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Winnipeg Blue Bomber Report Record: 7–11–0

Bomber Report

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Bombers start off on wrong foot

Blue crew 'gritty' but 'forgettable' as Esks come out on top in sloppy show

By: Ed Tait

3/07/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 17

The Blue Bombers' Pierre-Luc Labbé takes down the Edmonton Eskimos’ Tristan Jackson at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium Thursday night.

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The Blue Bombers' Pierre-Luc Labbé takes down the Edmonton Eskimos’ Tristan Jackson at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium Thursday night. (BRIAN J. GAVRILOFF / CANWEST NEWS SERVICE)

EDMONTON -- As debuts go, the Mike Kelly Era in Winnipeg Blue Bomber football history could best be described by two words:

'Gritty' but 'forgettable.'

BOMBER RECAP: Eskimos 19 / Bombers 17

KEY PLAY

On the final play the Bombers had a chance to send the game to OT, but Alexis Serna missed a 47­yard FG attempt wide to the left.

KEY PLAYER

Eskimos QB Ricky Ray wasn't perfect, but he connected on 29 of 41 passes for 318 yards and a TD and rushed for a score.

KEY STAT

The Bombers were only out­gained by five yards on the night -- 322 to 317 -- but were too inconsistent offensively.

Next Game

Home: vs. Calgary, Friday, July 10 6:30 p.m.

The new coaching/management regime opened up the 2009 CFL campaign with a performance that mirrored the conditions at Commonwealth Stadium Thursday night in a sloppy, mistake-filled affair that saw the Edmonton Eskimos emerge with a 19-17 decision in front of 30,650 monsoon-soaked fans.

"Losing is unacceptable," said Kelly. "There's nothing about losing I like. I hate losing. I can't stand it and I have to do a better job of getting our team prepared so that I don't have to feel this way."

And while the defence deserves credit for a ballsy performance minus their best Canadian in Doug Brown -- he was a late scratch with flu-like symptoms, causing the club to field a roster one man short -- there is no masking the end result: for the sixth straight campaign the Bombers failed to win their season opener.

Yes, the Bombers haven't kicked off a campaign with a win since 2003 and are 0-5-1 over that span.

As much as the Bombers coughed and sputtered all night offensively -- they managed just 317 yards total offence -- they were in a position to send the game into overtime on the last play of the game, but Alexis Serna's 47-yard field-goal attempt was wide left. Ironically, Serna's first attempt was good, but the play was ruled dead before the snap when the Eskimos called a time out in a successful attempt to 'ice' him.

Also worth noting here is the first attempt would have been from 42 yards away, but guard Brendon LaBatte was called on an illegal procedure, pushing the ball five yards further back.

"I can't do anything about it, I can't change it now," said Serna. "I hit the first one, it went in and I just told myself to do it on the second one, but it didn't happen. You never want to start the season off like that. I'm just hoping for my next opportunity."

Trailing 19-16 and looking to force extra time, the Bombers took possession with 40 seconds remaining and moved the ball 55 yards before the Serna miss as quarterback Stefan LeFors connected with Adarius Bowman twice and Fred Reid once while Reid and Giles also rumbled for 18 yards. The Bombers also benefitted from a 10-yard tripping penalty on Eskimo defensive tackle Dario Romero.

The Eskimos led 9-2 at the intermission after a snoozefest in the first half that would have made watching paint dry seem like a Stanley Cup seventh game. Edmonton essentially put together just two drives in between eight two-and-out possessions in the half, but took the lead into halftime when Ricky Ray connected with Andrew Nowacki on a 19-yard TD with just 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

LeFors, meanwhile, finished the night just 14 of 31 for 174 yards. The Bombers did rush the ball for 162 yards on the night with Reid finishing with 92 yards on 13 carries, including the Bombers lone offensive TD. The other Bomber TD came courtesy of pecial-teams ace Shawn Gallant, who scooped up a Tristan Jackson fumble after a vicious hit from Joe Lobendahn and raced 20 yards to the end zone.

BLUE NOTES: WR Derick Armstrong dressed, but unofficially did not see the field. Kelly refused to comment on that decision afterward... Lobendahn, who was spectacular, left the game in the second half with an injury and was replaced by Canadian Pierre-Luc Labbe... Eskimo RB Jesse Lumsden exited the game in the first quarter after taking a hit on the shoulder from Siddeeq Shabazz. He was taken to hospital where the surgically-repaired joint was to be x-rayed.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 3, 2009 C1

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17 Commentscomment icon

It's Serna's job to make field goals. Especially important ones. If he can't do it, and last year's performance suggests he can't. Then he should be out of a job.

It isn't the running backs' or the receivers' jobs to kick a ball between the uprights. One man does that. That's all he does: use his leg.

I agree completely that he's still got a job after last year because kickers are a rare breed in the CFL. He's a nervous nellie.

I too say "Do not put it all on Serna's back" the entire team is up for blame. Now with Kelly and Armstrong at odds I foresee moe games like last nite. We are in for a long trying season.

avatar

I was not impressed by the bombers play at all.For the first three quarters they were sleepwalking .If this is a indication of things to come the bombers are in big trouble. With kelley and armstrong in odds with each other whats next.

Ricky Ray had almost no pressure on him all night. Simple equation: Ricky Ray has time = you lose. If Blue can't bring more heat, it will be a long season.

Given the field and conditions I thought the Bombers did well - certainly better than I expected.

The defence handled Edmonton well, 8 consecutive 2 and outs & only 19 points.

Lefors at less than 50% passing needs to get a lot better very quickly, but with stronger play from the offensive line, he likely will. His lack of arm strength is a concern; that's what's needed to take advantage of the field. Better mechanics should help somewhat and so will better footing.

Talk about letting your team-mates down, Armstrong should be down the road today. Don't even give him an apple or a road map. American receivers are easy to replace, even easier than US running backs.

The defence played awesome. No Doug Brown but still the front seven, even after Lobendahn went down was terrific. The secondary is immeasurably better than last year already and with a couple more games under their belt and Brown back - LOOK OUT!

I think this year is shaping up to be a good one.

GO BLUE

Don't put the loss on Serna's shoulders? First of all, the team lost the game [edited] not one person.

Second, the kicker has a job to do. That includes game-winning, clutch-time field goals. He failed. Again. I got sick of this routine last year.

The only reason Serna has a career in the CFL is because it's almost impossible to find kickers. That's just the way it is.

Taxpayer: Watch the game next time. You'll find you look a lot smarter if you do.

If I was grading LeFors on his performance last night alone I don't think he gets better then a 5 out of 10... but I saw the potential for a great QB in how he carries himself, how he reads the field, and yes, in his arm. This is how I was hoping he'd look by September. Now it's up to him and Kelly to keep growing and flesh out our air attack. Although just playing on dry turf instead of soaking wet grass will help that.

dear FP....the only think you got wrong in your story was the title...instead of wrong foot it should be wrong arm....as in Left Arm....Pardon me...but 14-31 is not an acceptable avg. in the CFL and on some of those misses, were just downright BAD...

What was Hamilton's record last year? 3-15.....we might just compete for that, as I believe Coach Kelly's playbook has been hacked...yuck.

I think Kelly should take note that there is more than one quaterback on this team.When it became painfully obvious that Lefors wasn't going to cut it he should have been pulled.

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