Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris (33) is tackled by Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker Larry Dean (11) during first quarter CFL game action in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, June 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
It was a common refrain inside and out of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers dressing room at Tim Hortons Field late Friday night, and it saw anyone and everyone guiltily raising their hands and proclaiming: ‘My bad.’
No question many fingers of blame are being pointed at the Bombers defence following the 31-17 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but there were plenty of mea culpas being spit out by those who earn their living on offence and defence.
Indeed, it was the ineptitude of both units during a stretch at the end of the first half and into the third that led to the Bombers unravelling against the Ticats, as they surrendered a 10-7 lead while the Ticats came to life on a 24-zip scoring run.
Consider the following:
- With the score tied 10-10 in the second, the Bombers went through a stretch where they had six consecutive two-and-out possessions that totalled a measly 29 yards, zero points, and with just five minutes and 47 seconds coming off the clock.
- During that same gruesome stretch, Hamilton’s six possessions led to three field goals and two touchdowns – and one two-and-out – that covered 276 yards and covered 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
While the Bombers made the finish interesting by blanking the Ticats in the fourth quarter, putting up a score of their own, and then stalling at the Hamilton eight-yard line in the final minute, that late rally felt more like cosmetic surgery on the scoreboard.
“You don’t have a lot of momentum when you’re not staying on the field offensively,” said Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler. “That’s something we talk about a lot – moving the ball and getting first downs.
“When you have six straight two-and-outs it’s hard to gain momentum. We’ve just got to try and stay positive. We have a great group of leaders that we talk about. We’ll watch the film and assess what we’ve got to continue to get better at.”
All those two and outs, coupled with steamy temperatures that were still hovering around 30 into the second quarter, meant the defence was barely getting to the sidelines to fuel up when they were forced to hustle out there again.
Add in the Ticats maximum protection, run-and-shoot-style offensive attack that saw them average 8.6 yards on first down and convert 54 percent of their second downs and it’s a recipe for a long night for those on defence.
The Bombers tried to keep the Ticats from attacking over the top with their talented receiving corps, but were too late to come up and challenge receivers for most of the night.
“You’ve got to take away something with these guys,” said cornerback Chris Randle. “That’s their intention, to go deep, especially with that second O-lineman in the game. For the most part that was our plan. We’ve just got to come up and force their play sometimes and take some chances on those under plays and we didn’t do that.
“Out of the gate we got an interception (by rookie Marcus Sayles), so our plan was in effect. We had some good plays throughout the game as well, it’s just a matter of making adjustments throughout the game that we can be better at.”
Asked if Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is just that good – he did eclipse the 300-yard passing mark for the eighth consecutive game Friday night, one shy of tying the Canadian Football League record – Randle added:
“It’s a combination of both. We respect him. We respect their team, but we know if we’re playing at the ability we have, we’ve got to execute at a higher level.”
More on the Bombers loss in Hamilton, which dropped their record to 1-2, in our weekly installment of UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
WHILE EVERYONE IN BOMER NATION ARE IN FULL TEETH-GNASHING MODE… a tip of the hat to the Ticats, who are skilled, well-coached and running a unique scheme on offence that, for the Bombers on Friday, looked to be a handful to defend.
“Masoli is really elevating himself as a quarterback right now,” said Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill. “He threw a lot of good balls, made a lot of good reads and his receivers helped him out a lot as well by making good plays.
“They had a pretty good gameplan coming in against us and we adjusted, but I think we just didn’t challenge them enough. At the end of the day the offence relies on the defence to get them the ball back and give us a chance to win and we’ve just got to be better at getting the ball back. We had one turnover early, which was great, by the young cat (Sayles), but we need more of them. We need more plays and you make plays by challenging people and we just didn’t challenge them enough tonight with our front and back end.”
MORE ON THE MAXIMUM-PROTECTION SCHEME… Hamilton utilized that featured six, occasionally seven, offensive linemen and often fullback Nikita Whitlock stepping up for added blocking…
“It really keeps (Masoli’s) vision clean and allows him to throw to open receivers,” Bighill explained. “Even if we wanted to bring more pressure to their extra protection, the ball was still getting out so fast that really, bringing extra pressure was nullified by the ball getting out.
“It’s a little bit of a give and take: when are we going to bring more pressure? When are we going to play match coverage? But at the same time if we’re playing match coverage then we’ve got to challenge them more to have contested throws. We can’t be letting them catch the ball and come down and hit them. When they catch the ball, they need to be hit. We’ve got to challenge guys a little bit more.”
THE BOMBERS HAD TO SHUFFLE THEIR SECONDARY… for Friday’s game and it essentially meant there were three changes to their personnel. Anthony Gaitor and Brandon Alexander were both out due to injury – they were replaced by Maurice Leggett and Sayles – while Kevin Fogg was moved from cornerback to halfback. By game’s end, Sayles had been replaced by Tyneil Cooper at corner.
“We’re all pros,” said Randle. “We’re all ready. We’re all here for a reason. This is our whole lives. I wouldn’t use that as an excuse.”
THAT SHUFFLE MEANT THAT LEGGETT… was playing a different position for the first time during his days in the CFL. A strong-side linebacker in his first four years with the Bombers, he was lining up at the halfback spot for much of Friday night.
“It felt kinda awkward,” admitted Leggett. “I just have to still play my game and I felt like I didn’t do that today. They just made more plays than we did. It’s just that simple. They made more plays than we did and we have to correct our mistakes. We know what we have to do. We’re professionals. We have to make the corrections, look at the film.
“Myself, I left some out there. It’s me getting back into the rhythm. I’m frustrated with myself about it.”
THE BOMBERS WERE NAILED FOR SEVEN PENALTIES… totalling 60 yards and there were some costly ones, including a holding penalty by Sukh Chungh that wiped out a 33-yard run by Andrew Harris, a horse-collar tackle by Jackson Jeffcoat that kept a drive alive and led to a Ticats field goal, and a holding penalty by Pat Neufeld that nullified a 13-yard run by Streveler.
The Bombers also had five other penalties declined by the Ticats. Just FYI, the Bombers haven’t had more than seven penalties in a game dating back to taking nine for 95 yards in a win over Ottawa last August.
“We didn’t play as clean as we can,” said slotback Weston Dressler. “The unforced errors… they’re tough enough to go against; you can’t shoot yourself in the foot, too. We have to clean that stuff up and be more consistent moving the ball.
“If we clean up the things we can control, we’re right in that game. I’m not saying we’re going to win it, but we’re in it and it probably plays out a little different at the end. But give them credit. They made it difficult and kept us uncomfortable for pretty much the first three quarters.
“Take care of the little things and everything else will fall into place.”
AND, FINALLY… since it’s Canada Day, here’s a salute to all the Canadians who make up the Bombers roster with some notes and numbers…
- The average age of the Canadian Bombers is 26 years; the oldest is long-snapper Chad Rempel at 36 with receiver Daniel Petermann, at 22, the youngest.
- The average seven Canadian Bombers starters – Andrew Harris (31), Sukh Chungh (26), Nic Demski (25), Matthias Goosen (25), Drew Wolitarsky (23), Pat Neufeld (29) and Taylor Loffler (26) is 26.4.
- Of the 26 Canadian Bombers on the roster, injured list or practice squad, 16 were drafted by the club – Chungh, Goossen, Wolitarsky, Loffler, Jesse Briggs, Shayne Gauthier, Derek Jones, Michael Couture, Brendan Morgan, Daniel Petermann, Frank Renaud, Rashaun Simonise, Jake Thomas, Trent Corney, Qadr Spooner and Tylor Henry. Seven were signed as veteran free agents – Harris, Demski, Thomas Miles, Mike Miller, Chad Rempel, Kienan LaFrance and Johnny Augustine. Two were undrafted U Sports players – John Rush and Cody Speller. One was acquired in a trade – Pat Neufeld.
And here’s how the Canadian part of the roster breaks down, by province:
Ontario: seven – Morgan, Petermann, Renaud, Rush, Corney, Augustine, Speller
B.C.: six – Briggs, Chungh, Couture, Goossen, Simonise, Loffler
Manitoba: four – Demski, Harris, LaFrance, Miles
Alberta: three – Jones, Rempel, Henry
Quebec: two – Gauthier, Spooner
New Brunswick: two – Miller, Thomas
Saskatchewan: one – Neufeld
And then there is Wolitarsky, born and raised in California, but a Canadian by CFL standards because his mom was born in Montreal.
Happy Canada Day.
