It’s a mantra around these parts, chiselled into stone like a commandment and repeated by everyone in Winnipeg Blue Bomber colours: regardless of the result on game day, thou shall flush both the wins and the losses.
And that’s especially true after a loss like last Saturday’s 20-17 setback in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions, a game in which the Bombers built a 17-zip lead at the intermission and then stumbled and bumbled in the second half.
Indeed, with a defensive stand here or some offensive production there, a case could be made that this team could be 4-1 after five games and not 2-3. But… coulda, woulda, shoulda just doesn’t count in pro football.
“We’ve got to be more consistent,” said veteran receiver Weston Dressler when asked about the offence. “I think we’ve had flashes of being really good to great and some flashes of just nothing… stalling out, two and outs. We’ve got to be more consistent in moving the ball and as good as possible on first down. When we’re even moderately successful on first down we’re able to get good things going eventually. We just need to get positive yards on first down and go from there.
“It’s such a long season and a lot of things are going to happen, good and bad. If you dwell on the bad, you’re going to be in a hole and down and out pretty quick. We know we have a good football team here. We’ve got a lot of veteran guys who understand the situation we’re in. We’re still in a good spot. Let’s go win some games and see what happens.”
That’s a helluva an idea considering, too, that this team hasn’t won consecutively dating back to a three-game winning streak last Sept. 9-30, or a stretch of 10 games.
There are a few factors at play here with respect to that, first and foremost being the revolving door in the Bombers secondary – there have been changes to that group in four of the first five games this season and could be another Saturday night in Toronto against the Argonauts – and the fact quarterback Matt Nichols missed the first three games of the season.
“We’re still trying to get healthy, that’s one thing,” said Bombers linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox of the defence. “We’re still trying to get everybody together and there are a lot of moving pieces going on with our defence right now. It’s just giving us more experience for the long run. Guys are playing positions they haven’t really played or are having to step up when they weren’t really expecting to. Down the stretch that’s going to help us a lot, having that experience.”
Nichols, meanwhile, has just a 61.7 quarterback efficiency rating through his first two starts and has a TD-to-interception ratio of 1:3 – both uncharacteristic numbers for the veteran pivot.
“I’m feeling better and better,” he said. “Honestly, I missed a couple of throws that I feel like I haven’t missed the last couple of years. I’ve been hard on myself this week and have spent even more time watching film, watching myself from previous games to make sure I’m getting better week in and week out.
“Obviously, the more you play each season the more comfortable you get. I’m feeling good and looking forward to having a better game than last week.”
BOMBER REPORT | July 18, 2018
LONG ARM OF THE LAW:
The CFL dished out its weekly supplementary discipline on Wednesday and it hit both Bombers OL Pat Neufeld and Argos DL Dylan Wynn in the pocket book.
Neufeld was fined for ‘unnecessary roughness for a late hit on B.C. Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian’, while Wynn was suspended for his late hit on Edmonton Eskimos running back C.J. Gable. As per league policy, the fine amount was not disclosed.
FAMILIAR FACES:
Saturday will mark the first game between the Bombers and former teammate T.J. Heath, now back in the Argos secondary.
“He’s a good football player,” said Nichols. “He understands concepts and does a good job playing the ball. One of the best things he does is when he has the opportunity, he has hands like a receiver and catches everything around him. He’s a guy you’ve got to be wary of, but at the same time we never go into a game saying you’ve got to stay away from someone. I understand that everyone over there are guys that can make plays. Ronnie Yell, Abdul Kanneh… those are all the same type of guys where you make a mistake in their area, they’ll make you pay for it.”
“Every week I try to find some type of edge,” said Heath on a media conference call. “I come into this game looking at it just like every other game. I try not to get too hyped up because it is the team I just came from. To me it’s just another game that we have to win and that’s how I’m looking at it. I don’t try to get too amped up for anything. I just try to go out there and play my game and do what we’re supposed to do.”
THE COACH SAYS:
Two quotes from Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.
First, on the idea of killer instinct, especially after the Bombers couldn’t protect fourth-quarter leads in losses to Edmonton and B.C. last weekend:
“It probably has to be learned a little bit. They have to be put in those situations and win in those situations and realize that they aren’t necessarily taking risks by playing harder on the ball or harder on the man at that point in the game. It’s more learned than innate.”
And on the notion both the Bombers, 2-3, and the Argos, 1-3, are desperate heading into the weekend:
“Neither team is desperate. We don’t talk like that. I don’t believe that. Both teams want to win, both teams are preparing to win and will compete extremely hard to get a win. I don’t think desperation creeps into it at all.”
OUCH UPDATE:
CB Chris Randle, LB/DB Maurice Leggett and LB Chandler Fenner were all non-participants at practice on Wednesday. Fenner is ‘close to being ready’ according to O’Shea, “We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll give him another day” while he didn’t have any concerns about the availability of Leggett and Randle.
