Burke's Blue Bombers are buying into the plan

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Will Ford, left to right, celebrates his touch down with teammates Justin Sorensen and Chris Greaves during second half CFL football action in Toronto on Friday. (CP)

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   • Bombers power past Argos 44-32, keep slim playoff hopes alive

TORONTO -- So, how do you like Tim Burke now?

With a 44-32 win here Friday night over the Toronto Argonauts, the interim Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach improved his record as field boss to 3-5 since taking over for Paul LaPolice in late August.

What's more, Burke's Bombers are 3-2 in their last five and, after losing their first six road games in a row, have now authored huge upsets in their last two road games when you include the Thanksgiving Miracle in Montreal.

The playoffs remain a long shot, albeit a tantalizing one -- particularly the scenario where Winnipeg ends up actually hosting the East semi-final.

Now, you can argue that no team in any league with a credible playoff format should ever end up hosting a playoff game with a 7-11 regular season record, but that's a column for another day.

Our discussion today is instead about a Bombers team that has clearly bought into what Burke has been selling over the past five weeks.

Sure, it took awhile -- the Bombers lost their first three games after Burke too over - but that's what happens when you take over a 2-6 team that LaPolice left in a shambles.

Yet, for all the good things Burke has done for this Bombers team -- he's turned the tough trick of making his football team more accountable and more fun at the same time -- perhaps the best thing Burke has done is actually what he hasn't done.

What Burke hasn't done is meddle in offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's offense the way players say LaPolice was doing when he was still running the show.

With the mixed messages gone now that LaPolice is also gone, Burke has given Crowton almost total autonomy over the offense and the results have been striking.

Consider:

--In the first 11 games of this season -- the first eight of which were under LaPolice -- Winnipeg's offense averaged just 18 first downs and 306 yards per game;

--And in the last five games, the production has soared to an average of 25 first downs and 412 yards per game.

That first set of numbers is a recipe for a disastrous season. And the second set of numbers? You can build something on that, if not this year then next.

Indeed, when you consider Crowton's offense has put up those numbers the past five weeks despite a continuing revolving door at starting quarterback, it makes you wonder what they would be capable of when -- or maybe 'if' is the better question in these parts -- they ever got a reliable starter under centre.

Has Burke made mistakes? Collossal ones, beginning with his decision to not kick a game-winning field goal in the Banjo Bowl that would have given him a 4-4 record as head coach at the moment, instead of 3-5.

And there are also legitimate questions to be asked right now about what effect giving Burke the head coaching duties on top of the defensive coordinator job is having on his defence and -- in particular -- his pride and joy, the Bombers secondary.

For all the improvements in the offense the past five weeks, the secondary has looked extraordinarily shaky recently -- and never more so than in the second quarter here Friday night as Argos QB Ricky Ray shredded them for three touchdowns and 205 yards of offense in that one quarter alone.

Jovon Johnson got beat, Jonathan Hefney got beat, Ian Logan got beat, Demond Washington got beat and Alex Suber got beat -- twice -- in a quarter that was an embarrassment to the entire unit.

So is all that on Burke too, the inevitable result of a man who is simply spread too thin right now? Even Burke isn't sure, but he was vowing here Friday night to make it right.

"I can't say enough about the offense and what the offensive staff did," said Burke. "Now, if we can just get the defence to play a little better, we might just win a game before the last three minutes."

On top of that, there is also the continuing -- and maddening -- failure of this team to win games in consecutive weeks, something they will attempt to do next Saturday in Hamilton for the first time since August -- 2011.

And so put it altogether and the critical question for the Bombers brain trust when this season ends, sooner or later as the case may be, will be: Has Burke done enough to keep the head coach job for next season?

The answer will depend on how they want to frame the analysis and, of course, on what happens these final two regular season games.

But if the ballot box question on Burke's future comes down to a simple -- 'Are you better off today than you were a half-season ago?' -- the answer right now is clearly an emphatic 'Yes.'