Swaggerville state of the union Mayor tells citizens not to worry

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This article was published 06/10/2011 (5094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The torrid early pace he had set — just like the one his team was on — was clearly unsustainable.

And so it should come as no surprise that just as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have cooled off in recent weeks — losing four of their last five after opening the season at 7-1 — so too has their resident sack-monster, defensive end Odell Willis.

After recording an eye-popping eight sacks and 12 tackles in just the first six games of the 2011 CFL season, Willis has recorded four sacks and eight tackles in the last six games.

Now, to put those latter numbers in perspective, four sacks is still as much as all but nine other players in the CFL have recorded this entire season. And with 12 sacks overall, Willis continues to lead the league.

So no one is saying Willis has in anyway not been carrying his weight of late. On the contrary, he’s been carrying the weight, sometimes, of three men — and that’s the whole problem, see.

After embarrassing the rest of the league for the first third of the season, opposing head coaches and offensive co-ordinators have gotten wise to Willis and have counteracted the omnipresent pass rushing threat he poses by throwing the kitchen sink — and a few other things — at the 26-year-old Mississippian.

“They’re sending two, three men at me, trying to cheapshot me, trying to blindside me,” Willis said Wednesday.

“When you’ve got people telling each other how to block me, coming down the line of scrimmage and hitting a man when he’s defenceless, what do you call that?

“But if the referee doesn’t call it, it’s just part of the game I guess. So I deal with it and take care of the problem myself.”

Now, no defensive lineman anywhere has ever been legally blocked — just ask them. But Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice agrees with his best pass rusher that other teams in the CFL have gone to extraordinary lengths this season to try to neutralize Willis.

“As the year went on, teams started keeping tight ends in. We were playing Edmonton in Week 6 I believe,” LaPolice recalled, “and they were trying to win the game at the end and they were going to two tight ends to try and block. I’ve never seen that.

“I think people are trying to chip those guys and turn their protections to Odell. So we move him around at times, you’ll see, And also, when that happens other players have to step up and make plays too.”

Exactly, says Willis.

“I can’t do any more if I’ve got two or three men on me all the time,” says the four-year CFL veteran. “What am I supposed to do? It’s just as simple as that. But if they’re taking the receiver out of the route, they’re taking the extra pass protection out just to deal with me, you’ve got room for other players to make some plays.”

And there’s perhaps the rub. With so many opposition players focused on Willis, that should be creating opportunities elsewhere for the Winnipeg defensive line.

But the problem, says LaPolice, is that there has been a revolving door on the rest of the defensive line, with injuries to Rodney Fritz, Jason Vega, Bryant Turner and Doug Brown preventing any kind of continuity.

“I’d just like to get some consistency there,” said LaPolice, “and let them play. And then I think the plays will happen.”

Bet on it, says Willis. “Me and the rest of my teammates are still at the top of the league in sacks, so it is what it is,” says Willis. “I will let the numbers and the film do the talking. The numbers and the film don’t lie.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Buck will start, Renaud's fate undecided

Buck Pierce will be the starting quarterback, but who will do the punting remained a question mark for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Wednesday as the club went through its final full practice at Canad Inns Stadium before facing the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton on Friday evening.

Pierce led the first-team offence throughout Wednesday's practice -- for the second day in a row -- and afterward head coach Paul LaPolice proclaimed his QB fit and ready to go after missing last week's game with a lingering case of sore ribs.

"Buck's starting," said LaPolice. "He looked fine. He had a great practice today. I pointed out to the other quarterbacks that he was a great leader...He was leading today very well. Like he missed not being in the game."

Asked if he'd queried Pierce on the precise state of his health, LaPolice said he accepts that his starting QB is still probably not a hundred percent. "I don't know if anybody on that team is a hundred percent, right?" LaPolice said.

Meanwhile, LaPolice continued to hedge on who will handle the punting duties for his club on Friday after incumbent Mike Renaud and newcomer Jamie Boreham auditioned during Wednesday's practice.

The two men staged a 20-minute punting duel that LaPolice appeared to watch carefully. The duel appeared to be more or less a standoff, with neither man distinguishing himself as both hit towering wind-assisted punts, but also shanked a disturbingly large number. Boreham said he's prepared for whatever LaPolice decides.

"I'm not going to be surprised. Regardless of everything, you practice and prepare like you're going to play," said the former University of Manitoba Bison.

LaPolice said both punters will be on the club's 46-man roster this week, but he hasn't yet decided who will be on the 42-man game roster.

"Both had strong points and both had weak points as we looked at it. But I want to go back and take a look at the film and talk to the coaches," he said.