HAMILTON – Mike O’Shea has always been a black-and-white, eyes straight ahead type and has never been one to mince words.
And his take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday night in Hamilton was succinct:
“We got our butt kicked in the third quarter,” began the Bombers head coach following their 31-17 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “Certainly, right at the end of the (first) half with some penalties aiding them and putting them in field-goal position and some game management stuff on my part we gave up some field goals at the end of the half.
“Against a team like Hamilton, you can’t afford to give them momentum and they came out in the third quarter and I don’t like that first long drive they had. We’ve got to stop them… if we stop one of those drives there we’re doing OK, but we gave up 15 points in the third and took way too many penalties. It’s hard to win these games against good football teams when you take that many penalties and extend drives.”
And that, in 130 words, perfectly encapsulates the Bombers on a steamy night in which the offence struggled to find a groove and the defence was on its heels and was slugged repeatedly right in the kisser.
Two numbers jump out in the Bombers loss, which drops them to 1-2 on the season:
- Hamilton’s time of possession was 37 minutes and 30 seconds, or exactly 15 minutes – one quarter’s worth – more than Winnipeg’s 22:30.
- And after cranking out almost 600 yards offence in last week’s win over Montreal, the Bombers went through a stretch midway through the second quarter and into the third where the attack had six consecutive two-and-out possessions.
That ugly stretch coincided with the Ticats marching up and down the field and eliminating a 10-7 deficit with 24 consecutive points, including a 15-zilch advantage in the third quarter.
“We played in spurts, but not consistent enough,” said Bombers cornerback Chris Randle. “That third quarter was when the ball was rolling for them and we couldn’t stop it. It kind of trickled from the second quarter with the field goals they made at the end (two in the last 2:18 of the first half) and they came out and we were a little flat.”
“We can’t blame anyone but ourselves.”
The Bombers opened the scoring on a one-yard TD plunge by Andrew Harris, but would not find the end zone again until five minutes left in the game on a 15-yard run by Chris Streveler.
The straight-from-college rookie finished the night 17-of-30 for 146 yards with no TDs and no picks, but the longest completion was only 15 yards against a stout Ticats defensive dozen.
“We’re going to go back and watch the film,” said a clearly frustrated Streveler afterward. “I’m sure there are things we’ve got to clean up. We just came out flat in the third quarter and didn’t move the ball great in the second quarter and that kind of killed us.”
Full credit to the Ticats, who stymied Winnipeg’s offence while using max protection in front of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli – often having a combination of six or seven offensive linemen and a fullback to prevent any pressure – to open up time and space for a gifted receiving corps.
Masoli finished 31-of-41 for 369 yards with one TD and one interception, as Hamilton racked up 468 yards net offence against a Bombers defence that was featuring three changes in the secondary with Maurice Leggett replacing an injured Anthony Gaitor, with Marcus Sayles starting at corner for Brandon Alexander and Kevin Fogg moving from corner to halfback.
“It’s one of those things we talked about all offseason and we are working hard to fix,” said O’Shea of the yards surrendered. “And now the pendulum has probably swung a little bit far and we’ve got to make sure we bring it in, dial it back in a little bit. We can certainly play a little tougher on the balls underneath.
“But don’t take anything away from Hamilton. They’re a good team and they kicked our ass in the third quarter, for sure.”
Masoli’s 369 yards passing, FYI, marked the eighth straight time he had eclipsed the 300-yard mark – one shy of the CFL record set by Sam Etcheverry and later matched by Kent Austin.
The message now heading into next week’s home date against the B.C. Lions is simple:
“Execute,” said Randle. “That’s going to be our message every week. We’re hot and cold. Last week we did a really good job. Today, we had some good moments in the first quarter and fourth quarter, but we’ve just got to be able to understand situations, have a higher IQ and play at a high level at all times.”
THE BIG STAT
37:30: Hamilton’s time of possession, a full quarter more than Winnipeg’s 22:30.
FYI
The Bombers two inactives were OL Manase Foketi and CB Brandon Alexander. Alexander had missed the last couple of practice days and was replaced by Marcus Sayles, the rookie who made his first CFL start. With Maurice Leggett stepping in for the injured Anthony Gaitor and Sayles at corner, the Bombers also flipped Kevin Fogg to halfback alongside Chris Randle… Safety and special teams ace Derek Jones was injured in the first half… Justin Medlock had his streak of 16 consecutive field goals end with a 59-yard attempt in the fourth quarter that had the distance, but was wide left… Rookie Marcus Sayles picked off Masoli in the first quarter, but by game’s end had been replaced by another rookie, Tyneil Cooper.
MILESTONE WATCH
Weston Dressler led the Bombers with six catches for 55 yards, moving him past Jock Climie into the CFL’s all-time receiving yardage list. He is now just 93 yards from moving into the CFL’s Top 20 in career receiving yards
NUMBERS GAME
6: The number of two and outs by the Bombers through a stretch at the end of the first half into the third quarter.
92: Yards rushing by Hamilton’s Sean Thomas-Erlington, an eighth-round draft choice by the Ticats last year, on 11 carries.
1: Career carries by Thomas-Erlington before Friday night.
10: Tackles by Adam Bighill, leading all defenders.
7-60: The number of penalties and yardage total for the Bombers. The Bombers also took five other penalties that were declined by the Ticats.
11-97: Winnipeg’s penalty and yardage total through the first two games.
2.5/4.7: The Bombers averaged just 2.5 yards on second downs in the first half; 4.7 in the entire game.
NEXT: After two straight on the road the Bombers are home again next, on Saturday, July 7th, vs. the B.C. Lions.
