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Blue Bombers’ Mike Kelly has his first test as a head coach tonight against the Es­kimos at Ed­monton’s Common­wealth Stadium. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Game 1 - Tonight, 8 p.m. Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton; TV: TSN: Radio: CJOB.

THREE KEYS TO VICTORY

Free Press football writer Ed Tait outlines how the Bombers could win tonight in Edmonton:

1. THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE

The Bombers remain the CFL's biggest mystery, although much of what they plan to do both offensively and defenively will be quickly unveiled for the entire country to see on the grass at Commonwealth. As expected, what the Bombers showcased in the preseason on both sides of the ball was very vanilla, But we've seen some intriguing wrinkles in practice -- particularly on offence -- that could give last year's sorry attack some oomph. Mike Kelly & Co. also have the advantage of having recently worked in Edmonton's offensive and defensive huddles and understand tendencies and tactics of some of the Eskimo coaches and players. What, meanwhile, will a Kelly offence and a Mark Nelson defence look like? Good question. And until CFL teams get a good feel for that answer it's a huge advantage, even if it's got an extremely short shelf life. The counter to that, as Eskimo head coach Richie Hall said on Wednesday: 'I look at it like this: no one is inventing the wheel here. It's just a matter of illusions and how you camouflage things. You have to be sound and adjust to it.'

2. STEP UP AIR DEFENCE... OR BE SHREDDED

It's not hard to connect the dots as to why the Bomber secondary was gutted by the new regime in the offseason: as the Eskimo receiver coach last year Kelly watched QB Ricky Ray completely eviscerate Winnipeg in three games, two of them wins, including the East Semifinal. In those three contests against Winnipeg Ray threw for an astonishing 1,057 yards (352.3 per game) with four TDs against one interception while completing a jaw-dropping 77.1 per cent of his passes. In eight career regular-season games against Winnipeg Ray has thrown for 300 yards or better seven times and has 15 TDs against seven interceptions. So, no one should be the least bit surprised if drool begins forming in the corners of his mouth at the prospects of facing Winnipeg's revamped secondary. That said, the Bomber secondary of Keyuo Craver and Jovon Johnson at the corners, Lenny Walls and Jonathan Hefney at halfback and Ian Logan at safety brings an in-your-face approach that has been lacking over the last little while.

3. ADAPT AND ADJUST, READ AND REACT

This is just the fourth time in modern CFL history that two first-year coaches will make their regular-season debuts against each other. The last time came nine years ago when John Huard's Argonauts beat Danny Barrett's Roughriders 36-28 in Regina. In '99 Charlie Taaffe's Alouettes edged Jim Barker and the Argos 15-12 at Molson Stadium while way back in 1967 Toronto, led by Leo Cahill knocked off Kay Dalton's Alouettes 14-7. Now it's not like Edmonton's Hall and the Bombers' Kelly are new to the league -- both are long-serving coordinators with impressive credentials -- but it is the first time for them wearing the big headset and making all the meaty decisions. All eyes will be fixed on how they handle those calls in game, react to new schemes and formations in-game and especially during half-time. This is the first true test of arguably a coach's most-critical move: putting together a staff that can work together when the bullets are flying for real.

How they match up

WHEN THE BOMBERS RUN

Lavarus Giles has been the talk of the preseason in Bomberland and Fred Reid looks fresh. Question is, can the Bombers' new O-line open some holes for the new Thunder and Lightning? We think yes.

Edge: Bombers

WHEN THE BOMBERS PASS

The Eskimos will start two rookies in the secondary in Bobby Keyes and Lamar Herron and if Stefan LeFors can simply play the point guard and distribute the ball, the Bombers may be able to attack through the air.

Edge: Bombers

WHEN THE ESKIMOS RUN

Doug Brown is here, but has been sick. And Tyrone Williams is on the one-game injured list. Jesse Lumsden has an 8-yards per carry career rushing average against the Bombers. 'Nuff said.

Edge: Eskimos

WHEN THE ESKIMOS PASS

See Three Keys, above. Ray absolutely positively loves playing the Bombers. He may be a bit skittish working behind his O-line, however, as it is down a couple of regulars.

Edge: Eskimos.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Noel Prefontaine is a dandy kicker and Tristan Jackson a thrilling returner. The Bombers may be better in these departments, but remain a mystery.

Edge: Eskimos

INTANGIBLES

Odd stat worth considering: The Esks are just 2-7-1 in their last 10 season openers. We think the element of surprise works here for the visitors.

Edge: Bombers.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 2, 2009 C3