Bombers drop the ball

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/08/2010 (5849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON — A quick check of their collective toes and feet may be in order when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers arrive back home today.

After all, they spent most of Saturday night in Hamilton shooting themselves in the foot in a 29-22 loss to the Tiger-Cats that featured a season’s worth of gruesome, self-inflicted wounds.

Even with all the miscues, the Bombers had two opportunities inside the final 94 seconds to potentially tie the game — the first with the ball at the Hamilton 30-yard line, the second at the Ticat three with nine seconds remaining — but gagged on both.

As a result, the Bombers and Ticats are now not only tied at 2-4 at the bottom of the East Division, but Hamilton holds a critical 2-1 advantage in the season series.

Oh, and just to keep things interesting, these two foes go at it again this Friday in Winnipeg.

“I can’t tell you how many people say, ‘Oh, you guys are doing a great job,’” said a visibly upset Paul LaPolice, the Bomber head coach. “We need wins, OK? That’s why I’m frustrated. I’m proud of their effort, but we just got to get better.

“We took a lot of points off the board tonight and stopped a lot of drives with penalties. I understand we’re playing with some other guys, but that doesn’t matter. We can’t take penalties.

“We have to find ways to finish. This team competes and they play hard each week, but we’ve got to translate those into two points.”

The Bombers were stung once again by old friend Kevin Glenn, who completed 24 of 41 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns to Arland Bruce III, Matt Carter and Dave Stala. But Winnipeg was also nailed with 13 penalties for 100 yards and were stung by two gimme field-goal misses by Alexis Serna of 28 and 32 yards in the first half that could have been the difference.

“At the end of the game, you kick a nine-yard field goal to win the game… so, yeah, those kicks… you gotta come away with points,” LaPolice said. “It’s hard to move down a 110-yard field and get touchdowns consistently. You gotta be able to get field goals.”
Asked if the club was contemplating a change, the coach was blunt:

“Yeah, absolutely,” LaPolice said. “As usual, every week we evaluate every position and if we can make a change to make things better, we will.”

LaPolice, GM Joe Mack and assistant GM Ross Hodgkinson huddled outside the locker-room afterward, and the name of ex-Toronto Argonaut Justin Medlock has come up.

Bomber QB Steven Jyles was solid, completing 24 of 35 passes for 349 yards and two TDs (to Terrence Edwards and Adarius Bowman) as the Bombers racked up 508 yards net offence. But those two chances to tie the game late are going to sting when watching the game film in the upcoming days.

Mr. T’s Report Card
 

QUARTERBACK
B+
Tough to criticize Steven Jyles on a night when he threw for two touchdowns and ran for 60 yards, but his fourth-quarter fumble deep in Winnipeg territory set up the Ticats for the game-winning TD. He’s progressing, but must protect the ball better.
RUNNING BACK
A
Fred Reid continues to make things happen with his touches. He finished with 12 carries for 98 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and added 35 yards on four receptions.
RECEIVERS
B-
Adarius Bowman had a bust-out game with six catches for 139 yards and a TD, but also dropped a pass on a third-and-five in the second-last possession. Too many offside penalties by this crew, too.

OFFENSIVE LINE
B
The Ticats had huge pressure all night and finished with three sacks. But the Bombers did compile over 500 yards’ offence, including 180 along the ground.
DEFENSIVE LINE
B
Some decent heat up front and effectively shut down the Ticats’ running game. But Hamilton also completely took CFL sack leader Phillip Hunt out of the contest.
LINEBACKERS
C
Still waiting for some big plays from these guys. Joe Lobendahn had one tackle, Bernard Hicks had four and Courtney Smith picked up five. But it’s hardly West, Jones and Battle back there.
SECONDARY
F
Can’t sugar-coat this. Arland Bruce III had a field day and Glenn threw for 371. Clint Kent did pick off one pass to snuff out a Ticat drive, but Hamilton seemed able to move the ball at will through the air.
SPECIAL TEAMS
C
This would be a big, fat ‘F’ if we were grading Alexis Serna alone, but Mike Renaud was solid in punting and the coverage units were outstanding to help bring the overall grade up to respectable.
OVERALL
C
Some individual efforts stood out, but this team lost another tight one because it killed itself with way too many mental errors.

Game Balls:

▼ OFFENCE

QB Steven Jyles made just one glaring error, fumbling the ball at his own 27 to set up the Ticats’ game-winning touchdown, but his numbers were solid as he threw for 349 yards and two TDs while rushing for 60.

▼ DEFENCE

Nobody jumps off the page, but we liked the work of Dorian Smith inside at defensive tackle. The Ticats were held to just 62 yards rushing and Smith picked up the Bombers’ lone sack.
▼ SPECIAL TEAMS

Solid work by the cover units, but we liked how punter Mike Renaud returned after missing last week as he finished with a 48-yard average. But the work here is overshadowed by the nightmare of Alexis Serna.

CRITICAL NUMBERS:
55
Alexis Serna’s field-goal percentage (11 of 20) after he whiffed on two of his three attempts.

197
Arland Bruce III’s yards receiving on Saturday night. The former Bomber pulled in 11 passes against his old squad, one week after tying a CFL record with 16 catches in a loss to Saskatchewan.

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3
Losses suffered this year by the Bombers in games decided by a TD or less.

SICK BAY UPDATE:

Bomber left tackle Andre Douglas pulled up lame with a bum knee in the first quarter and was replaced by Luke Fritz.

— Ed Tait