5 Burning Bomber questions begging for answers Game Day

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This article was published 17/10/2010 (5792 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BLUE BOMBERS (4-10) at ALOUETTES (10-4)

Free Press football writer Ed Tait breaks down today’s matchup…

THE 4-1-1

Kickoff: Noon, CT.

The broadcast/telecast: CJOB/TSN/RDS.

The point spread: Alouettes by 12 1/2.

Streaks: Bombers – 1W; Alouettes – 1W.

Home/away: Bombers are the CFL’s only winless team on the road at 0-7; Montreal is 6-1 at home this season.

The coaches: Marc Trestman is in his third year as the Alouettes’ boss and has a gaudy 36-14 record and a Grey Cup championship from last year already on his sparkling resumé. Paul LaPolice is in his first year as the Bomber head coach and is 4-10.

FYI: Winnipeg has lost three straight at Percival Molson Stadium, but is 3-4 in its last seven visits to Montreal. All told, though, Winnipeg has exited this ol’ field on the campus of McGill with a victory just four times in 20 games.

Worth noting: LaPolice was scheduled to arrive on a late flight into Montreal Saturday night as his wife Tina is expecting their second child. If he doesn’t get to the game — he also has a flight booked for Sunday morning — defensive coordinator Kavis Reed would take over head-coaching duties with offensive coordinator Jamie Barresi calling the plays on offence.

BOMBERS-ALOUETTES HEAD-TO-HEAD NUMBERS

The matchup: Winnipeg is 0-2 vs. the Als this season, falling 39-17 in Montreal on Aug. 19 and 44-40 at home on Sept. 24. Winnipeg is 32-41-2 vs the Als since 1961.

Biggest Bomber victory over the Als: Winnipeg 58 Montreal 2, at Wpg., Aug. 8, 1981.

Biggest Alouette victory over the Bombers: Montreal 45 Winnipeg 10, at Mtl., Nov. 7, 1999; Montreal 48 Winnipeg 13, at Mtl., Nov. 1, 2009.

FIVE BURNING BOMBER QUESTIONS BEGGING FOR ANSWERS

1. Is posting consecutive Ws too much to ask?

Bomber fans have been teased by this all season. The club wins the season opener, then blows a late lead to the Argos… knocks off Edmonton on July 24, then drops five straight… crushes the Riders in the Banjo Bowl, then fall over the next three weeks. It’s been a year since the club won consecutive games, dating back to three straight wins last Sept. 26-Oct. 12. If that doesn’t change, the end result doesn’t either: no playoff football for The Bomb Squad.

2. Can the miracle of Thanksgiving Monday lead into an upset today?

This courtesy CFL stats guru Steve Daniel: the 21-point the Bombers overcame after three quarters last week was the largest in club history in the 1,112 games played by the team since 1936 and was the biggest since Troy Kopp’s moment of glory in an 18-point comeback win over Saskatchewan in 1998. And while there has been a lingering buzz about the win all over town in the days afterward, the Bombers start afresh when the ball is put on the tee here in Montreal. That said, those kind of comebacks can build faith and a resolve — coaches call it ‘learning how to win’ — and the Bombers have certainly seen enough pain this year that they should have the learning part figured out by now, losing a club record six games by four points or less. Learning is one thing, however, putting it into practice is another altogether.

3. Can Jyles be a difference-maker?

We keep using that term — difference-maker — because it’s what is expected from QBs in the CFL: make the plays that matter when it matters most. Steven Jyles had struggled to produce those kind of late-game heroics as the team went 2-6 in his eight starts. But in last week’s victory he did the water-into-wine thing and breathed some life into the Bomber season and into his chances of locking down the No. 1 QB gig beyond the next month. The elite QBs do it week after week to remove all doubt as to who takes the first snap.

4. The A.C. Factor: how does the defence limit the damage by Calvillo?

Nobody feasts more on the Bombers than Alouettes QB Anthony Calvillo. He drove a dagger into their hearts a couple weeks ago with a late fourth-quarter TD toss to Brian Bratton, part of a five-TD, 477-yard passing performance. Earlier this year he had lit up the Bombers for two scores on 13 of 21 passing before Odell Willis knocked him out of the game. Chew on this — in his last 18 games against Winnipeg he has thrown for 34 TDs. Ouch.

5. Palardy & Jovon and the foot soldiers — can they play big roles again?

Not to be forgotten from last Monday’s rally was the work of Jovon Johnson with a late punt return, of the clutch kicks by placekicker Justin Palardy. The Bombers need work from this crew — and some improved kick coverage by the infantrymen who have been hit for scores in two of the last four games.

KEY MATCHUP

The combatants: Bomber defensive ends Odell Willis and Phillip Hunt vs. Alouette tackles Josh Bourke and Jeff Perrett.

The storyline: Hunt and Willis rank 1-2 in sacks this year — Hunt has 13, Willis is tied with Montreal’s John Bowman with 11 — and have created matchup nightmares for offensive co-ordinators all season. The Als will use a lot of max protection today — using receivers, extra linemen or running backs — to bolster their O-line and attempt to limit the pressure brought by the Bomber ends.

Willis says: “Lots of teams have been chipping us, bringing in running backs, tight ends, receivers… that’s part of the game. If you’ve got two people causing problems you’re not going to just let them run free the whole game. We’ll play through it. We can get to Calvillo if they leave those guys (the O-line) on an island. But they’ll game plan. If you start double-teaming on our D-line then you’re only sending out three or four receivers and we’ve got a good corps back there in our secondary.”

WHO HAS THE EDGE?

OFFENCE

Quarterback

Steven Jyles may have some juicy stats, but he’s still trying to lock down the No. 1 gig for the Bombers long-term. They’ve already got a spot in the Canadian football shrine for Anthony Calvillo.

Edge: Alouettes

Running back

Fred Reid sports an impressive 6.4-yards per carry average and has 1,103 yards. Avon Cobourne is probably a better receiver out of the backfield than ball carrier.

Edge: Bombers

Receiver

There is promise on the Bomber roster in Greg Carr and Terence Jeffers-Harris to go along with Terrence Edwards. But in Cahoon, Richardson, Bratton, Green (and an injured Watkins) the Als have an established and deadly corps

Edge: Alouettes

Offensive line

The Alouettes have surrendered eight fewer QB sacks than the Bombers and a lot of that is attributable to the quick release of Calvillo. Winnipeg’s O-line has been steady when healthy.

Edge: Alouettes

DEFENCE

Defensive line

Nobody gets after the QB better than the Bombers’ front, although the Als are close. Both clubs defend the run reasonably well.

Edge: Even

Linebackers

The Als have a Most-Outstanding-Defensive Player candidate in Chip Cox alongside Shea Emry and Ramon Guzman. The Bomber unit has been better of late, but…

Edge: Alouettes

Secondary

This may surprise some here, but a settled-down Jonathan Hefney is a big plus for the Bomber secondary. Plus, it allows the club to move Jovon Johnson outside.

Edge: Bombers

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicking

Two placekickers working to establish themselves: Winnipeg’s Justin Palardy and Montreal’s Colt David, who was six of six filling in for Damon Duval last week. Mike Renaud has the edge over David as a punter.

Edge: Bombers

Return game

Jovon Johnson leads the CFL in punt-return yards and has two TDs while the Als will use Tim Maypray today.

Edge: Bombers

Kick-cover units

Winnipeg’s cover teams have been far too inconsistent of late.

Edge: Alouettes

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca