Bombers know they’re doomed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2010 (5518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They’ve got the anger thing down pat. The Canadian Football League took a couple digits off their paycheques last week to make that crystal clear.

We’ve seen the frustration, post-mortem. The cursing, a helmet slammed down, a fist clenched.

But what we saw in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker-room late Saturday night after a crushing 16-14 loss to the B.C. Lions was different and very palpable.

It was this: resignation.

Yes, for all the chatter last week about this being the ‘best 3-9 team in history’ — now 3-10 after losing seven of its last eight — this outfit still can’t get it done when it matters.

And they know it.

“That’s six games where we’ve lost by less than four points and seven games less than seven… somehow we’ve got to find a way,” said receiver Terrence Edwards. “But right now I have no idea what we need to do to fix it.”

It’s a talent issue. It’s a coaching/management issue. And it’s an issue that has been the trademark of an organization that will finish 2010 with a losing record, the third straight, and has now posted just one winning campaign in the last seven.

Growing pains, it’s been suggested by some. And no doubt it’s also the byproduct of having a third regime in three years at the helm. But here’s the reality that must also be digested: contrary to a popular notion, there are no guarantees that all the suffering now will automatically lead to redemption in the future.

There is no promise that losing seven times by a touchdown or less translates next season into wins, or that Steven Jyles will become a better quarterback in 2011 for going through all his experiences this year.

Bomber players, management and fans can cling to that, but all it is right now is hope. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

“I never thought the record would be here, but it is what it is,” said a downtrodden head coach Paul LaPolice. “From our starting wide receiver to our punter we’ve got to find guys who can help us win football games. We get close and we need guys that can take us over the edge, whether that’s an interception at the end of the game, whether that’s a kickoff return for a touchdown, whether that’s a big-time block or just not making any mental errors.

“Obviously we haven’t learned how to win. We’ve won three games and been close in a lot of games, but we haven’t found ways to win the football games.”

But now the concerns go beyond the locker-room and could really begin to impact the bottom line. You see, for all the good will that the organization somehow earned this year despite the losing, the question now is whether some fans will throw up the white flag, knowing this team has to go 4-1 to simply match last year’s record of 7-11?

Imagine that, after all — for all the dysfunction and embarrassment attached to the 2009 campaign, Mike Kelly & Co. had the squad in a position to play host to playoff game in the last week of the season. And this year’s team could be done by the time turkey dinner is being served on Thanksgiving Monday.

That’s one tough morsel to swallow.

“More than anything else, we need to look at all our self-defeating tendencies and habits we have,” said Doug Brown in a near-empty clubhouse Saturday. “It’s like we need a team psychologist right now.

“It’s a pattern of self-defeating behaviour that is just manifesting itself. People say we’re inconsistent — well, we’re pretty consistent in how we’re losing these games and it’s really frustrating.

“We’re just good enough to lose games. That’s what we are.”

The short-term solutions — nose to the grindstone, tinkering with the roster — are on the horizon. But the resignation in the room after loss No. 10 Saturday night also hinted that those involved know how much work still needs to be done to get this right.

An upgrade to the Canadian talent doesn’t happen over night. New faces can’t possibly pick up all the nuances of the three-down game after a quick introduction.

And a rookie head coach needs to learn on the job, too.

“After the game I made sure that I didn’t go into my locker and sit down and be pissed off,” LaPolice said. “I made sure I stood out here (outside the locker-room) and shook every guy’s hand and stayed positive. It’s getting harder each week for us to control our own destiny but we’ve got to come back to work.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca