Bombers look to bounce back

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This article was published 18/08/2018 (2076 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As I walked out of the home locker room at Investors Group Field following Friday’s 44-21 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks, I crossed paths with Blue Bombers offensive lineman Stanley Bryant.

Bryant, still in his equipment, was just leaving the weight room when he shot me a look that begged for an explanation. “That was a rough one,” he said, before shifting his demeanour, composing himself as he walked towards a group of cheering fans awaiting him.

It wasn’t only Bryant who would react this way — there seemed to be some genuine shock and disappointment among many after the loss. Winnipeg had been on a run of late, and although the Redblacks entered the match with an identical record, at 5-3, the thought was it would be a much closer affair, with the favourite Bombers likely walking away with the victory.

Instead, the Bombers will return to practice this week with the hopes of bouncing back from the dominating display brought forth by the Redblacks, who improved to 6-3 and have a stranglehold on the top spot in the East Division. The task doesn’t get any easier, though, as they prepare for a road game Saturday afternoon against the Calgary Stampeders, who, at 7-0, were the lone undefeated team heading into Sunday’s action before getting beat by Saskatchewan.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look back at five takeaways from Friday’s loss:

MIDDLE OF THE PACK

The Bombers entered the night having won three games in a row — and four of the past five — to put them in a position to push for one of the top spots in the West and earn a second consecutive home playoff game. A win would have kept them in a tie at second place with the Edmonton Eskimos, who added to their win total in a victory over the Montreal Alouettes. Now at 5-4, the Bombers are in third place, in the middle of the pack of what should be an interesting race in the second half of the season.

With Calgary up next, Winnipeg will be in tough to enter the much-anticipated Labour Day weekend matchup against Saskatchewan with anything other than a .500 record. While Winnipeg defeated Calgary on the road to close out the 2017 season, it was against a watered-down Stampeders lineup that had almost all their stars resting on the sideline. The last time the Bombers defeated the Stampeders in enemy territory was 16 years ago, during the 2002 season.

What’s more, the Bombers don’t exactly have an easy schedule in the back half of 2018. Besides playing Calgary twice, they also have two games against the Roughriders, who, despite struggling so far this season at 3-4, always seems to play well against their Prairie rivals; two games against Edmonton; and one game each against Ottawa and Montreal. Of those nine games, five are on the road.

BOMBERS D BLACK AND BLUE

The offence certainly didn’t get the job done, mustering just three touchdown drives and 21 points — with only seven through the first two quarters — in the losing effort. Matt Nichols wasn’t especially good, even if he did throw a season-high 291 yards. In total, Winnipeg put up 391 yards of net offence but was never able to find a consistent rhythm.

But it was the Bombers defence that is going to take the lion’s share of guilt in this one. The Redblacks torched the Bombers for nearly 500 yards of offence, including 361 from the arm of quarterback Trevor Harris.

Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill spoke ahead of the game about how the offence ran through Harris and how important it would be to apply pressure on the Redblacks pivot. Ottawa was clearly aware of the pressure the Bombers have had on opposing quarterbacks this year — they were leading the league in sacks (21) — and the game plan of mostly short passes was executed with near-perfect proficiency.

The outcome wasn’t entirely surprising. After all, Harris had been heating up — he threw for 487 yards in a win over Montreal the week before — and he has a number of dangerous weapons at his disposal. But, after all the goodwill the Bombers D had built up over the past month, the conversation is likely to revert back to how the secondary can’t stop the league’s upper-echelon quarterbacks.

BOMBERS D FAILS — TAKE 2

What stood out the most to me against the defence was two-fold: bad penalties at bad times, and how often Ottawa converted on second downs, particularly second-and-long situations.

First, the penalties: the Bombers took a total of 11 penalties for 80 yards, seven of which came against the defence. Most notable were the two penalties during two-point conversions, which turned failed attempts into points on the board.

Brandon Alexander was penalized for contact on a receiver in the first quarter that wiped out what would have been an Ottawa punt, but instead extended a drive that ended with the Redblacks’ first touchdown. Craig Roh took an offside on second-and-two that also moved the chains, another drive eventually resulting in an Ottawa TD, and Chris Randle’s accidental interference on yet another second-down scenario put up another three points for the Redblacks on a 41-yard field goal.

Ottawa was 67 per cent (18-for-27) on second down, with the Redblacks needing at least seven or more yards on 10 of those attempts. It can be demoralizing for a defence to come up short that many times, and may be a big reason the Bombers were dominated in time of possession, 33:21 to 26:39. The Bombers went 52 per cent on second down, moving the sticks on 13 of 25 attempts.

BOO-BIRDS BOTHER NICHOLS

Of all the drama that unfolded on the night, what incited the most conversation came after the final whistle had blown. Hearing fans boo as he returned from an elbow injury late in the fourth quarter, the Bombers quarterback opted to go with his heart rather than his head to address the frustration.

Nichols started off by saying how much he gives to the city and his team, before transitioning to his disappointment for how he was welcomed back to the turf. Personally, I’ll always cheer for a good player-reporter back-and-forth and would never condemn a player — particularly one of the team’s most prominent pieces — from speaking openly and honestly.

But, there appears to be some debate over what the fans were booing about.

While I’m sure some were certainly upset with Nichols — he hasn’t exactly been great, though he hasn’t been all that bad either in winning four of six games this year — the majority sitting in the stands that spoke up over social media claim the displeasure was aimed at having their No. 1 quarterback inserted back into a lost game. At the time of Nichols’s return, with just four minutes remaining, the Bombers were trailing by 23 points.

If Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea is anything, it’s stubborn. Part of that is his unwavering belief in his players, and it’s clear he will never view a game as being out of reach, no matter how displeased fans might feel about it.

ADAMS REACHES 100 YARDS

One of the few bright spots in the game was the play of Darvin Adams, who became the first Bombers pass-catcher to register 100 receiving yards in a game. Adams reeled in a season-high eight receptions for 162 yards and two touchdowns. His first score came in the first quarter on a 45-yard pass from Nichols that got the Bombers on the scoreboard. The second was even more impressive, with Adams getting in behind the defence for a 72-yard catch-and-run — his fifth touchdown of the season.

It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder why Adams hasn’t been more involved in the offence this year. Friday was just the second time in nine games he’s recorded five or more catches in a game; in six games he has three or fewer.

With Weston Dressler likely out another week — sources say he won’t be out for much longer and that the injury is much less severe than first thought — it will be interesting how No. 1 is used against the Stampeders on Saturday.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton