This is going to be a project

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Blue Bombers’ running back Fred Reid runs the ball past Edmonton’s Mark Restelli for a touchdown during the second half on Thursday. (JIMMY JEONG / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

We saw some wrinkles, but hardly revolutionary innovations. We saw grit and desire, but also enough busted assignments to fill a full Football Follies episode.

But, in the end, the long-waited first real look at the 2009 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Thursday night's 19-17 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos was a little like excitedly tearing open a Christmas gift only to discover a build-it-yourself project.

The finished product on the box may look all shiny and spiffy, but getting there is going to take some long hours of sweat and labour.

That, in a nutshell, was the consensus in the Bomber locker-room after the defeat. Despite the potential ticking time bomb that is the Derick Armstrong sideshow, this new outfit saw enough of itself to be encouraged, not discouraged.

And when you're 0-1 and still trying to remember the name of the new guy sitting at the locker beside you, that qualifies as a silver lining.

"A game like that, that's something to build on," said veteran guard Kelly Bates. "I mean, everyone in the world -- besides the 42 guys in this room -- had us as underdogs. Instead we came out and made a statement: we're going to be a team that battles every week.

"There's a lot of new guys and it's taking time to gel. But I think we're bringing it together a lot faster than anybody thought we could. Obviously, losing isn't acceptable to us. But that last drive (when they moved into position for a possible game-tying field goal) speaks to the men in this locker-room."

It also speaks of what they might have when they get defensive tackles Doug Brown and Tyrone Williams healthy; when Stefan LeFors and his receivers get on the same page and when the boss understands that a monsoon mixed with the always-slippery grass at Commonwealth Stadium means it's time to dump the fancy stuff on offence and start doing the smash-mouth thing.

"We wanted to show them a few things maybe they hadn't seen... maybe I got a little too cute for myself," admitted head coach Mike Kelly. "Now it's just a matter of continuing to play, believing in ourselves and just keep doing what we're doing. Don't deviate from anything right now because I think we're headed in the right direction."

Still, there were some other issues on full display against the Eskimos which aren't likely to be smoothed over when the Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders roll into town in a foul mood after dropping a stink bomb in their home-opening loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

And we'll start by jabbing a finger into an open wound: the special teams.

Look, when Mike Renaud finishes with 14 punts -- just two shy of a club record -- it not only hammers home some concerns about offensive ineptitude, but of the critical importance of field position. Renaud's average vs. Noel Prefontaine's (36.5-to-44) means the Bombers were giving up about seven yards a pop with each change of possession.

And while Shawn Gallant would score on a fumble recovery after a crushing hit by Joe Lobendahn -- he injured his shoulder later and may miss this week -- there was Alexis Serna's field-goal miss at the end of the game that would have sent it into overtime. Sure, attempting to hit a 47-yarder in those conditions -- twice -- may be a bit much, but worth asking here is this: would the Stamps' Sandro DeAngelis or Hamilton's Nick Setta have hit that? We think yes.

There was also the nightmare that was the kick-return game. Too many botched attempts, too often the return duo watched a ball bounce between them. Again, in a game decided by two points, that was monumental. Either these guys need more practise or this team needs new return candidates.

But it's Week 1 and we shouldn't be surprised in the least that, given all the changes this winter, the Bombers remain a work in progress with many unresolved issues.

Question is: can Mike Kelly & Co. put this whole thing together quickly?

As the old saying goes: any jackass can tear down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

'O' WOES: The Bomber offence finished with just five less yards total offence than the Eskimos (322 to 317) but was also on and off the field too quickly with eight two-and-out possessions.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 4, 2009 D3