Let’s take a look into our crystal ball and imagine today is November 25th.
After months of exciting festivals, fanfare, and of course, football, the anticipation has reached its greatest height – the 100th Grey Cup is here.
Fans flood through the stadium gates and into their seats, as they wait under the bright lights of the Rogers Centre for the teams to take their field.
| Bounce-back Bombers? |
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Can the Winnipeg Blue Bombers duplicate the performance of the 2011 BC Lions and march their way to the Grey Cup? |
In one tunnel, the BC Lions are waiting. No surprise there – they were the class of the league in 2011 and dazzled everyone with the kind of prowess we only see come along every so often.
There were teams that gave them a good run for their money, but in the end, the Lions’ imposing front-seven and ultra-reliable secondary were too much for others to handle, while Travis Lulay and the Lion offence protected the ball and ate up minutes to earn a second-straight invitation to the big game.
At the other end, waiting for their turn to trot out of the tunnel, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Wait, did I see that correctly? The Bombers, the same ones who started 1-5 and had just about the worst luck with injuries anyone’s ever seen, are in the Grey Cup this year?
Alright, let’s slow down and analyze the situation. You’re probably saying the Bombers are a longshot to make it to the big game after their start to the season and a slew of devastating injuries to many of their biggest stars.
But it is the CFL, and you know how the theme through many games this season has been No Lead is Safe? That still applies for the standings too.
After all, it’s only Week 7 and the Bombers are only two games out of top spot in the division — and two thirds of the season have yet to be played.
I’m not ready to give up on the Bombers as a Grey Cup contender in 2012, and you shouldn’t be either.
History is your friend: Meet the 2011 BC Lions
Bombers fans don’t have to look too far back to see why the Grey Cup isn’t handed out in the second week of August.
Last year’s eventual winners stumbled out of the gate as well, but it was even worse. There were very few people predicting the Lions to have a shot at battling it out for the trophy in November during Week 6 last year, when Lions were set to host the Riders in searching for their first win.
But after starting 0-5, Lulay led his team to wins in 11 of its next 13 regular season games, earning the Leos an unthinkable West Division crown and a subsequent opening round bye in the playoffs.
With home advantage in both the West Final and the Grey Cup, they’d proved their miraculous run was no fluke, outscoring the Esks and Bombers by a combined score of 74-46 to capture their sixth championship.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘but the Lions had the league’s Most Outstanding Player at quarterback, a super-talented group of receivers led by veterans Arland Bruce and Geroy Simon, and of course, one of the most feared defences the league has seen in recent memory’.
But let’s look at some of the parallels here, because they certainly do exist.
1. Star power on offence
| Stepping Up |
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In the absence of Chris Garrett, the Blue Bombers have enjoyed the stellar play of CFL rookie Chad Simpson. |
The loss of Chris Garrett early in the season was a tough pill to swallow, because he would’ve been perfect for the physical East Division. Garrett ran with the kind of power, speed, and overall recklessness that made Bombers fans so excited for the 2012 season, and it’s a real shame we couldn’t see him pick up where he left off in 2011.
But that doesn’t mean the Bombers still don’t have their share of star power, at the very least the minimum amount required to win a Grey Cup.
One of the stars that have emerged for the Bombers this season came out fairly recently, as Chad Simpson has caught the attention of fans league-wide as quickly as Garrett did one season ago.
The 26-year-old rookie made his league debut in Week 4 against the Argos, and has since rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown, while grabbing nine catches for 120 yards. His 6.4 yards per carry average is impressive to say the least, and when you watch him play, you can see the star potential there.
He has straight-line speed and shifty quickness that makes him a threat to score every time he touches the ball, but he’s also shown the ability to run hard between the tackles and fight through the pile for every extra yard.
It’s been a year of passing so far, but Simpson is certainly one of the players we should be on the lookout for the latter two thirds of 2012, as the Bombers could be leaning heavily on him to carry the load on offence. And there’s little doubt that he’s capable of doing some serious damage in upcoming games.
Another star who’s emerged in a big way for the Bombers is eccentric rookie receiver Chris Matthews, who for the first five weeks of the season led the CFL in receiving yards. He now sits in second with 457 yards and four touchdowns, and an outstanding average of 15.8 yards a catch.
The former Kentucky Star measures in at six-foot-five, 229 pounds, and plays like it too, using his unique strength and athleticism to make big plays by getting separation and also racking up yards after the catch.
He was a favourite target of Pierce, and as he continues to find chemistry with Brink, the 22-year-old should only expect to continue excelling in the CFL. Matthews joins what’s already a scary Bombers receiving corps, that also includes Cory Watson, Terrence Edwards, Clarence Denmark, and youngster Kito Poblah.
2. Defensive dark horse
Many people say that the days of Swaggerville left Winnipeg when its mayor, Odell Willis, was traded to Saskatchewan in the off-season. That may be true, but it doesn’t mean the Bombers don’t still have an elite defence.
The numbers are a little off so far this season, but that unit has shown that it can get back to where it was a season ago. Injuries have slowed it down a little, but with one of the most star-studded secondaries in the league and a re-tooled front seven, there’s no reason the Bombers can’t still be a top-three defence in 2012.
Jovon Johnson, Jonathan Hefney, and Johnny Sears lead a physical Bomber secondary that is capable of making plenty of big plays, but that unit will become even stronger when defensive back Alex Suber returns.
They formed virtually the same group that dominated in pass coverage and caused receivers and quarterbacks alike many headaches just one year ago, and there’s no reason that unit can’t return to its dominant form of 2011 after a sluggish start this season.
In the front-seven, meanwhile, we’ve started to see the same flashes of greatness as last year over the past few weeks, especially in the Bombers’ first win of the season against Edmonton a couple of weeks ago.
Jake Thomas, a 24-year-old non-import who was drafted in the fourth round this off-season, has already found a way to make an impact, forcing Steven Jyles to fumble in the late stages of the game to preserve a close win for the Bombers in their home opener.
Alex Hall and Bryant Turner are really making their presence felt along the line as well, combining for eight sacks so far this season and wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. They’re 26 and 24 years old respectively, leading what has suddenly become a very youthful Bombers pass rush that promises to only get better with experience.
| Defensive Consistency |
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Jovon Johnson, Jonathan Hefney, and Johnny Sears lead a physical Bomber secondary that is capable of making plenty of big plays, but that unit will become even stronger when defensive back Alex Suber returns. |
Why the Bombers are struggling on defence up to this point is one of the greatest mysteries of the league so far, and injuries have certainly played their part in those issues. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Bombers, with the talent they have on the defensive unit, having these kind of struggles later on in the season.
3. It’s a long season
To beat a dead horse, the CFL seasons are long. Every team faces adversity at some point down the road, and it appears that the Bombers are getting their biggest test right out of the flood gates.
It may be a longshot to suggest the Bombers can win 10 of their last 12 games on their way to matching BC’s history run last year. And I’m not by any means suggesting the Bombers will replicate that burst of success, win the East Division, and capture the 100th Grey Cup title in Toronto this November.
While there are similarities between BC six games into the season last year, and Winnipeg six games into the season this year, there are also differences.
For one, the Lions were outscored by 35 points in their first five losses last year, for an average of seven points a game. The Bombers were outscored by 73 points in their five losses this season, losing by an average of 14.6 points a game.
But the beauty of the East Division this year is that they won’t have to go on an historic run in order to find themselves in contentions come November. As of this day, the Bombers sit just two games out of a playoff spot.
Playing just above .500 football may well be enough to get the Bombers back in the playoffs, and as we’ve all seen in this league, there’s a reason the Grey Cup is handed out in November – any team can get hot at the right time and go on a rampage.
It happens almost every year, and it’s bound to happen again this season. And that’s good news for Bombers fans, because it means your season is far from over.
As for that crystal ball we were using: if it does speak the truth, then maybe, just maybe, we’ll be watching a Grey Cup preview on Aug. 24 when the Lions visit the Bombers for one last bout at Canad Inns Stadium.
