Proud O-line ready for Lions

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This article was published 31/07/2023 (829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the moments following a lopsided loss in Week 3 to the B.C. Lions, Jermarcus Hardrick likened the game to being in a horror movie.

On Monday, after spending much of the last 48 hours dissecting film from the 30-6 beatdown on June 22, fellow offensive lineman Stanley Bryant had some different, yet equally choice words for his club’s performance.

“It was a slap in the face for us,” Bryant said following practice at IG Field, days ahead of Thursday’s rematch at home against the 6-1 Lions. “But we know that wasn’t us, that we need to be better. We can’t overthink things and just play our ball.”

It’s a suitable strategy every week, to stay focused on the present task and not let the mind wander too far into the past or future. Indeed, the Bombers (5-2) would have plenty to ponder if they were to stray off course.

That might include reliving nearly four quarters of unimpressive play against the Lions, with all three phases having a hand in the defeat. Or spending too much time dissecting the potential playoff implications of losing a second straight game to the Lions on home turf, therefore surrendering the season-series.

While the two points will be crucial as the Bombers look to leapfrog the Lions to finish atop the West Division for a third consecutive year, and reliving and dwelling on what could have been isn’t a recipe for success, there’s also a lot of pride at stake, particularly when it comes to the O-line.

A position group that’s considered to be the pulse and identity of the entire team, Winnipeg’s O-line looked like a completely different unit against a sturdy Lions defence. The offence struggled to move the ball through the air or on the ground, scoring six points and registering a dismal, season-low 235 yards of net offense.

Where the O-line stumbled most was against the Lions pass-rush, allowing quarterback Zach Collaros to get sacked a season-high seven times. Winnipeg has given up a combined 11 sacks in its other six games, for an average of fewer than two per game.

“We can’t change that,” Hardrick said. “We took it on the chin. I won’t say it’s good that it happened, but it’s good to go through the film and move on.”

Bryant and Hardrick are considered to be among the best offensive tackles in the CFL, each having been named league all-stars over their respective careers, with Bryant, a four-time winner of the league’s most outstanding O-lineman award, arguably the best to ever play the three-down game. Both looked outmatched against the Lions, with a couple of those sacks surrendered requiring just a three-man push.

Mathieu Betts was particularly difficult to contain, as the third overall pick from the 2019 draft recorded three of his CFL-leading 10 sacks against the Blue and Gold. Equipped with an impressive defensive line rotation — which includes the likes of Betts, Woody Baron, David Menard, Sione Teuhema and Josh Banks, among others — the Lions are tied with the Bombers for the most sacks made so far this season, with 25.

“That was a bad week for me, a bad game,” Bryant admitted. “I take a lot of pride in what I do and how I do things. I also think just, generally, as an offence and offensive line, we’re way better than that. We’ve shown that multiple games since then… just go out and dominate and the result will be different.”

Easier said than done, of course.

The Lions aren’t just good on the line of scrimmage. They’re stacked in all areas of the defence, with a roster filled with veterans.

B.C. enters Week 9 atop several defensive statistical categories, including averaging the fewest offensive points against (11.6), offensive yards against (253.9), passing yards against (214.1) and offensive yards against per play (4.9). They’ve recorded two shutouts already this season, both coming against the Edmonton Elks, including a 27-0 blanking on the road Saturday.

Lions head coach Rick Campbell has since dubbed his defence “The Donut Boys.”

“It’s a rarity in this league, something, obviously, those guys will remember for the rest of their lives probably,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said about the shutouts, before addressing the amount of sacks his club gave up. “It’s all 12 players that either get one or give one.”

As for making any adjustments from the last time the two clubs met, O’Shea dismissed the idea quickly. He trusts in the game plan put forth my offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce and is equally confident the offence will do better this time around.

Collaros has also be a staunch defender of the O-line, understanding he, too, needs to do a better job getting rid of the ball. After all, although the Bombers got outplayed against the Lions, the offence is still averaging the second-most points this season, with 25.6 per game, and its 19 offensive touchdowns is second to only the Toronto Argonauts’ 20.

“B.C. is a really good football team, so, for us, on offence, we need to play a clean football game, which we weren’t able to do the last time we played,” said Collaros. “It’s going to be a great challenge. We’re going to have to execute at a high level to have a chance to win.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton