Of naysayers and nitwits

Maybe it's the sweltering heat in Manitoba that is pushing everyone to the brink of madness.

Maybe all the newsroom employees and chat room participants across the province have collectively lost their air conditioning, forcing them to stick their heads inside freezers past the recommended guidelines. For how else can you explain that the Blue and Gold have already been charged, tried, and convicted of multiple counts of ineptitude only two weeks into the CFL season?

While it may not be absolutely necessary for the Bombers to win tonight to accomplish the goals they set at the start of training camp, it is becoming abundantly clear that the team does require a tally in the win column to diffuse the masses who are so jumpy right now they may as well be bullfrogs on a trampoline.

Since sliding to zero and two, I have heard or read that last year's No. 1 defence has become a shadow of its former self, in large part because of the trade of Odell Willis and the fallout from Clint Kent's release. And speaking of that trade, a whole two weeks into the season, I have read that it was a mistake, and, in addition, last week in Montreal, a once formidable sack-accumulating defensive line was unable to get close enough to Anthony Calvillo to see if his jersey was downy fresh.

That's about all I can stomach for two weeks of football in the CFL.

So where do we start? They say the once formidable, cocksure defence gave up more yards than any Bomber defence has since 2005. They are said to be swaggerless, playing without vigour and purpose. There are mismatches in coverage, they aren't rushing the passer well, and they can't get the takeaways they used to feast on with such regularity.

When asked, I understood why Tim Burke would embrace these sentiments; he is trying to provoke his charges into a dominant performance, but the rest of us should not be so naive.

We've seen them play twice so far. The first time we saw them play, on the road against the defending champions of the CFL, they were lights out. Though B.C. had been steamrolling everybody and their sister since last August, this defensive dozen held them to 16 points through three quarters. The Bombers lost the game, but I gave the defence a B-plus in a contest where they only relented after they had spent almost an extra quarter on the field.

Fast forward to Montreal, and it's fair to say they got caught up in a statement game with the Alouettes. After one loss to Calgary, Anthony Calvillo was told he was on a rapid descent into his 40s, hadn't won a meaningful game since September of 2011, and the team had signed another pivot to the practice roster. When you call out a multiple league MVP and arguably one of the greatest QBs in CFL history, the outcome is a forgone conclusion.

So overall, the Bomber defence has played one exemplary game, and had one less than satisfactory performance. That sounds pretty balanced to me. Maybe we should sit on our hands for a few more contests before we decide to clap or throw rancid vegetables.

When it comes to not registering a sack last week against Calvillo, in other breaking stories, beer still tastes good.

In case you missed the memo the last four years, Anthony doesn't get sacked anymore. One of the first things Marc Trestman figured out about AC is that he doesn't play well if he is touched. In fact, the first time that any Bomber defender laid a hand on AC last week as he slid, he left the game. You could send Chuck Norris and Bryant Turner up the middle and still not get to him.

As for drawing a conculsion on the Odell Willis trade in week two? Really? Seriously? Odell is one talented football player, but the trade is a 20-week cost/benefit analysis. You don't make this determination until after your season has ended.

So let's hope for victory tonight, and that the Blue and Gold get back on track sooner than later, because if they don't, knees will continue to jerk, and opinions will continue to be unsubtantiated to no end.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays and game days in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 13, 2012 C2