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Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly ponders the mysteries of life and football during Wednesday's workout. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA )

Any teacher will confess there are some rather obvious indicators a kid -- or an entire class -- just isn't getting the message.

Blank stares, for example, might be considered a tell-tale sign. Regular mass exoduses aren't good. And snoring is a fairly strong hint the class isn't exactly hanging on every syllable.

But nothing is likely more condemning than bad test scores.

All of which brings us to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and, in particular, their offensive offence...

In the wake of last Saturday's 25-13 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- a game in which the attack managed just 55 yards in the second half and put the P-U in putrid -- head coach Mike Kelly & Co. have spent most of the last week rethinking everything from the way the message is delivered to its content.

"When I was a professor (of sports management at Drexel University), if I had an exam that was given where the highest grade was in the 70s or low 80s... then I failed those kids; I didn't recognize that they weren't picking up the style of teaching that I was using," said Kelly. "So now I have to find another way to communicate those same thoughts because if your whole class fails that's on the instructor. So you go back and say, 'Obviously they're not understanding this.'

"I'm being very open here... through the first part of some of our teaching here I thought players could conceptualize easier than they could. Now I'm finding with our group they learn better if I actually draw out everything, they follow it better then. You have to learn who you're dealing with also and what is their learning pattern and how they learn best. That's all part of the process."

And so this week's preparation for Friday's game against the Toronto Argonauts has been all about getting quarterback Stefan LeFors and his receivers on the same page. It's about implementing a game plan specific to the Argos, but also mastering some of what the Bombers do offensively.

"We added a couple things, we took a couple things out," said Kelly. "There's a certain number of plays that I'd like to have going into each game. Matt Dunigan used to call it having bullets in your holster and I want so many bullets in my holster. That's kind of the approach I've still taken.

"There's some things we want to do against their style of defence, but we've honed in on a few things. I wouldn't say it was a scaling back, it was maybe a little better awareness of some of the packages."

Awareness in practice is one thing, however, getting it done when it matters is the real proof. The Bombers will be facing an Argonaut squad that was pummelled 44-9 by the Calgary Stampeders last week and has given up 90 points in its last two games. But if the Bombers don't figure out a way to, for example, throw the ball to Terrence Edwards once in a while -- he didn't catch a pass last week -- then Kelly and his charges could be in for a long summer.

And Bomber fans will be suffering, too, because while the defence looks like a force, there's nothing more excruciatingly painful than watching offensive ineptitude in the wide-open CFL game.

Asked Wednesday if he saw some light bulbs going on this week with his players, Kelly grinned and said:

"Some are going on and some are still popping. But for the most part we're all starting to get a little more comfortable. Hopefully we've got something put together that our guys feel comfortable with and can execute."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Woe is the 'O'

 A look at the Bombers offensive production through three games:

 Category Total Rank

Avg. points scored per game 24 7th

Touchdowns 5 8th

Passing TDs 2 8th

Rushing TDs 3 T-4th

First downs 51 8th

Yard offence per game 286.3 7th

Yards rushing per game 147.3 1st

Yards passing per game 151.7 8th

Team passing eff. rating 60.07 8th

Average time of possession 27:58 7th

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 23, 2009 C1