The Blue Bombers meet the Tiger-Cats Sunday night in Hamilton; photos by Cameron Bartlett
Drop a couple games in a row in Bomberland and this eventuality inevitably unfolds: many of the team’s faithful begin to clang the alarm bells while gnawing their fingernails to the nub and yanking handfuls of hair from their collective scalps in frustration.
Yes, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been on such an impressive run over the last decade — a franchise record nine straight seasons of double-digit win totals — that a two-game losing streak seems so uncharacteristic and so foreign that there seems to be a nervousness bubbling after a 1-2 start and with a trip to Hamilton to face the impressive Tiger-Cats now on the horizon.
Funny thing about that sense of anxiety swirling about… inside the Blue Bombers clubhouse it is a sentiment which simply does not exist. Oh sure, they want to be sturdier against the run on defence, less prone to fumbles on offence while seeking more explosive plays in all three phases.
But this idea of a sense of panic? Heck, no. Not in early July. And not with the consensus there is enough talent inside the clubhouse — both veteran and new — that this thing can quickly get on the rails and humming soon.
“It’s about us ticking some boxes now,” explained defensive end Willie Jefferson. “Coach O’Shea said it earlier today: it has to be a team win — all three phases playing together in offence, defence and special teams. Win all three phases. We’ve just got to do what we need to do to check all the boxes.
“This year — not talking about years past — we have a really good team. We have a really good defence; we’ve got really good players on defence. We’ve got a really good offence and good players and playcalling on offence. We’ve got really good guys on special teams.
“We’ve just got to find a way to put it all together.”
There’s no debating that part after losses to Hamilton and Edmonton that featured just enough moments of brilliance to be intrigued… and just enough mistakes to be spitting out a string of curses. Somewhere in there is a good football team, although the sooner the evidence starts piling up on the positive side, the better.
“There’s flashes in the first quarter. Same thing in the second quarter, third quarter,” said Jefferson. “And then in the fourth quarter we need to check those boxes and get off the field. We need to communicate.
“It’s the same thing on offence… they need to put it in the end zone or get it to where Serge (Castillo) can put it through the goalposts. Same thing again on punt and kickoff cover, punt and kickoff return where we can make some noise. It’s about picking each other up.
“But look around… nobody is down in this locker room and hanging their head,” he added. “Everybody knows it’s going to be a tough game in Hamilton behind enemy lines in a hostile environment and we’re going against a great team. Like I said, find a way.”
BLUE BOMBERS (1-2) at TIGER-CATS (2-1)
Kickoff: Sunday, 6 p.m. CDT; Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton
TV/Streaming: TSN; CBS Sports Network; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB; Play-by-play: Derek Taylor/analyst: Doug Brown; pre-game starts at 4 p.m. CDT.
Streaks: Wpg.: 2L; Ham.: 2W
PlayNow odds: Ticats by 3.5 points.
Again, no panic. Just roll up the sleeves, spit in each palm and continue to swing the axe.
“For us on defence, it’s just about being cleaner, knowing where we’re going and tackling — especially tackling,” said all-star defensive back Evan Holm. “There have been some moments. Last week we couldn’t stop them on the last drive and the first drive.
“But I thought, especially in the second half and a couple stops in the first half where we stopped them and weren’t in a favourable position and just held them to field goals, there were some very good positives. We forced some two and outs, started getting into a rhythm and got the crowd into it and our confidence as a defence into it.
“Really, we’re just trying to play better. Do what we’re asked to do. We’ve been meeting, talking to each other more, talking through some communication issues just so we can play cleaner and faster.
“That’s the good thing about this: it’s early in the season and there’s a lot of positives to build off.”
BALL SECURITY
We’ll resist the urge here to bust out some clever double entendre reference here and mention how ball security is important to every guy every single day — we won’t go there — but it’s especially critical to any football team when the scoreboard lights up for real on game day.
The Blue Bombers have a -2 turnover differential through their three starts but put the ball on the ground in the loss to Edmonton an astonishing six times — losing three fumbles — and have yet to win the turnover battle in any of the three games, finishing at even in the opener and -1 in the two successive losses.
“It was definitely (a talking point) after the Edmonton game,” said receiver Tim White of the fumbles and ball security. “I feel like any time you come off a bye week sometimes you can run into some of those things. But after that game it’s definitely something that’s being emphasized within the locker room and around the team.
“Any time you lose the ball or make a bad play there’s disappointment within yourself and we definitely had that. But we’re professionals, so it’s about bouncing back.”
WAKEY, WAKEY
The Blue Bombers have trailed at halftime of each of their first three games and have already been outscored 45-15 in the three second quarters this season. Critical now is to make that an anomaly, not a trend.
“It’s tough to explain the slow starts. All I know is we’ve got to be ready when the whistle is blown,” said receiver Pokey Wilson. “But this is really one of those games where we find out more about our team and how we respond when we have adversity.”
Wilson, speaking on behalf of his offensive teammates, said — and this is going to sound repetitive — that there have been enough moments to be uplifted, but there is a need to find more consistency in new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell’s offence.
“The offence is still new to us so we’re figuring some things out, but we’re definitely growing,” he said. “It takes time and reps and watching film and more reps and more time watching film. It doesn’t always click just like that where you turn it on and it’s there. It takes being comfortable with the play call and knowing your assignment, about being comfortable when you know what the defence is playing and the route you have to run.
“We’re reaching for the sky in here.”
COLLAROS AND KHARI
The Blue Bombers late rally in the loss to Edmonton last week ended with Nic Demski being tackled on the Elks 11-yard line as time expired. One more play might have given the club a chance for a heroic moment and a potential win.
It would also have delivered a historical moment in the process.
Zach Collaros is now just seven yards shy of moving past Khari Jones into second place on the Blue Bombers all-time passing yardage list with Jones at 20,175 and Collaros at 20,169. No. 1 on that chart, FYI, is Dieter Brock at 29,623.
“I’d be shocked if Zach knew that before you told him. I didn’t know either,” said head coach Mike O’Shea on Friday. “So, oh well. I imagine it will happen and it probably should happen pretty quickly,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s just one of those things where it’s cooler for the player when they’re done and they maybe look back a little bit.
“Zach’s not the type of guy that’s looking at these things right now, for sure.”
Now, some fans may roll their eyes at this milestone stuff — I hear occasionally the ‘what does it matter?’ counterargument, especially when a team has dropped two straight — but sometimes you do have to pull back and appreciate the moment we’re witnessing.
Collaros has helped deliver a pair of championships to this town and when you’re listed among the franchise legends like Jones and Brock — and already having passed the likes of Ken Ploen, Tom Clements and Jack Jacobs, all hall of famers, well, that’s certainly worthy of a salute.
THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers have made three changes from last week’s loss to the Elks. Coming aboard are veteran right guard Pat Neufeld — he was a late scratch last week as his wife gave birth to twins — along with left guard Micah Mazzccua, who will make his CFL debut with Gabe Wallace moved to the reserve list. It also means Tyler Elsbury moves back to centre with Tui Eli dressing as the sixth OL.
The other change sees defensive tackle Collin Kornelson, the University of Manitoba product, added for depth to the D-line. Also coming off are DE Kydran Jenkins and OL Ethan Vibert, both of whom have been moved to the practice roster. With Jenkins off, David Reese starts at DE opposite Jefferson.
Of note: QB Dru Brown, acquired last week in the trade with Ottawa, will not dress and will join Wallace on the reserve list, leaving Taylor Elgersma and Bryce Perkins as the two pivots behind Collaros on the depth chart.
