Bob Irving
CFL.ca
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are assessing, evaluating and doing some serious soul-searching as they enjoy some down time during their bye week.
I’m not sure how much “enjoyment” is being had. It’s hard to feel good about things when you are 2-6 and riding a four game losing streak.
But all pro athletes can benefit from physical as well as mental rest and the Bombers hope to return from their break rejuvenated and in a positive frame of mind.
Head coach Paul LaPolice continues to be frustrated over what to do about turnovers. There were three more in the clubs fourth straight loss, a 39-17 setback in Montreal. Two of the giveaways were fumbles by quarterback Steven Jyles, one of which was deep in Bomber territory and returned for a touchdown by Chip Cox, another came at the Montreal 17-yard line and denied the Bombers a chance to score.
On both occasions, Jyles was about to get sacked and should have been thinking first and foremost about protecting the football. LaPolice continues to preach about ball security, but his words are falling on deaf ears as the Bombers have now committed 21 turnovers in eight games.
Penalties also continue to plague the Bombers. They took nine more for 131 yards against the Alouettes.
And then there’s the issue of dropped passes. Adarius Bowman dropped two perfectly catchable throws from Jyles, the first of which had big-play touchdown written all over it, and the second would have put the Bombers deep into Montreal territory. Both drops came in the second quarter when the Bombers were fighting to stay in the game.
Winnipeg was able to capitalize on an injury that knocked Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo out of the game late in the first half—They cut Montreal’s 24-0 lead to 24-17 going into the fourth quarter, but, as if they needed more troubling signs, the Bombers collapsed on both offence and defence in the final 15 minutes, failing to score a point and giving up a pair of Brandon Whitaker touchdown runs.
Lapolice says they can’t stay with players who keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Some players are obviously on thin ice. By the same token, both LaPolice and General Manager Joe Mack say it’s very difficult to make significant personnel changes over a short period of time.
The Bombers have been hit with so many injuries, their practice roster has been depleted. Mack and personnel director Ken Moll have been scouring NFL camps in the last 2 weeks in hopes of finding 2 or 3 players who can come in and make an immediate impact.
More importantly, they are hoping that injured players such as safety Ian Logan, receiver Terrence Jeffers-Harris, quarterback Buck Pierce and offensive tackle Andre Douglas return to health sooner rather than later.
Mack remains confident that the Bombers have a good core of talent, they have the right pieces in place to have a strong second half of the season.
One thing is for sure–it doesn’t get any easier. The Bombers return from their bye for their annual Labour Day weekend visit to Saskatchewan. Then it’s a return engagement with the Roughriders at Canad-Inns stadium, followed by a visit to Toronto and a home game with Montreal.
