3 KEYS TO VICTORY

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2010 (5520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

1. A CURFEW, A WAKE-UP CALL, A GOOD MEAL AND… A ‘W’?

Not that we’re keeping track or anything — oh yes we are — but it’s now been 355 days since the Bombers last won a game outside of Winnipeg, dating back to a 38-28 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Oct. 12. The Bomb Squad is 0-6 on the road this season and winless in seven dating back to the end of ’09. Worth noting, the club’s longest road winless streak is 13 games during an ugly stretch between Sept. 12, 1997 and July 29, 1999. So what has to change to win on foreign soil? There’s no magic wand, but while the Bombers have certainly had opportunities to grab a road win — four of the losses have been by a TD or less — they aren’t making the critical plays at critical times. There were the panicky long throws into the end zone in Calgary, the botched play call at the end of a defeat in Hamilton and the strange third-and-two hand-off to Andre Sadeghian a couple weeks back in Toronto. Good teams don’t make those mistakes.

“It’s the little things we’re not doing,” said centre Obby Khan. “One block here, another yard there, and we’ll find ourselves coming up with a win on the road. It’s going to come — we’ve had some bad breaks on the road and we’ve lost a couple close ones.”

2. MAKE LULAY PAY

The Lions have yanked the starting-QB duties from Casey Printers and handed them to Travis Lulay, a man with the worst efficiency rating (64.6) of 10 pivots listed in the CFL statistics and a guy who has thrown for just two TDs against seven interceptions. But GM and head coach Wally Buono has long seen something in the 27-year-old Montana State product he likes. Lulay is most effective outside of the pocket, making things happen on the run or throwing outside of the tackles. He’s also the guy who came off the bench to beat the blue and gold last October — replacing Buck Pierce, oddly enough — by throwing for a TD and rushing for 92 yards on just seven carries.

“I wouldn’t consider him like a rookie because last year he was one of the reasons we didn’t make it to the playoffs,” said Bomber defensive end Phillip Hunt. “We know what type of player he is and what he’s capable of. He’s an elusive runner. We’ve got to rush him and make him make bad decisions and at the same time we’ve got to be aware of our rush lanes… he likes to step up in the pocket and take off running.

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“We’ve got to be conscious of not rushing too far past him and stay on the same level as him. We need to follow the lead of our big nose tackles in Doug Brown and Dorian Smith. They’ll be a huge help this game because of their push in the middle.”

3. THE YONUS BONUS… WHO IS THIS GUY?

This 5-foot-7 San Jose State product has provided a big-time spark for the Lions out of the backfield but, most impressively, as a kick returner. Yonus Davis was the CFL Special Teams Player of the Week for his work in last week’s victory in Calgary after racking up 244 return yards. The diminutive back grew up idolizing Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders and has a very similar running style. When he does touch the ball out of the backfield he has a gaudy 6.7 yards per carry average and provides the Lions with a superb change of pace to Jamal Robertson, the No. 1 tailback. The Bombers need to corral Davis in the return game — or attempt to — much the same way they did a week ago against the Als when they limited Montreal returners Leroy Vann and Andrew Hawkins to zero yards on eight punt returns.