Winnipeg Blue Bomber Report Record: 7–11–0

Bomber Report

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

INSIDE THE Xs AND Os

By: Gary Lawless

24/10/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 1

VEGAS LINE:

Alouettes are favoured by 4.5 points.

THE FORECAST:

Cloudy with periods of rain, a high of 6C and a low of 4C.

BLUE VS. ALS:

Since 1961: The Bombers are 31-38-2 all-time against Montreal; The teams have split their last 10 games; Montreal is 17-19-0 all-time in road games against the Bombers.

TICKET UPDATE:

The Bombers said late Thursday that 20,012 and tickets had been sold for today's game. The club did not release an update on Friday and the local TV blackout will be in effect.

ROSTER UPDATE:

The Bombers will add import linebacker Barrin Simpson and take off Joe Lobendahn, they'll add punter Troy Westwood and linebacker Neil McKinlay and take off non-import DE Justin Shaw and non-import receiver Dante Luciani.

CHANGING ALS:

The Alouettes will take off import linebacker Diamond Ferri and add import Jon Banks.

WELCOME HOME:

Winnipegger Cory Huclack will be in the lineup for the Als as the long snapper. He's also seen spot duty at linebacker and has an interception for a touchdown and 10 special teams tackles.

QB CLASS:

Bombers quarterback Michael Bishop lost one fumble and threw three interceptions in last weekend's loss to the B.C. Lions and coach Mike Kelly said earlier this week he considered yanking his starter and going with Casey Bramlet. Bramlet has appeared in one CFL game, going 1-for-8 with one interception. Montreal has the league's best quarterback in Anthony Calvillo but he injured a calf muscle in a win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Sunday and his status for today remains iffy. Adrian McPherson is Montreal's backup and he's gone 12-of-16 with two TD passes in limited action this season.

JUICY NUMBERS:

The Bombers have scored 315 points and allowed 395 while the Alouettes have scored 486 and given up 253...The Bombers net yards average is 301.6 per game while Montreal's is 401.2....Winnipeg has sacked opposition quarterbacks 25 times, the Alouettes have collected 38 sacks...Winnipeg quarterbacks have completed 49.3 per cent of their passes and Montreal passers have hit on 72.2 per cent...Bombers QBs have thrown 24 interceptions while Montreal has thrown just six.

-- Gary Lawless

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 24, 2009 D3

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1 Comments

Posted by: Bomber fan of Cal Murphy

October 24, 2009 at 8:24 AM

The WBBs need coordinators who make a difference. The teams on top are risk takers on offensive and defensive opportunities. Cal Murphy always said you play to win by taking advantage of all your opportunities. Montreal is very stable in this area and so is Saskatchewan. EE, WBB and TO are unwilling to take risks on offence and defence and as a result are no where near SSR or MA level.

Winnipeg has a lot of really good players. Guys who sleep well, do not party pregame or chase women. They are staying focused on winning. Walls, Hefney, Johnson, Simpson, Brown, Charlton, Edwards, Guice, Bowman, Smith, Ralph, Serna and a few more are leaders by example. Mike Kelly is a coach getting better as he goes along. Continuity is very important after starting a new direction. Murphy is a great guy who can bring in good talent. As long as the team stays in tact and improves from their mistakes the sky is the limit.

The fact is Winnipegs struggles came in the form of poor play calling in the majority of games. Lafores was also another bust that cost us greatly. If we had 2 more wins from all his losses we would atleast be ahead of EE now. Too many mistakes at the organizational level for too many years brought on this mess. Firing Kelly and Bauer will only compound this trouble. Incentive contracts for management are needed from here on in and that is that.