortons Field.

“The average fan, the casual fan is not in the room and does not see exactly what’s asked of a quarterback on each and every play. So it’s difficult for people not directly involved to really assess, or put a grade on a quarterback’s playing ability.”

Willy knows his numbers are not a true indication of his play. Gaining yards and scoring points when your team is losing by a few touchdowns is not really anything to celebrate.

“Yeah, I take a little bit of pride in fitting the ball into some tight windows in certain situations but for us we just want to get off to a good start,” Willy said. “That’s the biggest thing. Put some points on the board in the first quarter, going into halftime, get some momentum.”

Willy will have all his weapons at his disposal in Hamilton. Wide receiver Weston Dressler returns from a concussion and will give the Bombers a great option for shorter passes and yards after the catch.

He’ll join a group of receivers — Darvin Adams, Jace Davis, and running back Andrew Harris — who have all hauled in at least 12 passes through two games.

If Willy can hit his targets early, the team has a chance to be successful.

Of course, just finishing this game would make it better than last year’s game at Tim Hortons Field.

On that Aug. 9 night, Willy suffered a knee injury and was forced to miss the final 11 games of the season.

“Tough day,” Willy said. “Obviously to lose a full season like that in a game, it’s tough.”

Although many fans would like to see backup quarterback Matt Nichols get a chance to move the offence, Willy has to be given some time to work with this new Paul LaPolice offence, while shaking off some of the rust from his injury.

Of course, it won’t matter too much what he does if the defence isn’t better this week.

The Bombers have allowed the opposition to rack up 920 yards of offence in two games and can’t afford to be so loose this week.

There will be a couple of new faces on the defensive side of the ball with Travis Hawkins replacing the injured Bruce Johnson at halfback and Adrian Hubbard coming onto the roster to play defensive end.

“I expect Adrian to get after the passer and show off his athletic ability and I expect Hawkins to be where he’s supposed to be and use his quickness to his advantage and make some plays,” O’Shea said.

The only person taking more heat that Willy these days is O’Shea. The Bombers were supposed to be better this year after spending a boatload of money in free agency, but they haven’t even come close to winning.

O’Shea had only two days to prepare his team for this game, but believes that’s a good thing. The Bombers were an enthusiastic bunch during practice and believe they are a better team than they’ve showed so far. They will need to prove it with a good start and a consistent effort Thursday.

“It generally comes down to a bit of execution,” O’Shea said. “It’s multi-faceted. Defensively, if we get off the field, then the offence has more possessions and more opportunities to get into a rhythm and special teams can get us better field position and then drives might be shorter and we might have a different set of calls to start games with. Obviously on the offence, you just want to make sure you stay on the field and finish drives.”

Medlock ready for the wild Hamilton wind

HAMILTON — If anyone knows how to kick in the wild wind of Tim Hortons Field, it’s Justin Medlock.

The Blue Bombers kicker spent two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and specifically practiced, even in the off-season, for dealing with the frequent winds that come off Lake Ontario.

“You get used to it as you practice more and you just get a feel for heavy days that are windy and days that aren’t too bad,” Medlock said ahead of Thursday’s Bombers game against the Tiger-Cats.

It was an adventure for Tiger-Cats kicker Brett Maher last week, as he missed all three of his attempts in a loss to the B.C. Lions on a windy night. B.C.’s Richie Leone made three of five field goals.

“They’ll get it straightened out,” Medlock said. “They’re professional kickers and they’re good, so they’ll figure it out. It’s obviously tough ... you don’t wish that on anybody.”

Medlock, the most accurate placekicker in CFL history, has attempted only two field goals this season, making one from 58 yards out and hitting the upright on the other. He is three-for-three on extra points.

“Hopefully we can get some reps in and a lot of extra points,” he said. “My first year in Hamilton I only had one field goal after two games so no panic, we’ll get it going and I’m sure they’ll come.”