Living high on the hogs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/08/2011 (5466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Left guard Brendon LaBatte used the words “big” and “crucial.” Steve Morley, the guard on the other side, went with “important.”

Call it what you want, the common denominator of having the same faces week in and week out on the Blue Bombers offensive line is one of absolute significance, according to the those in the know, and a huge reason (literally) on why the Blue and Gold are off to such a great start.

The same five big eaters — Andre Douglas, Brendon LaBatte, Obby Khan, Steve Morley, and Glenn January — have started all eight games together and that togetherness has provided a nice sense of comfort for all involved.

“It’s been crucial to our success as a unit this year, but we’ve grown better because it’s the second year for everyone in the offence,” offered offensive line coach Pat DelMonaco after practice Tuesday.

Exposure to the system and player continuity has a lot to say in how an O-line operates and Winnipeg is seeing the fruits of a labourious 2010 campaign on both fronts. Last year, after losing January for the year in the pre-season to a torn pectoral muscle, the Bombers started six different players — including three rookies, two of them for most of the season — as various injuries kept the unit on its toes weekly.

“It’s been crucial. Having the same guys in there every game makes a big difference,” LaBatte said. “We’re seeing a lot of unique looks from other teams this year, too, so being able to know and communicate with the same guys has helped us get through that.”

“For an offensive line, it might be more important than any other group on the field,” added Morley. “We all work together as one to see results. If we don’t, bad things happen.”

It hasn’t been perfect, all agree, but it’s been good enough and, unjust as it may be, those “bad things” Morley alludes to are what usually get the group noticed.

Want to put the offensive line off-line? Ask questions about the number of sacks against.

Let’s bust a myth there, shall we?

Yes, Winnipeg has given up 20 sacks, tied with B.C. for the second most in the CFL (Edmonton has allowed 25). As it turns out, though, most of those takedowns have come as a result of quarterback Buck Pierce himself, according to head coach Paul LaPolice.

In Vancouver two games ago, Pierce ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage for one sack and was tackled twice on quick reads where the ball should have been out of his hand quickly. Last Friday against Hamilton, the quarterback was sacked three times on plays that were designed to be runs (Pierce held the ball and wound up on the turf soon after).

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Those examples don’t absolve the offensive line of all quarterback losses, but the point is the numbers against the offensive line tend to shade a little grey — not black and white as they appear on the stats sheet. If the biggest concern going into the season was keeping Pierce upright, then the line must be doing something right.

And as for the mystery of the Bombers run game, where Fred Reid has 550 yards (second in the league) on a load-heavy 135 carries for a modest 4.1-yard per carry average (his career average is 6.3 yards per touch), LaBatte — like most directly involved in the offence — calls it a work in progress.

Looking to point the finger at someone regarding the Winnipeg rushing attack? Don’t look at the Bombers line, coaches say. Opposition defences have been so concerned with Reid, they have made it a priority to stop him first and worry about the Pierce pass second.

“I don’t think we’ve had too many down games but at the same time, we haven’t taken any games and put it on our shoulders, either,” LaBatte said, unselfishly falling on his sword as it pertains to the run. “We still need to work on our ground game. We’ll need to be better running the football later in the season.”

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca