First, the bad news -- now some good news

MONTREAL -- In a week in which you have heard almost exclusively about what is wrong with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it bears notation that there are quite a few things right with the team heading into a game against the Montreal Alouettes Friday night.

A cynic could argue this 2012 Bombers outfit could only go up after last Friday's debacle in Vancouver against the BC Lions.

The Bombers were beaten up 33-16 and starting QB Buck Pierce didn't even survive the first half. They were simply outclassed by a Lions team that held the Winnipeg offence to just 51 yards the entire first half.

How bad was it? "If we play like that," Pierce summarized Wednesday, "we're not going to win another game all year."

So yeah, against that backdrop it probably would be tough to do anything but improve.

But if you're a Bombers fan looking around for a reason to be optimistic, then the news has been nothing but good since your heroes slunk out of Vancouver last weekend.

"We've had a really good week," safety Ian Logan observed at Canad Inns Stadium Wednesday after the club's final full practice before the clash at Stade Molson.

"We're feeling confident right now. We've got a positive vibe going and we're ready to get back out there."

Logan has some reason to be buoyant. For starters, as bad as the Bombers played last weekend, they still head into Week 2 tied for first place in the East Division -- or last place, but we're all about glasses being half full today -- after Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal also lost on opening weekend.

What's more, the Bombers now have arguably their toughest game of the season behind them -- on the road against what looks like a juggernaut in Vancouver. Meanwhile, all their East rivals still have that delightful West Coast encounter to not look forward to.

On top of that, the Bombers' opponent this Friday might very well be the only CFL team that was actually outclassed worse than Winnipeg in Week 1. Montreal got absolutely throttled 38-10 by the Stampeders in Calgary.

Yeah, Winnipeg's offence was lousy against the Lions, but their special teams showed spark and their defence was actually pretty good, at least for the first three quarters. Montreal was just lousy across the board.

Then there's been the good news from the Bombers' sick bay this week. While club officials were optimistic even on Friday night that Pierce's knee injury wasn't serious, no one knew for sure at the time and there was the very real spectre that the man who's supposed to pilot Gary Crowton's new offence this season might have been lost for some significant time.

The news since then has been quite the contrary, as Pierce rebounded faster than a Kardashian sister and never missed a practice this week.

Say what you want about Pierce's unfortunate knack for failing to finish games, but his bruised knee laid him up for all of two off days. Yet starting offensive tackle Andre Douglas has been out almost a month now with what's described as a bad hip.

But all the news this week hasn't been good. Douglas, for starters, is going to miss yet another game this week, as will starting slotback Cory Watson and starting linebacker Marcellus Bowman. The Bombers miss those guys -- especially Douglas's experience on a very green offensive line and Watson's familiarity to Pierce, who needs some reliable and familiar targets right now.

On the upside, the Bombers will get back starting offensive tackle Glenn January and starting defensive end Jason Vega this week.

Vega should make for a more potent defensive line. and last week's was already pretty good, especially with tackle Bryan Turner.

But the best news -- for Pierce and, Bombers fans -- is January's return. Pierce was under siege against the Lions, getting sacked four times in less than two quarters.

That's completely unacceptable, and January's presence at the critical left-tackle spot this week should go a long way to plugging some of those leaks on the offensive line.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2012 D3