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Winnipeg Blue Bomber Report Record: 7–11–0

Bomber Report

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Cause of death: Multiple injuries

Coroner gives report on Bombers 2009 season; makes recommendations for 2010

By: Ed Tait

10/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 8

Michael Bishop

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Michael Bishop (CP)

The scene: a near-empty Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker-room dotted with a handful of players sifting through their belongings and tossing the chaff into garbage bags.

It's a scenario that will also unfold in six other Canadian Football League cities over the next few weeks, the lone exception the club that slurps bubbly from the Grey Cup amid a celebration that will include parades and parties that last well into December.

And it is a scene that has repeated over and over and over again in Winnipeg where the Bombers are 0 for their last 19 seasons since last winning a championship in 1990. Just to put that drought in perspective, the last time the Bombers were champs Brian Mulroney was this country's Prime Minister, Gary Filmon was Manitoba's premier, M.C. Hammer ruled the charts and Cheers was must-see TV.

The club is 0-4 in Grey Cup trips since 1990, playing two games without its starting quarterback (1993 minus Matt Dunigan; 2007 without Kevin Glenn). But this is also an organization that, while making a massive turnaround since 2000 financially, is also spinning its wheels on the field.

That's not opinion, it's there in black and white with the team having posted just one winning season in the last six years.

Here is a quick autopsy on 2009, examining key issues the Bombers franchise must address to end the second-longest Grey Cup drought in the team's 79 years...

1. THE MIKE KELLY/LYLE BAUER QUESTION -- Kelly, the first-year Bomber boss, insisted Monday in his final media scrum of 2009 that he will be back to honour the second year of his contract. Club president Lyle Bauer opted to not answer questions, stating it was a day for the players and coaches.

Look, the 7-11 won-lost record and playing to two of the lowest home crowds in a decade are damning developments for Kelly and the man who hired him, no question. And while both men speak of an improved 'culture' in the locker-room and for implementing important structural changes to the football operations department, those improvements are hard to measure and certainly didn't translate to the standings.

Pro football is a bottom line business and being one of two CFL teams that missed the playoffs -- and playing to two sub-22,0000 crowds in the fall -- represents an ugly bottom line. Ultimately, this is the call of the board of directors and it's certainly going to be debated behind closed doors. And soon.

 

2. WHO STARTS at QB? -- We brought this up after the Labour Day Classic loss to Saskatchewan and it's an issue that isn't any closer to being resolved: Where is the upside for the Bombers hitching their wagon to a 33-year-old nomad like Michael Bishop and his roller-coaster game? Here's the thing, though: We wouldn't cut the man -- he did go 6-8 as a starter and is extremely popular in the room -- because obviously the Bombers lacked a veteran presence at the position when the season opened after whacking Kevin Glenn in the off-season.

But who represents the future? Is it Ricky Santos, Casey Bramlet or Adam DiMichele? Or is it neg-list prospects like D.J. Shockley or Brian Johnson? This is THE most pressing personnel question the team must answer and until it finds/trades for/develops a top tier pivot, the Grey Cup drought will continue.

 

3. FIXING THAT SICKLY OFFENCE -- Kelly, hired because of his credentials when the Bombers set all kinds of records during his days as offensive co-ordinator from 1992-96, was the architect of an attack this year that was absolutely awful. As bad as last year's offence was -- and it was last in scoring -- this outfit made it look positively explosive. It had nine fewer TDs, 75 fewer first downs and managed just 200 yards passing per game. The offence was a predominantly a CFL laughingstock in '09.

 

4. THE CANADIAN CONTENT -- The Bombers best Canadian remains Doug Brown and, while he plays like he is ageless, his birth certificate reads: 35. There is, however, a solid core of homegrown starters, including Brendon LaBatte, Steve Morley, Obby Khan, Ian Logan and Brock Ralph, while receiver Jabari Arthur, acquired in the Romby Bryant/Arjei Franklin trade, apparently has future star written all over him. Winnipeg still holds its first-round draft pick next year (although the Roughriders could flip with the Bombers or take two future second-rounders as part of the Adarius Bowman trade) as well as its third and sixth-round picks, but gave up its second-rounder for Stefan LeFors, its fourth for Ralph and its fifth for Kelly Bates.

 

5. THE FREE AGENTS -- A testament to the work of John Murphy and Ross Hodgkinson -- the Bombers, at season's end, have just seven free agents heading into 2010: Jovon Johnson, Alexis Serna, Aaron Hargreaves, Ryan Donnelly, Pat MacDonald, James Johnson and Steven Holness. Of that crew getting Jovon Johnson, the club's Most Outstanding Player, and Serna re-signed are critical.

 

6. FINALLY: SOOTHING THE ANGRY MASSES -- The stadium deal is in limbo, the starting QB hardly has the populace racing to get his name and number on a souvenir jersey and the head coach has turned off a whole swack of fans and corporate sponsors. Trotting out a campaign slogan like, 'Hey, at least we're better than the Argos!' is hardly going to have folks busting through the turnstiles. The Bomber brand, sadly, has taken a pounding.

Memo to the big brains in Bomber management: roll up your sleeves, gents, and get to work ASAP.

 

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 10, 2009 C3

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8 Commentscomment icon

I find it extremely difficult to understand why anyone would award accolades to egomaniac arrogant Mike unless maybe a close relative. Thanking him for the season like a few of the bloggers have done leaves me shaking my head. I think we can thank a lot of the players who scratched and clawed and poured their guts out for the team but thats where it ends. Secondly how anyone can possibly say that this was an improved version over last years club is another head scratcher. The free press article that were responding to just finished expounding on how dreadful the offense was in comparison to last years version that finished last in every statistical category. Wake up Winnipeg - " see the picture for what it is ". Just for fun see how many times the quarterback lines up under the centre in this weekends playoff games.. Maybe thats the way the game has changed; the problem is somebody has to let MIke know.

We had a good offence last year. Three 1000 yard receivers, a very good offensive line to protect Glenn and open lanes for RBs. There were only 3 issues namely slowing down of Roberts the Blink, Kickreturner and the over rated OC Cartright. Doug Berry fixed 90% of the problem and we were sailing smoothly. Milt was recovering from surgery and he returned back later. Kelly had one motive and that's to change everything around. All his moves misfired and now he has dug himself into a huge hole.

Lack of maturity led to his downfall. On the otherside look at how the Riders are playing with backups and winning games. Their team is well coached. The board should have requested Bauer to strip all of Kelly's extra duties. I mean General Manager and Offensive Coordinator titles. I bet no other CFL team would offer him no more than a assistant's job. I feel sorry. What's to be done. We are willing to reach out to help if he is willing to accept our offer. Atleast sharing a business vision how to be successful.

"This is supposed to be a community-owned team, but there is no real mechanism for our input"
Wake up and smell the roses or at least take the glasses off! “mechanism for our input” Unbelievable! That’s all I can say!
In the history of "community owned" sports franchises, has anyone of them ever let the fans run the franchise, I think not?
At best, you can hope to have a “Town Meeting”, which we used to have, to make you feel that you have a say, even though you don’t. Where does that mentality come from, the NDP? What would ever make you ask or expect that? It means you pay the red ink, nothing more. If “the fans” were intelligent enough to make decisions, why have a board of directors, manager or even a coach? Why charge admission, we should just have an open door policy, I own it, I shouldn’t have to pay! Do you people ever think before you open your traps, or write your thoughts?
This year was certainly a disappointment. But, I truly believe the foundation for a better future was paved and the product that we saw on the field this year, even if the standings don’t show it, was an improved version of the Blue! Almost every aspect of the team are better than last year at this time. The only real problem remains the offence, which was given a devastating blow during the off-season when our line decided to bolt! That was something Mike and the boys had to deal with that was not in the original plans and I think they did an admirable job at that! They also had to expel some self-centred individuals that were an obvious cancer in the clubhouse and that got way too much media.
Thank you Mike, for a truly entertaining season, I know it was shorter than desired, but the future is going to be better….

…from deep inside enemy territory

Heh Maximo and now with Kelly they are rotten from the top down and have become the biggest joke in the CFL.

To Ed Tait's memo to the Board of Directors I would add this: Listen to the fans! And not necessarily the ones who drank the kool-aid all year and defend Kelly whatever he does or says. A lot of us recognized the foolishness of giving Kelly too many jobs at the start of his tenure, and even more of us thought it foolish to start the season without a proven quarterback. This is supposed to be a community-owned team, but there is no real mechanism for our input.

That was a tough loss on Sunday. Ed, your assessment of the situation in Bomberland is accurate, professional and objective.
Kelly isn’t the second coming, not by a long shot. However, the positives that he’s brought to the organization were crucial in building a foundation for the future of the team. From here on, it’s his ability to further build on these changes that will determine his worth – not one losing season as a rookie coach, gutting a team that was rotten from the inside.
I hope that the board of directors, when assessing the 2009 season, are able to look to the future in making crucial decisions about the organizational structure. A championship team is built from the inside out and (although intangible) improved ‘culture’ in the locker-room is a big part of what solidifies a team as true champions, and not simply one-hit-wonders.

Couldn't agree with you more Ed. Their one bright spot all year has been their special teams, great job guys! Johnson, you were my favorite player the whole year. My favorite play all year was the 118-yard run back for a TD in the Edm. game. That was priceless. Hope Jovon is back next year, Kelly should give him a bonus.

Nice to know for the first time in years we don't have a shopping list for every other team in the league to drool over... and THAT's something the whole football operations team should get props for, not just two of them.

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