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Upon Further Review July 23, 2017

Upon Further Review | BC 45, WPG 42

T.J. Thorpe (14) of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Micah Awe (51) of the BC Lions during the game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC., on Friday, July 21, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

@EdTaitWFC

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The aftermath following any Winnipeg Blue Bombers loss can be ugly and it can be painful.

And that’s especially so after a game like Friday night in Vancouver – a 45-42 loss to the B.C. Lions – in which the Bombers surrendered a 15-point fourth-quarter loss and whiffed on enough plays in the critical moments to drop them to 2-2 early in the CFL season.

It was textbook ‘could have, should have, would have.’

“They hit a play, we hit a play, they hit a play… but they were able to hit one more play than we did,” said Bombers defensive end Jamaal Westerman afterward. “That’s the story of the game, that’s the story of a win – who would make the last play and they ended up making it.

“Tonight, we just weren’t good enough. We were an inch off, a play off, a yard off. It was a game that was close in the fourth quarter, that had the possibility of going to overtime with a kick that was maybe one yard short with the best kicker probably in CFL history.

“Those are the games that you kill for… that tough, gritty game where you battle all game.”

More on the Bombers loss to the Lions in our weekly collection of notes and quotes we call Upon Further Review…

Matt Nichols (15) of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the game against the BC Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC., on Friday, July 21, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

TWO PLAYS REALLY STAND OUT… in a contest that was absolutely riveting, and they both involved kicker Justin Medlock.

There was the 50-yard field goal attempt with no time left that just fell short – “I just missed it a little bit. It just happens,” said Medlock. “I’ll get it next time.”

And then there was the much-talked about fake punt in the fourth quarter that has so many scratching their heads and cursing.

The Bombers, up 42-34 after a Manny Arceneaux TD, had chipped into a 15-point lead, had lost momentum offensively, and were facing a third-and-15 from their own 26 when Medlock attempted a fake punt, throwing a pass to Derek Jones – who never turned his back to see the ball – that was knocked down by Lions’ Dakota Brush.

That set the Lions up at the Bombers 26-yard line and two plays later, Travis Lulay scrambled in from 14 yards out, and after a successful two-point convert, a game the visitors seemingly had control of was now tied at 42-42.

“It was just a mistake,” said Medlock. “I’ll clean it up a little bit. It happens and you move on. I’ll take the blame and whatever comes with it. I’m not going to sit here and point fingers. Obviously, you could sit here and do whatever but that’s not who I am.”

Asked about the play after the game, Jones politely offered a ‘no comment.’

WHAT’S DONE IS DONE, BUT… for what it’s worth, here’s how head coach Mike O’Shea explained the fake punt call post-game:

“It’s a called play. We had that up. B.C. doesn’t honour the receivers – the cover guys out there – and they bring an extra rusher to try and get that rusher to the ball and they just don’t cover guys.

“We’re green light on that… it’s offensive football. When we have the ball, it’s offensive football and if they’re not going to cover a guy on offence, you throw them the ball. We saw that tonight. Our offence threw some balls to guys who were uncovered and it’s the same thing on special teams.

“It got well covered. They spotted it late and moved a guy on over and we just didn’t make that play.”

The Bombers, to a man, didn’t offer up much more detail on the call other than that. But long-time Bombers kicker Troy Westwood gave his thoughts through a series of tweets after the game:

 

 

 

 

 

THE UNFORTUNATE PART FOR THE FOOT SOLDIERS… who make up the special teams is the fake punt overshadows what could have been remembered as a solid night from that bunch.

First, there was the first-quarter blocked punt by Derek Jones that helped set up the Bombers first touchdown. And later, near the end of the first half, there was a perfectly-executed fake field goal in which Medlock lined up for a 48-yard attempt but launched a moon shot to the right sideline that was scooped up by an onside Mike Miller and returned to the Lions’ seven-yard line, setting up a Darvin Adams’ seven-yard TD.

Those plays get lost, sadly, after the botched fake punt attempt in the fourth quarter.

“We don’t ever think of them as trick plays,” said O’Shea. “They’re well designed and well thought out and therefore well executed by the players that buy into that. Again, when you have the ball, it’s offensive football. To run a play when you’re on offence isn’t really trickery even though we’ve got our kick team out there… they all want to play other positions on offence, too.”

LOST IN ALL THE SPECIAL TEAMS STUFF… is how the Bombers offence also sputtered at critical moments in the second half.

Down 20-7 in the second quarter after another slow start – Matt Nichols was sacked twice on the first two possessions and took a pounding early – the Bombers rallied to seemingly take control.

There was a seven-play 44-yard drive, including the fake field goal, that brought the Bombers to within 27-21. And then the first two possessions of the second half featured a seven-play 59-yard drive capped by a Nichols 20-yard TD run, followed by an eight-play 90-yard drive finished by Darvin Adams’ second score of the game.

Immediately after that, Jake Thomas picked off Travis Lulay – the first interception of his career – and lateralled the ball to Kyle Knox who returned it for a 34-yard TD and the Bombers were suddenly up 42-27.

But on the next six Bombers offensive possessions, the attack did not register a first down – managing just 11 yards total – while turning the ball over twice, once on the fake punt and the second time an interception of an errant Nichols throw with 1:29 left that set up the game-winning field goal.

“We knew all week on film that (B.C. defensive back Ronnie Yell) is a guy that squats out there,” said Nichols. “Basically, I lost vision on him… I thought I saw his shoulders turn and run and just went with what I saw. He kind of acted like he was going to turn and run with Darvin and then just sat there and made a good play. Credit to him.”

Two numbers that speak of the Bombers offensive inconsistency: they have now been out-scored in all four first quarters this season, 32-14 overall, and by 32-9 in four fourth quarters this year, including 18-zip against the Leos.

“Once we got rolling I felt like we did some good things,” said Nichols, “but we’ve got to find a way to close those games out.”

Travis Lulay (14) of the BC Lions and Brandon Alexander (21) of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC., on Friday, July 21, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

THE BOMBERS LOVE THE VERSATILITY… of Brandon Alexander, and it’s a characteristic that was certainly tested Friday night in Vancouver. Alexander had started at the wide-side corner position through the first three games of the season, but was switched to strong-side linebacker late last week when it was determined Moe Leggett would be out with a lower-body injury. Alexander finished with four tackles while the man who replaced him in the secondary, Brian Walker, led the club with seven tackles.

“I felt good,” said Alexander, “and the reason I felt good is everybody was communicating left, right, up and down. As long as I had that, I felt good.

“It’s a different position because you have more chances to play the run and you have to be more aware of the waggle guy, that guy coming off the line, instead of just sitting there. Those are the two big adjustments. Other than that, it’s still football.”

ANOTHER NEW FACE WHO IMPRESSED WAS… slotback T.J. Thorpe, making his regular season debut after showing so much promise in training camp before suffering a pair of injuries.

Thorpe finished the night with eight receptions for 65 yards – the second-highest catch total of the night next to Andrew Harris’ incredible 12-reception performance.

“I just wanted to go out and be as physical as possible and catch the ball when my number’s called,” said Thorpe. “It was a wild game, a rollercoaster ride and draining.

“We had opportunities to close that one and made it tough on ourselves. That’s what happens when you let a team hang around.

“Honestly, it felt great. That was just the tip of the iceberg for me and hopefully with more game experience I can pick it up and I’ll get better. We’re so close. I’m ready to get back to work.”

THE WAY FRIDAY’S GAME ENDED… looked a lot like last year’s West Semifinal. But clearly there wasn’t as much anger in the room afterward as there was in last November’s defeat – one which ended their season.

“I don’t think there’s anger. We just didn’t finish,” said Westerman. “We just didn’t seal the deal. We know they’re a good team. We know they have good receivers that can make plays, a good defence that can rush the passer and are very athletic. We knew we had to be at our best and in a game like this, we were one step off.”

“We’re OK,” added T.J. Heath. “We’re 2-2 and it’s a long season ahead of us. It’s too early to be putting our heads down right now. We just didn’t finish. They say no lead is safe in this league, but the defence should have stepped up and made a few more plays.

“We’ll see them down the road.”