GAME 2 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (0-1) at MONTREAL ALOUETTES (0-1)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT Friday; Percival Molson Stadium, Montreal
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN2
Radio: CJOB
Vegas line: The Bombers are favoured by two points.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 1L; Montreal: 1L
Home/Road: The Bombers were 6-3 on the road last year; Montreal was 3-6 at home.
Recent history: Winnipeg is 10-4 in its last 14 games vs. Montreal. But as much as the Als were an absolute nightmare last year – finishing with a league-worst 3-15 – the games against the Bombers were close: the Bombers needed a miracle in their 41-40 victory last July 27th and then won 34-31 in overtime in Montreal.
3 STORYLINES
1. THE APPRENTICESHIP OF CHRIS STREVELER, CHAPTER 2
He made some mistakes in his professional debut, but there was a whole lot to like about rookie quarterback Chris Streveler’s handiwork last week. The University of South Dakota/Minnesota product has referenced how he continues to learn with each snap, and that’s not only obvious when studying the Edmonton film, but in simply watching him daily at practice.
The key now, quite clearly, is for him to take another forward step in his development.
Streveler was 15 of 28 for 178 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Just to put that into perspective, dating back to 2014 quarterbacks not named Matt Nichols or Drew Willy have hardly wrapped themselves in glory in their spot starts. Consider that Brian Brohm, Robert Marve, Dan LeFevour and Dominique Davis made a combined six starts over that span for the Bombers, with only Marve throwing for a single touchdown against a combined three interceptions.
Critical in all this is the comfort level offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice is developing calling plays for the young pivot, because the foundation – his demeanor, willingness to learn and leadership skills – are all already in place.
“He spends a lot of time in the building,” LaPolice said of Streveler. “The other day he came in and we were watching some film on things and I said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about this… have you done it before?’ He said, ‘No, I haven’t. But we did it a little bit in practice in Minnesota and I know I can execute it.’ He doesn’t speak too much… sometimes guys are trying to show you how much they know. He doesn’t do that. But if you ask him a question, he’s got an answer.
“The other thing is he handles the huddle well. Some guys get in the huddle and they’re nervous or can’t handle it. He doesn’t need the play call read to him. He hears it once and can repeat it. All those things are about a guy having a command and a presence. And he has that.”
But Streveler is less of an unknown after one start, and you can bet the revamped Montreal defence will come at the rookie with a swack of different looks.
2. STEADY SPECIAL TEAMS
The effort by their specialists in Week 1 hit both extremes of the spectrum.
There was the spectacular 110-yard missed-field-goal-return touchdown by Kevin Fogg, while the kick-cover units served up a solid night – especially given the conditions and the two weather delays.
But two plays in particular were critical in the setback. First, Ryan Lankford returned a kickoff 60 yards and into Edmonton territory before fumbling the ball. While Kyrie Wilson recovered the football, he had stepped out of bounds just prior to the Lankford gaffe and was ruled ineligible. That cost the Bombers decent field position, and potentially, at least a field goal.
The Bombers were also leading 27-19 in the third quarter and had a chance to further grow that lead with what would have been a 40-yard Justin Medlock field goal when the hold by Alex Ross was off, forcing the quarterback to pick the ball up and an attempt a pass – which not only went incomplete, but landed Ross on the injured list.
This club arguably gets more from its special teams than any team in the CFL, but with that come increased expectations. And in a three-point loss, those lost opportunities were crucial.
3. FINISH, FINISH, FINISH
The Bombers defence is under the microscope again after Mike Reilly rallied his squad from a 30-22 deficit with 10 points in the final six minutes last week. Reilly completed 32 of 46 passes for 408 yards – marking the fourth time since the start of 2016 the Bombers have surrendered over 400 yards through the air (July 14, 2016: 465 by Reilly; October 8, 2016: 422 by B.C.’s Jonathon Jennings and October 21, 2017: 423 by Toronto’s Ricky Ray).
But before critics slam down on the panic button, a take from new Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill, who spoke about the defence and the ‘explosion’ plays surrendered:
“I felt great about (the defence). Contested balls, 50-50… to have three big plays… we were in position with hands up. If they make a great play, shoot, that’s football. We’ll live to play another down. As long as the ball is not over our head with a miscommunication and no one in sight, I could care less. Guys were fighting hard. Take three plays away you’re taking 180 yards (passing) off the board and (Edmonton) is throwing in the mid-2s (200 yards).
“So, big plays have big impacts on the game momentum-wise. We saw that the other night. But we’re going to come down with a lot of those 50-50 balls, too. There’s no room for panic, there’s no room for getting worried. It’s just continue to improve on what we do and we’ll be that much better.”
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#17 Chris Streveler, QB: No sense over-thinking this… rookie QB making his second pro start. Will he progress or take a lateral or step back?
#45 Jovan Santos-Knox, LB: He made his first CFL start in last year’s Banjo Bowl and just seems to get better with each passing week. Had six tackles and a sack in last week’s loss.
#10 Nic Demski, receiver: His Bomber debut featured four receptions for 32 yards and two carries for 20. Expect him to be just as busy against Montreal.
X FACTOR
#92 Drake Nevis, defensive tackle: Nevis backed up an excellent training camp with four tackles, including two for losses. If the club can continue to get that kind of work from the interior of their defensive line, coupled with the work of the rotation of ends, the Bombers defence becomes that much stouter.
CRITICAL NUMBER
25:20: The Bombers time of possession in last week’s loss totalled just 25 minutes and 20 seconds, far less than the Eskimos 34:40. Edmonton ran 11 more plays than the Bombers, who were just 9-of-22 in second-down conversions.
Those numbers, indirectly, came up this week in a chat with the Bombers Andrew Harris, when the all-star running back was asked what the offence must do to be more efficient in Week 2.
“It’s just staying on the field,” he said. “It was tough to sustain drives in that game due to weather and maybe some nerves and having a new guy back there. We’ve got to settle in and sustain drives and get into a rhythm. That game was definitely tough to get into a rhythm based on the elements.”
MISC.
- Weston Dressler moved past Robert Gordon into 23rd spot on the CFL’s all-time receiving yardage list with 9,565. He trails Jock Climie by only 54 yards and is just 172 yards from moving into the CFL’s Top 20.
- The CFL has a new stats innovation this season which tracks the average length of pass attempts for the league’s quarterbacks. Interestingly, after Week 1 Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell ranked first with an average depth of 16.2 yards per pass. Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler averaged 9.0 yards, fifth overall. Montreal’s Drew Willy averaged 7.5 yards, or last among starters.
- Further to CFL stats innovations, the league had suspended tracking QB pressures which were implemented last season. The explanation is here:
“This is primarily due to its subjectivity and real difficulty in being consistent from play to play. Our coaches have expressed that for it to be helpful, it needs to be applied in the same way for each pass drop back but that remains a real challenge for our stats crews.” - No CFL running back managed to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark in Week 1 – Calgary’s Don Jackson led with 87 yards, followed by Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris with 77. That marked only the second time in the last 13 years that no RB reached 100 yards in the first week.
- The Alouttes have had 13 different starting quarterbacks since Anthony Calvillo’s last game in August of 2013. Drew Willy made his third start for Montreal last week.
