It’s a vital relationship that must work for any football team to be successful. But it can also occasionally be an awkward union.
The starting quarterback and offensive coordinator, simply put, not only must get along, but be open and frank with each other. And if there are no symbiosis, there are no first downs and touchdowns.
All of this has made the Winnipeg Blue Bombers an interesting case study over the last two weeks.
Rookie quarterback Chris Streveler – named the club’s starting quarterback after the injury to Matt Nichols just four days before the opener – is the talk of the Canadian Football League two weeks into the 2018 season. He has thrown for a league-leading six touchdowns and is fourth rushing.
And, just to hammer home his early success, he was named one of the CFL’s Top Performers for his work in last week’s mauling of the Montreal Alouettes, along with Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell and Jeremiah Masoli of Hamilton.
So clearly, the two men linked on and off the field – remember, the offensive coordinator is also in the quarterback’s ear before every snap – have made a ton of progress in the last 16 days.
“It’s a weekly-basis thing,” said LaPolice after practice Tuesday when asked to speak on the evolution of his relationship with the young pivot. “One of the best things he told me at halftime last week is, ‘I don’t like this play, this play and this play.’ Perfect. Because alright, I’m not calling those.
“It’s a moving target. You just keep going. I’ve only called two games with the guy. You want to get as many situations as you can and just start seeing what he processes. Part of the philosophy here is, ‘What do you think?’ We tell the players, ‘What do you think?’ They have to do it on the field and we always say, ‘Fix it on the field.’
“It’s not my offence, it’s our offence. ‘Do you want this in, do you want this called, do you not?’ We can move on because there are plenty of things to call and they have to take ownership on that and that’s what we take pride in around here.”
It’s much, much too early to read anything into two games and eight quarters of work. That said, the Bombers have averaged 39 points offensively through two games and lead the CFL with nine touchdowns.
Streveler is grabbing all the headlines, but it’s the men around him who are truly helping make this work. The offensive line has yielded just two sacks, Drew Wolitarsky leads all receivers with three TDs, and the Bombers are first in the league in rushing.
Knowing all that, the rookie QB seemed a little reluctant to spend any time thumping his chest about his CFL Top Performers honour on Tuesday.
“I don’t really look too much at accolades,” said Streveler. “I know that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s about the team. So, we won last week. That’s in the past, we put that in the past a few days ago and we’re moving forward to playing a really good opponent this week.
“All that stuff… it is what it is. It doesn’t really change how we’re preparing this week at all.”
Still, it can’t hurt for a guy to have his tires pumped up once in a while, right? Streveler was asked if the weekly award could help boost his confidence.
“I get my confidence from my teammates around me,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in them and I hope that as we can continue to grow, they can gain confidence in me. My confidence doesn’t come from any yards or statistics, players of the week or anything like that. It comes from working with my teammates and just growing with them.
“I’m just happy to be playing football. There are a lot of people who don’t get the opportunity to play football after college at the next level. So to be up here getting to go through the process of watching film, learning every day and getting to go out on the field and play, whether it’s a game or practice, I’m just having a ton of fun with that. This is one of the most fun groups I’ve ever been around. Talking trash at practice back and forth. Pumping each other up… we’ve got some really good leaders on this team who make it a blast to come in here every single day.”
BOMBER REPORT | June 26, 2018
OUCH UPDATE:
Not practising for the Bombers on Tuesday were RB Andrew Harris and DE Trent Corney while OL Pat Neufeld was back at his left guard spot. With DB Anthony Gaitor out, Maurice Leggett was working in his spot.
Here’s Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea on the status of Harris:
“I’m pretty positive he’s going to be good. With veterans, and we talk about this all the time, I don’t think they need practice reps. They’re sharp, they stay so focused in meetings and then, really, what it comes down to is Al (Couture, Bombers Head Athletic Therapist) is monitoring these players and their health and we don’t ever want to put them in a tough spot.
“But when you ask the players, and the veteran guys are always very honest because in the end they want to win and they know if they’re not 100 percent or they don’t think they can compete at that level to help us win, they’re going to make sure they tell us. These guys all think he’ll be ready to go.”
TRAVELLING ROAD SHOW:
The Bombers are in the stretch of playing four of their next five on the road and this week’s visit to Hamilton will mark the third successive week the club will play in a home opener – their own, Montreal’s last week and now Hamilton’s after they opened with games in Calgary and Edmonton.
O’Shea was asked if he’s noticed teams are more amped up for their home opener.
“You’d like to say that, I guess, when you’re talking about your own home crowd,” he said. “But the fact is, if you’re getting more fired up for one game than the next you’re going to let your fans down eventually, right?”
Streveler, meanwhile, spoke of his next CFL tour stop.
“I’m really looking forward to being there. I’ve never been to Hamilton,” he said. “I think they’ve got a really good fan base and it should be pretty loud. I’ve been talking with some of the guys about the noise and how to be efficient with that. It should be a really fun atmosphere.
“It’s always fun, personally for me, getting on the road and seeing a brand new place. I’ve never really travelled around Canada. I’ve been to B.C. for the away game. Been to Montreal, been to Winnipeg. Every other place will be brand new.”
OOPS:
Tristan Okpalaugo talked post-game about messing up on what would have been his own interception in last Friday’s win over Montreal when he went offside before tipping and then grabbing a pass. It was the only blemish on a night in which he was dominant, with two sacks.
But he did hear about going offside in the film sessions following Friday’s win.
“If it’s not one thing it’s going to be another that we’re scrutinized about,” said O’Shea with a grin. “And one thing we’ve been very good about the last couple of years is our penalties – we’ve really limited them and we take a lot of pride in that. And when it results in a takeaway being erased in their zone… that’s why he got the hard time.
“We review all the penalties all the time, but that’s why Tristan might have got a little extra hard time because he cancelled out his own interception.”
HOF PASSES:
The Bombers lost a member of their Hall of Fame recently with news that running back Jim Washington, who played for the club from 1974-79 and left in second spot on the team’s all-time rushing yardage list behind only Leo Lewis (since passed by Charles Roberts and Willard Reaves, but still ranking fourth) had passed away last Sunday in Charleston, S.C.
His obituary can be found here.
Washington led the Bombers in rushing for six straight seasons and was inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club’s Hall of Fame in 1994.
Here’s a clip of his skills, from the 1976 West Semi-Final against Edmonton.
TOUGH CUSTOMER:
One more from O’Shea, who weighed in on the injury to Toronto Argonauts QB and future HOF Ricky Ray. O’Shea was on the Argos coaching staff in Toronto when Ray was traded there.
“What do you think? Well, you think obviously just like when a guy goes down on your team it’s mostly a personal thing,” he said. “Because I was around Toronto and he was there, however small that personal relationship may be, you still feel for the guy. You want him to spring up and get off the field. You want his wife and kids to see that he’s all right.
“He’ll be all right. He’s a tough customer. For the league, you want him back as quickly as possible.”
