Even in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie head coach Mike O'Shea remains surprisingly calm and composed. Many wonder, especially after a surprising 5-1 start to the season, how — or even why — the first-year field general still keeps his cool.

"I don't think it does any good to — certainly, you never panic and certainly it does you no good to rant and rave," said O'Shea ahead of his club's home finale against the B.C. Lions on Saturday. "I think what you need to do, and what I've always said is, you need to get a good understanding of why things are happening and how you fix them. The how you fix them part has been a little more challenging than maybe I thought."

A franchise now removed from a tumultuous and damaging time that is oft-referred as the "Joe Mack Era," O'Shea has been repeatedly clear that his job is to build this team up — not tear them down.

"What I do know and what I've maintained — and then maybe this is the reason why I can — is we've got guys who are working extremely hard," he said. "I'm not watching our players go out on the field and give poor effort — which would be extremely frustrating — which would cause me to react in a different fashion. What I see is a lot of guys working hard and mistakes that pop up."

The changes off the field began near-immediately during last off-season, but the on-field changes tasked to O'Shea and his coordinators, Gary Etcheverry and Marcel Bellefeuille, continue every week. While Winnipeg's playoff chances (albeit, slim as can be) remain intact, new players are inserted into the starting lineup on a weekly basis since the beginning of October. This week is no different for the 6-10 club.

"It's good when you're finally getting comfortable with the system and you can play at a fast speed," said receiver Justin Wilson, who will make his first career professional start in place of injured slotback Nick Moore (knee), just three weeks after signing to Winnipeg's practice roster. "It's a lot to get used to. It's a little different than the American game, but this is all football at the end of the day… I've been talking with (quarterback Drew Willy) a lot after practice, just getting little timing things down."

Last week it was O-lineman Jace Daniels, after spending just 10 days in Canada before getting the start at left tackle for the injured Glenn January. With the veteran January returning from two games off with a back injury, Daniels, assumedly having left a positive impression on the coaching staff in his first pro start, will line up at right tackle for Devin Tyler, who was in a walking-boot this week with turf toe.

But personnel aren't the only changes. Etcheverry's defence ran some plays with four linebackers and just three down-linemen in practice this week, possibly to get a look at new linebacker Will Smith alongside the team's starting middle linebacker, Ian Wild.

"Definitely, a lot of guys have been trying to help me out," said Smith, inked to the practice roster just a week before his first CFL game against Calgary on October 18, where he played exclusively on special teams. "I'll definitely be helping out a lot more on defence than I was last week. I have a lot more responsibilities on the defensive side of the ball, as well as the special teams aspect."

Notes: Demond Washington is out this week with a suspected concussion suffered in a knee-to-helmet collision against Calgary last week. Desia Dunn, formerly the team's starting weak side linebacker, moves to Washington's halfback spot, while Don Unamba remains on the weak side following an impressive 10-tackle debut where the special-teams ace added an interception… Return specialist Troy Stoudermire, fresh off the six-game injured list where his season was thought to be lost to a toe injury, returns to the lineup this week. Interestingly, the backup defensive back has been seen hanging around the offence while recovering from injury and dawned a white practice jersey along with the rest of the offence this week. Stoudermire was converted to defence in his final year at the University of Minnesota after playing three collegiate seasons as a receiver.