Blue and gold must play bigger and better in coming weeks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2015 (4044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, the reason Friday’s victory over the Montreal Alouettes was so critical for the Bombers, is that almost nobody — except for the coaching staff and the players — expect the Blue and Gold to come out of the upcoming two-week road rumble with anything more than a single success, and more likely, a powdered doughnut in the win ledger for their efforts.

In spite of the exponential improvement in many areas from Week 2 to Week 3, and the “whatever it takes” resourcefulness that was on display against the Als, after last season the pundits and the masses will no longer be premature with their optimism in 2015. After the snake oil show we saw in the first half of 2014, which had the team at 6-3 and in the thick of everything before plummeting to last place in the West, an already guarded and naturally pessimistic fan base will be even more wary of flawed victories going forward.

As alluded to by head coach Mike O’Shea, each week has its own recipe and ingredients required for victory, and the win over Montreal demonstrated that this club is capable of taking a relatively mundane, leftovers performance and turning it into a solid meal that we can all digest. But when you can’t rely on the staples and basics to be there on a week-by-week basis, it makes it difficult to expect beef wellington and foie gras in back-to-back appearances in Alberta. (The Bombers play Saturday in Calgary and the following Saturday in Edmonton).

Thus far, the offence has been the most consistent of the three phases of this team and statistically they are decidedly middle of the pack in total offence, rushing and passing yards in the CFL.

Though they weren’t able to produce a major score against Montreal, they consistently moved the ball, they are more balanced in terms of running and passing than they have been in years, and showed that with Willy at the helm, they are not only capable of picking up the blitz, but countering it effectively enough to discourage teams from unleashing hell for four quarters.

For the team to be competitive over the next two weeks, however, the defence is going to have to improve by metric miles and not just the toddler wobbles we have witnessed so far. Roughly 17 per cent through the regular season, the Bombers defence is last in total defence, last in average passing yards given up per game and second to last in average rushing yards surrendered and points given up.

Though players like Chris Randle, Johnny Adams, Mo Leggett, and Bryant Turner Jr., seemed to turn the page towards a better narrative against the Alouettes, and appear to be coming into form at their respective positions, they will need to double in numbers if this unit is to succeed in Calgary and then Edmonton. With only one sack accredited to the six- and seven-man rotations we see employed along the defensive line in three games, and a linebacking core that hasn’t played down hill against the run and allowed an average of 130 yards a game, Alberta is not the place where you can escape with a victory without playing fundamentally sound football in all phases.

Calgary is coming off a short week with their game against Toronto Monday night and have not been playing championship caliber football so far this year. But as defending champions, they are a team capable of a nitrous shot at any moment. Edmonton may have lost its starting quarterback (Mike Reilly) for upwards of 10 weeks and looked pedestrian in Week 1, but they have already decided to rally around their highly animated and nail spitting, defensive minded head coach Chris Jones.

Sometimes it’s good for the mental health of a football team to be continually doubted and scrutinized. When you have to go out and earn the respect of your opponents and critics, even after a victory, it keeps your shoulders from getting bruised from patting yourself on the back too hard. In order to come out of these next two weeks with one or more wins, simply putting together another unconventional, hard fought performance, isn’t going to do the trick.

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Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97