Defence seeks 60-minute effort against Riders

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This article was published 05/09/2019 (2243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You can’t point the finger at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence for the team’s Labour Day Classic loss.

They held the Saskatchewan Roughriders to 19 points, sacked quarterback Cody Fajardo five times and picked him off twice to end his streak of four straight games without tossing an interception.

But you won’t find anyone celebrating the strong performance, because when it mattered most, the Blue and Gold couldn’t make a stop. The Bombers had a 17-16 lead with just over three minutes left in the game. But the dominant defence cracked at the end, as Fajardo led the Riders down the field on an 11-play, 87-yard drive that drained the final three minutes and 18 seconds on the clock before Brett Lauther kicked a 26-yard field goal for the win.

Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall was asked after Wednesday’s practice at IG Field if it was frustrating to see such a dominant showing go to waste.

“I don’t know if it’s frustrating. It’s just more disappointment because we weren’t able to finish off,” Hall said. “The whole situation, three minutes left in the game, from their five-yard line and the way we’d been playing all day, I would have put my house money on that. We didn’t make the plays, I didn’t make the calls and we came up on the short end.”

Hall added it was an encouraging effort from his defensive unit, but they have to play a full 60 minutes.

“I just think we were waiting for other people to make the plays instead of stepping up and making the play ourself,” Hall said. “Instead of playing the way we had been playing the majority of the game, it seemed like we were waiting on somebody else. Therefore, we’re not as aggressive, we didn’t have that ‘It’ factor and we didn’t do what we needed to do to win the football game. It was very disappointing.”

Saskatchewan’s defence also played well, as they held Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler to 16 completions on 24 attempts for 161 yards passing, a touchdown toss and two interceptions. The Blue and Gold did most of their damage on the ground, as running back Johnny Augustine, who was making his first career start due to Andrew Harris being suspended, had 12 carries for 98 yards. Streveler scampered for 65 yards and a touchdown on 11 rushing attempts.

Sunday’s loss marked the fifth game in a row the Bombers have failed to pass for more than 200 yards. Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice was asked if he’d like to see the team gain more yards in the air.

“I will say this: when we are passing, when we are passing the ball, let’s execute better,” LaPolice said.

“I don’t know what that yardage comes out to, but I will say when we’re throwing the football, let’s do it the right way, let’s hit the throws, let’s make sure we’re doing it. Do we need more yards? Sure, I’d love more yards. I’d love more yards running, passing, everything. Sometimes, if you’re running the ball more, you might not throw for many yards. We don’t have a goal board that says throw for 300 a game and you win. Teams throw for 300 and two picks and no touchdowns.”

Receivers Nic Demski and Lucky Whitehead were non-participants on Wednesday. With the Bombers releasing receiver Chris Matthews last week, the team cannot afford to lose two of its top playmakers. Head coach Mike O’Shea was asked about their status for Saturday’s rematch against the Riders at IG Field.

“Those guys don’t need to practise. I’m not going to rule them out until the last possible minute,” O’Shea said. “I’m going to give them every possibility and every chance to be on the field. And those guys, I know they’re tough. I’ve learned quite early you don’t doubt a player’s desire to play. I’m going to give them that opportunity.”

O’Shea was also asked if there’s any truth to a rumour floating around that No. 1 quarterback Matt Nichols could miss the rest of the season.

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“That’s not the information we have. I don’t know who’s been reporting it. What happens is somebody throws out a comment like that, they make something up and, sure enough, all these pseudo-reporters get to take it and run with it. Whatever. That’s not the information I have.”

ROSTER MOVES: the Bombers made several roster moves on Wednesday. The club announced it had released American running back John Santiago from the practice roster to make room for long-snapper Maxime Latour. The Bombers also signed American running back Larry Rose to the active roster. Rose is a 23-year-old Fairfield, Texas, native who spent his four-year college career with the New Mexico State Aggies, where he finished with 4,558 rushing yards on 770 carries. Rose was with the Bombers in training camp.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.