Embattled coach Kelly contemplates change at QB

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This article was published 26/07/2009 (5923 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EMBATTLED Winnipeg Blue Bomber head coach Mike Kelly is apparently getting a little weary of this falling-on-a-sword thing after losses.

And so in the wake of a terrible offensive performance in Friday’s 19-5 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, Kelly — who insisted all fingers be pointed at him after the first two defeats of the season — and the rest of the Bomber brass are not only challenging their current personnel to get better, but contemplating more changes to a roster which already had a scalpel taken to it over the winter.

Those changes may include the quarterback position, where rumours are already flying about the club’s interest in veterans Casey Printers and Michael Bishop, both currently out of work.

"I’m not even going to comment on any of that stuff right now," said Kelly Saturday. "We like our football team and we’re looking at a lot of different things in order to make that third phase of our game better.

"There’s a lot of things going on right now. I left the building at 2 o’clock (Saturday) morning. We continue to evaluate. Everyone knows our play is not acceptable, plain and simple. We have two phases of our football team that are playing outstanding and good enough for us to win and one phase that is wretched.

"We gotta find a way to fix it. There’s still plenty of time."

Officially, that’s true — seeing as it’s only July. But the negative fallout from Friday’s horrific offensive showing — eight first downs and just 123 yards total offence — has fans’ howling for change. Kelly said he remained at the office until 2 a.m. watching game film and meeting with both Bomber president and CEO Lyle Bauer and director of football operations Ross Hodgkinson.

The Bombers did work out Printers at a free-agent camp in Florida this spring, but apparently left unimpressed with his mechanics and his attitude. And Bishop, who started eight games for the Saskatchewan Roughriders last season before being released and was 11-1 as a starter with Toronto in 2007, has a big-time arm but a tendency to throw interceptions (56 vs. 51 TDs).

That said, given what Stefan LeFors, Bryan Randall and Richie Williams accomplished against the Argos — a combined 11 of 26 for 66 yards and two interceptions — it should be of little surprise the Bombers would be considering pivot help.

Former Jacksonville Jaguar starter Quinn Gray was on the Bomber radar screen in the spring, but apparently wanted to continue to chase an NFL opportunity. And Brian Johnson, the former Utah star, has signed with the New York franchise in the fledgling United Football League.

Kelly, meanwhile, also didn’t rule out that LeFors could remain the starter or that Randall or Williams may get the call this Saturday in Toronto.

"Sure, there’s always that possibility," Kelly said.

"We’ve got the remainder of this day to calm down and (Sunday) to continue to evaluate and then we come to work on Monday.

"I know people are going to focus in on the quarterback… it was an awful outing. Am I protecting the quarterback? No, no I’m not. What I’m saying is it’s not all that one spot. We had opportunities where we had ‘slant’ routes called when there was nobody in the middle of the field and we just didn’t throw the ball there. Or they were bringing secondary pressure and the receivers were supposed to see it and get into the voids and they didn’t. We had some play at times on the offensive line that just wasn’t very good. It wasn’t just one thing. Obviously, there’s that one glaring position that everyone’s focused in on and I certainly understand that but, collectively, that one position didn’t get helped very much either.

"It’s still on me. Everything is on me. But, eventually, the players have to make plays, too. Right now, collectively, on the offensive side of the ball we don’t have anybody making plays. There were balls last night that were dropped. There were routes that weren’t run off the correct stem. All those things collectively cause problems.

"We’re always looking at personnel," added Kelly. "I do like this football team, I really do. But there comes a point where if guys aren’t making plays… you try somebody else to make plays. That’s just the nature of the game.

"We can go offensive line, we can go receivers, quarterback… some guys just need to step it up a little bit."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca