Bob Irving
CFL.ca
How fitting that such an exasperating Blue Bomber season should end with a 35-32 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in front of 22,000 fans on a relatively balmy five degree November evening in Winnipeg.
The Bombers gave it a valiant effort, as they have all season. And they suffered a close loss, as they have all season. A CFL record nine times the Bombers lost a game by four points or less. What’s notable about that is the Bombers did not win a game by four points or less – that’s right, they played in nine of them and lost them all.
Quite remarkable.
Throw in a seven point loss and the Bombers suffered 10 of their 14 losses by 7 points or less.
The bottom line reads 4-14, one of worst seasons in the clubs long, glorious 80-year history. But upon closer examination, this team was not nearly one of the worst in Bomber history. As a matter of fact, it’s quite easy to argue the club is on a much sounder footing going forward than it was at the end of the 2009 season when it posted a 7-11 record.
There is a strong core of players that will be back in 2011. The Bombers recently announced the signing of a pair of their top rookies, linebacker Marcellus Bowman and defensive back Deon Beazley to two-year contract extensions.
Centre Obby Khan is the most prominent of the handful of player who are eligible for free agency this winter. And of the players who have the NFL option year window coming up this off-season, the only ones the Bombers fear they might lose are defensive end and CFL sack leader Philip Hunt, offensive lineman Brendan LaBatte and receiver T.J. Harris.
The good news here for Bomber fans is that LaBatte has already said he’ll almost certainly be back in the CFL due to the threat of a lockout in the NFL. And Hunt has indicated he will consider re-signing if the Bombers come up with an attractive offer.
Head coach Paul LaPolice says the Bombers need to improve their Canadian depth and tweak a few areas of the team. Otherwise, he’s confident they will field a 2011 team that will have benefitted greatly from the experience they gained in 2010.
The one area that remains somewhat clouded is the quarterback position. Buck Pierce is making a strong recovery from a dislocated elbow on his throwing arm while Steven Jyles is expected to recover fully from shoulder surgery. Providing each quarterback is good to go for 2011, and they should be, along with the strong showing by Joey Elliott in the final two games, the Bombers look like they’ll be solid at the quarterback position.
As LaPolice says, there are no guarantees going forward, his team isn’t “entitled” to anything in 2011 just because they showed promise in 2010. They still have to go out and do it. But, despite the dismal 4-14- showing this year, the future is anything but grim in Blue Bomber nation.
