MontrealAlouettes.com
You watch the game of football long enough and you think you have seen just about everything.
And then, almost out of nowhere, last week’s Blue Bomber game in Montreal comes along. Winnipeg head coach Tim Burke had spent the week leading up to the visit to Molson Stadium preaching about turnovers, as five giveaways had been the primary reason for a season-opening 38-33 Blue Bomber loss to the Als.
Burke told his players that unless they found a way to eliminate the turnovers, wins would be hard to come by.
Sound advice.
So what do the Bombers do following their coach’s orders? They commit not one, not two, but three turnovers in the first quarter against the Alouettes.
Then they threw in two more in the third quarter. By the end of the game, the Bombers had given up five turnovers.
And this is where the story gets quite remarkable. Despite their charitable approach, the Bombers escaped Montreal with a 19-11 win.
How is this possible?
Well, the reason is because the Bombers played one of the most complete defensive games in recent club history. Through three quarters, the Bomber defensive dozen led by the front-four of Bryant Turner, Zach Anderson, Kenny Mainor and Alex Hall(with Freddie Harris and Jake Thomas rotating in) had held the vaunted Montreal offence to 4, that’s right, 4 first downs and 63 yards of net offence. 
Hard to believe, right?
It’s a domination that was stunning given the prolific history of Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo and his offensive unit.
And it’s a tribute to Winnipeg defensive coordinator Casey Creehan, who along with head coach Tim Burke, crafted a game plan that had Calvillo bewildered (Calvillo did give the Bombers credit, but also referred to the Als performance as “pathetic”).
The Alouettes came up with a late surge that caused the Bombers some anxious moments, but when the night was over, Montreal had managed just 9 first downs and 136 yards of net offence.
And the Blue Bombers headed home to the prairies with a 19-11 win, the 3rd victory in their last 4 visits La Belle Province.
I don’t know what the Winnipeg defence can possibly do for an encore when they visit Hamilton on Saturday, especially if Turner, who had 3 of Winnipeg’s 7 sacks against Calvillo, can’t play because of cartilage damage to his rib cage.
But I’m fairly certain it will be a while before we see them or any team in the CFL, match the utter defensive dominance the Bombers displayed July 4th in Montreal.
