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A tender right knee won't keep Drew Willy from starting this week. The thing is, it comes as less and less of a surprise every time the tough-as-nails quarterback finds a way to bounce back in miraculous fashion from hellacious hits and consistent beatings from opposing defences through 22 starts as a Blue Bomber.

Willy was sacked 68 times in 2014 as the team set a single-season franchise mark with 71 total sacks against. This year the Bombers' sophomore starter has already been knocked out of two of the five games he has started.

Now, one might argue both of those instances resulted in fines levied by the league on the player causing Willy's game-ending injuries — Hamilton's Adrian Tracy for his helmet-to-helmet hit in Week 2 and Edmonton's Eddie Steele for his low hit on the quarterback last week.

Yet here we are, five games into a new season, with the Bombers tied with the Calgary Stampeders for a league-worst 12 sacks allowed and Marcel Bellefeuille's offence unable to find a semblance of a consistent running attack — all while spending big free agent dollars and their two most recent first-round draft picks on upgrades to the offensive line. It's what many would expect to result in a major improvement to the most pressing area of need following a forgettable 2014.

"We're still growing as an offensive line — as a group," said blindside tackle Stanley Bryant, who may be the biggest free agent fish Winnipeg was able to reel in this winter. "Each game we have some ups and downs. We just have to get better. It's not a slow process, but once we get on the same page and do the things we know we can do as a group, we'll be just fine."

Heading into their Week 6 matchup with the BC Lions, and a defence double-headed by All-Star linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill, Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea has decided to shuffle the deck and give Pat Neufeld his first start of the season in place of a healthy Chris Greaves at left guard. Interestingly, the move keeps rookie Sukh Chung in at right guard while the six-year veteran Greaves will be a healthy scratch for the first time since his sophomore season back in 2011.

"Some roster changes are just about feeling it out and seeing what the best combination is to have the most production across the entire game plan," said O'Shea. "I'm looking how it all fits. Sometimes pressure on the quarterback doesn't come from the offensive line — it comes from the depth of the route or the quarterback in the wrong spot to start. There are a lot of different factors. Sometimes the rush yards on a particular play don't come from the offensive line — they come from steps of the running back or the defence you're playing."

Neufeld returns after suffering an ankle injury in training camp, resulting in him starting the season on the 6-Game Injured List.

"When you get opportunities to play guys you can do a little bit of roster shuffling," added the head coach. "It'll help in terms of depth as the season goes on because guys will have in-game reps. It was also, with the competition this year, to work the roster early on in the season to figure out what you have and what's best to each particular game."

"I'm feeling awesome. Feeling great," said the fifth-year veteran Neufeld, now in his third season in Blue & Gold. "Body is feeling really well. I'm just ready to go and compete and go get a win."

Neufeld, who has played a good chunk of his career on the right side at both tackle and guard, moves over to the left side.

"It's a little adjustment. Flipping from the right to left, your footwork is just a little different," said the 26-year-old, who has practiced at every position on the O-line this month barring left tackle. "Having played left guard before, I have a good feel for it. Having a lot of reps in practice the last couple weeks, I have a good feel for it. So it's not going to be an issue."

But the question fans in Winnipeg want answered; will changes to the offensive line help or hinder this up-and-down Blue Bombers offence?

"In every single game they're going to have plays that they want back," added O'Shea. "And it usually comes down to communication, which would imply gelling. And do we put them in bad spots by making changes? The plan is not to put them in bad spots."

"I think that they realize that what the goal is takes a bit of work to get there."

Notes:

CFL receptions leader Nick Moore (28) is out this week after suffering a lower-body injury last week in Edmonton. Moore will be replaced at slotback by rookie Justin Veltung who started the first three games of the season in place of returner Troy Stoudermire as he recovered from a broken hand… Jace Daniels returns to his starting spot at right tackle after missing last week with a lower-body injury. In his place last week, Devin Tyler has now found himself on the 6-Game Injured List with a lower-body injury of his own… Starters on the defensive line, Greg Peach (lower-body) and Bryant Turner (thumb), remain on the 6-Game. There is potential for Turner to return soon as the club sees a playing cast as a possibility for the defensive tackle.