Game 10 Today 3 p.m. Canad Inn stadium TV: TSN Radio: CJBO
3 KEYS TO VICTORY
Free Press football writer ED TAIT outlines how the Bombers could win today:
1. PICK UP YOUR GAME AGAIN, GLENN
A quarterback shouldn't be blamed for dropped passes and receivers running wrong routes; for O-linemen throwing 'look out!' blocks and running backs missing holes in the line of scrimmage. But he does have to protect the ball and manage a game better and when a team finishes a game with six points -- in any league -- the fingers of blame are often pointed at the man behind centre and last Sunday in Regina Kevin Glenn wasn't good enough. He threw two interceptions, fumbled once and took a critical time-count penalty in the second half.
Through the first half of the season, and including three games in which he was benched, Glenn has thrown four TDs and been picked off a dozen times.
By comparison, in Glenn's first 11 games a year ago he had thrown for 16 scores against just four picks. But in the last 16 games that ratio has changed to 13:21.
See a trend here? We do. Teams have figured out how to stop Glenn and the Bombers -- it starts by taking away the run game and dropping a pile of players into coverage on second and long -- and it's up to the club's highestpaid player and the coaching staff to reverse that. And if they can't, then this team needs to change the style of QB it uses and switch to a mobile, move-thepocket passer the same way it has by going to a bulldozer running back in Joe Smith over a scatback like Charles Roberts.
2. JUST MAKE A PLAY AND DO YOUR JOB
This is on everybody, including the coaching staff. Too many times on Labour Day the Bombers dropped a pass that would have resulted in a first down or huge yardage. Or took a penalty that wiped out a big play, killed a drive or extended another for the Riders.
They missed potential sacks, dropped possible interceptions, zigged when they should have zagged, ran wrong routes... and so on and so on and this stuff shouldn't be happening at such an alarming rate nine games into the season.
It's been suggested this team doesn't practise hard enough, leading to the development of some sloppy habits while coach Doug Berry said the biggest difference between the Riders and Bombers a year ago -- we saw the same thing on Sunday -- was how his crew was "out-intensified." Whatever the theory or excuse, it just isn't good enough. And pile up enough mistakes in simply doing the little things right and a squad can quickly find itself at 2-7, not 7-2.
3. MEMO TO THE DEFENCE: MORE OF THE SAME, PLEASE
Look at the numbers from Labour Day and it's obvious the Bombers wasted another solid defensive effort. The Riders were held to 14 first downs, including four and 47 total yards in the second half, while Michael Bishop was good on just 10 of 24 pass attempts for 107 yards, zero TDs and one interception.
If the Bombers can duplicate that and show any sign of a pulse offensively, they can compete against a Rider squad featuring a QB with just a few practices with his new club under his belt and a receiving corps decimated by injuries.
Inside the Xs and Os
FYI:
Vegas line: Roughriders by 1.5
The forecast: Cloudy with sunny periods; 40 per cent chance of showers in the morning then clearing in the afternoon. Wind becoming north 20 km/h in the morning. High 16.
Ticket count: The fifth Annual Banjo Bowl is sold out, with a capacity crowd of 29,533 expected.
BLUE OUCH UPDATE:
Out are LB Barrin Simpson (torn pectoral); OL Matt Sheridan (shoulder); DL Matt Kudu (ankle); CB Robert Bean (thumb) and K Warren Kean (foot). The Bombers will make a couple of changes to the active roster, replacing RB Charles Roberts with RB Joe Smith while WR Jamie Stoddard comes aboard for SB Aaron Hargreaves. QB Timmy Chang has been added to the 46-man roster in place of SB Kerry Johnson.
MILESTONE WATCH
Milt Stegall needs 68 yards to pass Allen Pitts and become the CFL's career receiving yardage leader at 14,892... QB Kevin Glenn is 420 yards shy of passing Ken Ploen and moving into third place on the Bombers' all-time passing yardage list behind only Dieter Brock (29,623) and Khari Jones (20,175)... Tom Canada's next sack will give him sole possession of third place on the Bombers' career list, behind Tyrone Jones (98) and Tony Norman (69). Doug Brown is at 36 on that list; Gavin Walls has 35.
NUMBERS GAME
As bad as the Bombers have been in Regina in the annual Labour Day Classic, check this out: the Riders are just 2-16 in their last 18 regular-season visits to Winnipeg dating back to 1991.
The Riders' Take on the Roberts-for-Smith Deal: "It did catch me off guard a little bit," said head coach Ken Miller. "Unless you're inside an organization and know the ins and outs, you don't know exactly why those things happen. But, really, we play defence the way we play defence.
"The running back doesn't dictate to us exactly how we go about it. We may think a little differently about who they are and styles they might have, but we wouldn't change our game plan."
Trends:
Saskatchewan is 4-0 vs. the East this year and 5-0 when leading at halftime... After rushing for 376 yards in Games 4-6, Rider tailback Wes Cates has just 169 yards along the ground in his last three contests... The Bombers have held their opponent to under 25 points in three of their last four games, but are 1-3 in that stretch.
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