Legs not the reason the Bombers lost Cup: O’Shea

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This article was published 24/11/2022 (1017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea looks back at the 24-23 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in Sunday’s Grey Cup, he sees an entire team that fell just short.

In other words, he isn’t looking at any one play or one player that’s more responsible for the crushing defeat, including the performance of kicker Marc Liegghio. Liegghio missed a crucial one-point convert following a return touchdown by Janarion Grant early into the fourth quarter and then later had what would have been a go-ahead 47-yard field goal blocked with under a minute remaining.

“There’s enough evidence that he made a pretty decent number of converts. I mean, he tried 60-something,” O’Shea said during his season-ending press conference at IG Field Thursday. “He’d like to make that one convert. We’d like to, too. But that one point, you’re taking a point and saying that is the reason (we lost), which I think is not true. I mean, it’s CFL football, we should be able to make up a point in the span of 14 minutes. If you look at that specific game, I think the kicking game was pretty tough. And the blocks, that’s not kicker-driven.”

For what it’s worth, O’Shea said he believes that had Liegghio’s late field-goal attempt not been interfered with, there’s a chance it splits the uprights. Toronto kicker Boris Bede missed two field goals (from 36 and 52 yards, respectively) and also had another blocked, also late in the fourth quarter, just before Liegghio’s.

Still, Liegghio’s inconsistency as a place kicker had been a story all season.

The 25-year-old ranked seventh in the CFL in field goal percentage, at 82.1 per cent, which was better than only Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther and Bede (78.2). Liegghio was also the only kicker to miss five one-point converts during the regular season, and then miss another three, including two in the Western Final, over the playoffs.

O’Shea was asked if he planned to go with Liegghio again next season.

“If you look at the way we approach things, win or lose, there’s always 100 guys in training camp and competition at a lot of spots. So, I don’t foresee that changing,” O’Shea said. “But it’s not because we lost. It’s because it’s the process we follow, win or lose, over the course of my nine years here. We’ve steadily improved or gotten better, minus the first two years. But we’ve tried to get better every single year, through the process of adding to our roster and bringing in competition. That’s what we do.”

O’Shea is known for his loyalty to players, which can sometimes be viewed as a fault. He was asked if that might be clouding his judgment when it came to Liegghio.

“Everybody’s committed to getting better, regardless. You’re asking specifically about Legs, I think he’s going to come back and be better, also. It’s his first full year kicking and what he does this off-season is going to prove out and allow him to be better than he was this year,” O’Shea said. “We look at everything. Validating what we do is an ongoing process. We don’t wait until the end of the year. We don’t wait until you lose a game to see whether we’re doing things well or what we could do better. We look at it all the time.

“There probably isn’t a day that goes by that coaches don’t question what they’re doing and then try to find evidence as to whether it works or doesn’t. And I’m the same way. There probably isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t write myself a note to look at this. It’s part of the process, win or lose.”

Neufeld extended through 2023: Bombers general manager Kyle Walters is off to a quick start in building for next season, inking offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld to a one-year extension on Thursday.

Neufeld returns for his ninth season in Winnipeg, and 12th in the CFL, after a 2022 campaign that saw the guard earn a second consecutive league all-star nod. The 33-year-old played in 17 regular-season games at right guard last season, helping an offence that finished second in the CFL in points, sacks surrendered and rushing yards, while also leading the league in touchdowns.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton