Winnipeg Blue Bombers players have officially been put on notice by head coach Paul LaPolice. After watching another series of assignment breakdowns and mental lapses during Friday’s 42-10 loss in Edmonton, Lapolice was stern with his players, advising them that a continuation of the same mistakes will result in player changes.
Said LaPolice: “I was very hard on my coaching staff and I was very hard on myself after the loss in Edmonton, we asked ourselves if we’re teaching this and practicing it the right way. And we did the same thing with the players. Our play has to improve, you have to do your job, know your assignments and you have to play better. If we have to make changes, we’ll make changes.”
| Irving on Buck Pierce Injury |
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“It is an unfortunate for Buck, in the latest series of strange injuries that he can’t seem to avoid. But for Brink and Elliott, this gives them a chance to see what they can do…Right now, Buck is still their guy but who knows what happens later.” – CFL.ca’s Bob Irving on Buck Pierce’s recent injury. Click here to read more. |
LaPolice added that some players might think they are hustling and working hard, but they may not be working effectively or intelligently.
“The thing the guys have to understand, activity is not anything, you can be running around out there and looking good, but if you don’t make plays, perform at a high level, what does it matter?”, he continued.
“We can’t mistake activity for performance. They need to understand that it isn’t good enough.”
LaPolice added, “The players will always declare the depth chart. We have to continue to keep fighting. Defeat happens in pro sport, it’s how you come back from it that is the most important thing. We need to evaluate things, fix things as much as you can, but the one thing you cannot do, is you cannot panic.
Part of the message is, we’re playing a four-point game this week against a division opponent and if we win, we will be tied with Toronto and possibly tied with Hamilton. You always have to give the players hope, but they need to understand we are not pleased with the way they have played and they need to rectify that by playing better. But, winning cures a lot of things.”
LaPolice said he is satisfied with the fact that the players are not taking the losing lightly. “They are angry, they are frustrated, and Wednesday in Toronto is a chance to do something about it.”
The Bombers will add speed, power and versatility to their offence for the game with the Argos with the activation of running back Chad Simpson. Simpson, who spent 2 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, impressed the day he arrived in Winnipeg. But what’s believed to be a knee injury sidelined him more than 3 weeks ago, and forced the delay of his eagerly anticipated debut.
Simpson will replace Bloi Dei Dorzon in the starting lineup, but he’s the only one from the long list of injured players who will return this week. Still on the sidelines are starting linebacker Marcellus Bowman, starting defensive backs Alex Suber and Brandon Stewart, offensive tackle Andre Douglas and one of last year’s top receivers, Canadian slotback Cory Watson.
Wednesday’s game at Rogers Centre will mark the 4th straight road game for the Bombers. No team has played that many consecutive games on the road since the 1953 Blue Bombers played their last 4 games away from home. Following the trip to Toronto will be 4 home games in a row. At the rate that home teams are winning in the CFL this season, that provides the Bombers and their fans with plenty of hope.
