Two quarterbacks.

One returned to work just days after suffering an upper body injury and the other was the talk of the league after an impressive CFL debut.

Drew Willy and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers face Rakeem Kato and the Montreal Alouettes tonight (CJRB radio 1220 6 p.m.) at Investors Group Field.

Willy took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Hamilton defensive lineman Adrian Tracy late in the first quarter of Winnipeg's 52-26 loss to the Tiger-Cats last Thursday but was back on the field Monday with his teammates at practice.

The Bombers pivot says running backs Paris Cotton and Cameron Marshall need to play a big role in the offense.

"Basically being able to keep the balance between run and pass is so key just because the defense can't load up the box or bring certain pressures," Willy said. "They know on a run - that if they're in a wrong gap then that's going to get creased for a long gain. We've got to stay ahead of the sticks, making sure on first down your successful so on second down your conversion rate goes up. In the Saskatchewan game we were over 70% on the second down conversion rate and that's very, very high in this league. We need to get back to that for sure."

Kato made is his first CFL start last weekend at home against the Calgary Stampeders and completed 20-of-25 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns in the Alouettes 29-11 victory over the defending Grey Cup champions.

"He didn't make many rookie mistakes," said Winnipeg linebacker Chris Randle. "He had a really clean game and they had a clean plan for him. We prepare as well as we can for tendencies and things that they like to do but honestly, he's a good player."

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea has made one lineup change.

Wide receiver Rory Kolhert will make his season debut tonight.

Kolhert missed the first two games as he was recuperating from a leg injury.

"Montreal's a good team." said Kohlert. "They have veteran defensive backs that do a lot of things well. They showed it last week. Calgary's a good team and they beat the Stampeders. It's going to be a good game."

 

 

Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy on his return to practice this week after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from Hamilton defensive lineman Adrian Tracy in week two