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October 8, 2017

Upon Further Review | HAM 30, WPG 13

53 70 Hamilton Tiger Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Oct 6, 2017

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Andrew Harris said it first while facing the media following just the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ fourth loss in 14 games.

Standing in front of a backdrop and staring into a row of cameras and reporters, the veteran running back used this analogy to describe Friday night’s 30-13 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats:

“They punched us in the mouth and we couldn’t respond from it.”

It was an apt analogy and one that, frankly, should be more than a little disturbing to a team that has effectively managed to flush both wins and losses through a 10-4 record.

The fact that the Tiger-Cats were hungrier and played with a sense of desperation isn’t lost on the Bombers. What was unusual for this bunch is how they didn’t really counter-punch, and that’s uncharacteristic for a team that hasn’t been pushed around like that for most of the season.

So, what made Friday different?

“Sometimes the punch is a little harder,” reasoned Harris. “Hamilton played great. They were nasty and stingy on defence all game and their offence did a great job.

“It’s just football. You have bad days and today wasn’t our best. You’ve just got to flush it, put it in the rearview mirror and keep moving. This is hopefully a wake-up call for us.”

“They came out and punched in the mouth,” added Chris Randle. “They came out ready and I don’t think we responded in the way we wanted to. Myself, I can definitely play better. Chalk it up and get back at it.

“Those guys came out ready and played desperate ball in our home field. We’ve got to do much better than that.”

Later, when asked how the loss might impact the Bombers goal of chasing down the Calgary Stampeders for first place in the West Division – and it sure as heck didn’t help – Randle offered a big-picture take this team might be better off adopting rather than fixating on all the different playoff scenarios that CFL headquarters spits out each week.

“We’ve just got to run our race,” Randle said, “and take it stride by stride.”

More on the loss to Hamilton in our weekly collection of notes and quotes we call UPON FURTHER REVIEW


THE BIG STORY WITHIN THE STORY… for the Bombers, of course, is the status of quarterback Matt Nichols, who did not start the second half after taking some hellacious hits in the opening 30 minutes.

Head coach Mike O’Shea did not have an update immediately after the game, and in all likelihood, we won’t get one until Tuesday when the Bombers are back on the practice field.

TSN cameras caught Nichols hitting his throwing hand on Ticat defensive lineman Adrian Tracey’s helmet – his ring finger on that hand looked to be bloodied – and he then had it hit again by Justin Capicciotti.

“I hope he’s OK,” said guard Sukh Chungh. “I know he’s a tough guy and wouldn’t go out for just some minor things. We’ll do a better job of protecting him up front because it doesn’t look good on the front when the starting QB doesn’t come out after the half.”

THE INJURY TO NICHOLS… was part of a theme for the Bombers Friday night. The Bombers surrendered five sacks against the Ticats and managed just 57 yards rushing on 14 attempts as Hamilton effectively controlled the line of scrimmage.

On top of that, Harris finished with just nine touches – five rushes, four receptions – tying his lowest total as a Bomber since last year’s Banjo Bowl, when he was injured.

“They’re a team that brings a lot of pressure, so I was asked to block a little bit more this week and I felt like I let us down a little bit in that aspect,” said Harris. “Across the board we just have to be better.”

SICK BAY WAS BUSY FRIDAY NIGHT… and the Bombers training staff will be busy leading up to practice on Tuesday. Also dinged in the game were RB Timothy Flanders, DE Trent Corney and FB Mike Miller.

Any absences by any of the above would have a dramatic impact on what the Bombers do across three phases – Flanders as a dynamic tailback/slotback that gives offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice so many options with his attack; Corney had seen his defensive snaps increase with the season-ending injury to Jamaal Westerman, and Miller is simply one of the best special teams player in the whole CFL.

As is the case with Nichols, the status of that trio won’t be known until Tuesday when the club returns to practice.

The Bombers have by and large escaped a rash of injuries and, according to the CFL, had lost just 58 man games to injury prior to Friday night. Hamilton, by comparison, had 176 man games lost to injury.

WORSE-CASE SCENARIO: IF NICHOLS CAN’T GO THIS WEEK AGAINST B.C…. it will be Dom Davis at the controls.

Davis, now 28, saw his first extended stint at the controls since he started the regular season finale in 2015 in a loss to the Toronto Argonauts. He finished the night 9-of-14 for 84 yards while rushing for 21 yards on three carries, but the Bombers managed just three second-half points.

“It’s unfortunate (Nichols) went down,” said Davis afterward. “Hopefully he’s alright. It’s the trainers’ decision to see how he is this upcoming week, but it’s my job to be the back up and I’ve got to be ready and step in there, move the ball and do the best I can to get the ball in the end zone. I didn’t do a good job of that, but I’ve got to pick it up and just come back next week ready to go.”

Davis admittedly pressed as the Bombers tried to rally and it’s that part of his game – perhaps finding a little more patience in his reads – that he wants to improve on going forward.

“Execution… just getting first downs,” he said. “I could have done a better job of just moving the chains. Some second downs I took a couple of shots where I probably could have checked it down and got a first down. That’s something I’ll look at in film and fix the corrections there.”

Davis was also asked what it would mean if he was thrust into the starter’s role with a potential injury to Nichols.

“It means I’ve just got to be the leader, these guys have got to rally around me,” he said. “I know those guys are going to help me be a better player and we’ve got to stick together, just like we’ve been doing all year. It’s a ‘next-man-up’ mentality and we’ve just got to keep going.”

A CHECK-IN ON SOME MILESTONES…

  • Before he was injured, Matt Nichols went over 4,000-yards passing, becoming the first Bomber QB to eclipse that mark since Kevin Glenn threw for 5,114 yards in 2007.
  • Clarence Denmark pulled in six passes for 63 yards, pushing his career totals to 412 receptions (5th in Bombers history) and 5,441 yards (eighth, just 84 yards back of Ernie Pitts).
  • And Andrew Harris became the first Canadian in CFL history to pile up over 4,000 career yards receiving and rushing. He is still chasing becoming the first player in CFL history to reach 1K-1K rushing/receiving in a single season and would need to average 46.8 yards rushing and 58.5 receiving in the final four games to make history. Only Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig have accomplished the 1K-1K mark in NFL history, FYI.

 

AND FINALLY, ALL THIS FOCUS ON THE OFFENCE AND INJURIES… shouldn’t overshadow what was a disappointing effort from the defence, especially after limiting the Ottawa RRDBLACKS to nine points and the Edmonton Eskimos to 19 in the last two weeks.

Hamilton cranked out 475 yards net offence – 146 along the ground, 338 through the air – held the ball for almost 17 minutes more than the Bombers while QB Jeremiah Masoli completed 82 per cent of his passes.

The Ticats also completed 59 percent of their second-down conversions and had four drives of nine plays or longer, including TD marches that began at their five and 10-yard lines.

Here’s Moe Leggett when asked to evaluate the Bombers defensive performance:

“It’s plain and simple: 30 points is too much. I’m not worried about what they did, I’m worried about what we did and we didn’t do a whole lot, including myself. I consider myself a leader and I just wasn’t there to make the plays.

“It’s very disappointing. Very disappointing. We just have to go back to the tape and regroup.”

And so this is a big week for the Bombers, not just because a divisional rival in the B.C. Lions roll into town, but because this team has been effective in stopping losses from forming into skids. Winnipeg hasn’t lost back-to-back games all season, and last dropped two straight late last September, to Calgary and then Edmonton.

“We’re going to be pissed off. I already know… we’re going to be pissed off,” said Leggett. “I just can’t wait to get back out there. If we could go back out there and play right now, I’m ready.”