It’s a fair question, and perhaps even more pertinent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers undergoing a mini-offensive makeover recently due to a swack of injuries to key personnel:
Are Canadian Football League rivals giving even more attention to Andrew Harris than usual, almost daring Paul LaPolice & Co. to beat them with the rest of their offence?
That may be an all-too simplistic take on what has happened to the attack in the last two weeks, a stretch in which the club has managed just 327 and 214 net yards – that 214 total in the win over B.C. last Saturday the lowest in these parts since 2015 – and especially given the absence of running back/slotback Timonthy Flanders, that quarterback Matt Nichols played just the first half in the loss to Hamilton and all-star receiver Darvin Adams was lost in the first quarter against the Lions.
Mind you, the Lions blueprint in limiting Harris to an average of 3.9 yards on his 22 touches – even in defeat – might be something more teams adopt as the meaty part of the season nears.
“Last week we had a good gameplan, but just made too many mistakes in picking things up,” said Harris this week. “There were definitely a lot of yards left on the field and that’s the frustrating part – there were lots of opportunities to make big plays and we left it out there.
“Even when I went out in passing situations there was some double-coverage and bracketing me a little bit. But again, guys have to step up and make plays. That includes me. If I’m going to get more touches then I have to be able to get that done.”
Even with the recent dip, the Bombers offensive numbers are still impressive, and rank up there with the best in the league:
- Offensive points: 28.1, 2nd; (Cal: 28.9)
- Offence touchdowns: 40, T-4th; (Edm, Ott: 42; Sask: 41)
- Net offence: 379.0, 4th; (Edm: 407.1)
- First downs: 371, 2nd (Ott: 391)
- Time of possession: 29:45, 7th (Edm: 31:47)
- Rushing yards: 103.9, 1st
- Passing yards: 292.1, 7th (Edm: 333.1)
- Completion percentage: 70.4, 1st
The number that concerns LaPolice is the most basic: in the last three games – granted, two of them were victories – the Bombers have managed to run 53, 52 and 55 offensive plays, the lowest three totals of the season.
And it stands to reason that when an offence isn’t staying on the field – and not because they were crushing teams with quick kills – the production across the board, both team-wise and individually, naturally plummets.
“When you don’t have a lot of plays, not a lot of people touch the football,” LaPolice reasoned. “What we’ve got to do is get more first downs in the last two weeks. And when we get first downs then everybody touches the football, then Andrew’s touches are going to go up and all those things.
“We had a couple mental errors that had people in the wrong spots. And then when you’re in the wrong spots, you’re not coordinated in what you should do. It happened on one of our run plays where we thought Andrew would have really popped it for a huge gain. We didn’t get lined up right because guys are moving spots and then we don’t do our responsibility because we got lined up so late.
“It’s attention to detail.”
The Bombers will be without Darvin Adams for the rest of the regular season and – based on the news delivered by head coach Mike O’Shea on Tuesday – quite possibly for the rest of the year. The club had L’Damian Washington in his spot at practice on Wednesday, with the rest of the first unit receiving corps featuring Julian Feoli-Gudino at wide receiver along with veterans Clarence Denmark and Weston Dressler and newcomer Chris Givens working on the inside.
LaPolice credited Givens for his work in practice and the minimal mental mistakes he has made while describing him as a good route runner with good speed.
“He’s done a great job of taking the coaching and being where he needs to be,” said quarterback Matt Nichols. “He’s a physically gifted guy who runs good routes… everything you’re looking for. I just want to make sure the things he is doing here show up on game day and the only way to do that is to go play with live bullets.”
Nichols has seen the response he wanted from the offence this week, pointing to that attention to detail and a desire to get the offence back to producing the yards and points it was just a couple of weeks ago.
“It was just an off performance by our offence last week and the guys are chomping at the bit to get back out there and fix some of our mistakes from last week,” he said.
“We had a bunch of different guys playing different positions and switched a bunch of guys around during the course of the game, trying to find the best fit. There’s nothing to replace guys getting reps at a position and the guys were able to do that this week.
“You just build a comfort level and go out there and play fast and execute your assignments better.”
BOMBER REPORT – October 18, 2017
WHO GOES WHERE?
The Bombers were moving defensive pieces all over the place at Wednesday’s practice, but Kevin Fogg looks to be the replacement for Maurice Leggett in certain schemes. The club is also hoping to get LB Ian Wild back in the defensive rotation – he’s been out since Week 2 and just officially came off his second stint on the six-game injured list on Tuesday.
“I want to get in as quick as possible,” said Wild. “I’ve been out a while and so I’m definitely itching to play. I know it’s late in the season and everybody’s in midseason form while I’m knocking some rust off. If I can just get in a little bit and knock some rust off, I’ll be happy.
“It’s like a whole offseason I was out. It was like I had to get myself back in shape and train all over again after sitting out. It’s definitely tough, but I feel like I’m back in shape now and ready to go.”
Wild’s impending return could be a bonus for a Bombers defence that will miss both Leggett’s playmaking ability and his experience.
“Ian Wild is always going to be ready to go,” said Mike O’Shea. “It’s a matter of him working back in. He’s always attentive in meetings, he’s a guy that people still rely upon to ask questions to and he’ll have the answers. He’s as ready as anyone would ever be to step back on the field. He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s an intuitive football player. I don’t know that there’s much Ian can’t do.”
THE HIP
The Bombers had The Tragically Hip playing in their locker room before, during and after practice on Wednesday in honour of lead singer Gord Downie, who passed away Tuesday night.
“Big fan… very sad day today hearing the news,” said O’Shea. “We’ve had The Hip cranked out here in the locker room and in my office, too, for the majority of the day.
“I saw The Hip three times. I’ve got a buddy who saw them 21 times, including three times on the last tour. Finishing high school in ’89 and going through university, what I said to my son is basically every good time that me and my high school buddies had, The Hip was always playing in the background. It’s a sad day for Canada.”
Asked if he had ever met Downie, O’Shea added:
“He was in the chiropractor’s office – we had the same chiropractor for a bit – and he was sitting there with one of his children. I was just gobsmacked. So I didn’t go and say anything to him… I just stared at him, probably. You know… it’s Gord Downie.”
