It’s winning games, not time of possession, that counts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2016 (3365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are winning games. Winning time of possession? Not so much.

That dichotomy didn’t carry too much weight at the last full practice of the week Thursday.

Coach after coach, and players too, suggested time of possession — a self-explanatory statistic that has favoured the Bombers just three times this season through 11 games — has no significant bearing on the result of any particular contest.

Win or lose, the game isn’t decided by how much a certain team has the ball. Instead, the game is determined by what that team does with the ball when given the opportunity.

It was unanimous. There were no split decisions nor a majority draw to be had. Just a swift, early knockout when the point was raised.

It’s easy to understand why a team sporting a six-game winning streak wouldn’t put much stock in the matter. They’ve won the TOP battle just once during their current string of victories, which has moved the ball club out of the basement of the CFL and right into the playoff conversation.

“We don’t talk about possession,” said head coach Mike O’Shea, simply. “That’s not anything that I would talk about.”

He might not pester his players about it, or even his coaching staff, but would he like to win it? Sure.

“If we had better time of possession, the games could look different,” he said. “We’d like to win the time of possession battle. We’d like to have control of the football longer than our opponent. I think it would make it easier to win.”

Incumbent No. 1 pivot Matt Nichols’ job is arguably the most important on the field when it comes to driving the possession time into the positive.

As the man tasked with overseeing the ball moving downfield from behind centre, long, sustained drives keep his defence fresh and ultimately puts points on the board for his team.

Like O’Shea, win or lose, the former Eastern Washington University man doesn’t put much emphasis on it.

“When you’re winning, you can skew the stats any which way you want. It’s the same thing when you’re losing,” Nichols said. “It’s not something we’re worried about. I feel like we move the ball well on offence and give our defence breaks. It will take care of itself.”

Having his defence run into the ground because of short offensive possessions isn’t something Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall will ever be fond of. With that said, possession isn’t nine-tenths of the law for him either. The veteran defensive coach said the bottom line is what is done with the possession a team is afforded.

“You can have control of the game but score no points,” he said. “The bottom line is how many points do you score and how many points do you give up.

“We want to get off the field as soon as possible. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. The bottom line is keeping them out of the end zone. If we minimize their points, regardless of what happens elsewhere, we have a chance to win the football game.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.