Willy no longer under siege

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This article was published 24/07/2015 (3701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was No. 1 on the to-do list of Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters last winter — fixing a turnstile offensive line that had Bombers QBs in 2014 looking at the stars, and seeing stars, a team record 71 times.

That was an average of four sacks per game, and it was a huge contributing factor to the Bombers missing the playoffs for the third season in a row with a 7-11 record.

Well, flash forward four games into the 2015 season and if you’re grading Walters just on the job he did in getting starter Drew Willy better protection, the early numbers say the GM gets an A-plus in that department.

That four-sacks-a-game average is down to two sacks a game this year in a season in which Willy has been sacked just eight times thus far.

That’s an impressive 50 per cent reduction in the number of times the Bombers’ most important player has been taken to the turf and it has come in no small part because of the play of free agents Walters brought in last winter — such as centre Dominic Picard and left tackle Stanley Bryant, not to mention 2015 first-round draft pick Sukh Chungh at right guard.

But there’s also a caveat to this discussion that makes it more interesting, and that makes this weekend’s contest in Edmonton between the Bombers and the most ferocious pass rush in the CFL so compelling.

While it is true the sacks the Bombers have yielded on offence this season are down dramatically, the fact is the decline in sacks is taking place against the backdrop of a dramatic decline in sacks across the league.

Consider: the number of sacks league-wide in the CFL has declined 31 per cent in 2015, from an average of 5.42 per game in 2014 to 3.75 sacks per game this season.

The CFL stats department reports the 3.75-sacks-per-game average this year is the lowest league-wide average since they started tracking sacks in 1980. Indeed, the average sacks per game number has only dipped below 4.0 one other time prior to this season — in 2002 when there were 3.9 sacks per game.

Further, the league-wide decline has been so dramatic even surrendering just two sacks per game, the Bombers are just seventh in the CFL, ahead of only the Toronto Argonauts and Calgary Stampeders.

All of which makes for an interesting question: how much of the decline in the number of sacks in Winnipeg is attributable to better personnel and scheme this season and how much has simply been a function of a league-wide tilting to more offence and less defence thanks to a series of off-season rule changes.

Consider: in addition to the dramatic decline in sacks, scoring has also risen 5.1 points per game; passing yards per game have risen an average of 61 yards; and second-down-conversion rates are up 7.7 per cent year over year.

So again, is this Winnipeg offensive line really as good as the decline in their sack numbers suggests or is it just the beneficiary of league-wide trends?

The answer could come as early as Saturday night in Edmonton when the Bombers take on a voracious Eskimos’ pass rush that many regard as the best part of the best defence in the league.

“They’re good and it’s not just their fron seven,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “They bring pressure from all over the place — try and confuse you and get you in different looks and get your eyes in the wrong spot. And then they’re just good, tough athletes.”

Still, Willy thinks his new and improved offensive line is equal to the task.

‘They’ve done a good job. It’s fun to be back there. The guys are great and the communication has been really high this year’

— Drew Willy

“They’ve done a good job. It’s fun to be back there,” said Willy. “The guys are great and the communication has been really high this year. We’ve really been going over blitz looks each week since training camp every single day. I think that’s really helped…”

There’s a good chance the Bombers offensive line will have a new starter this week — Devin Tyler substituted at right tackle for Jace Daniels when the latter came up hurt Tuesday and Tyler kept taking the starting reps even after Daniels returned to practice Wednesday and Thursday.

Picard says his unit has taken pride in what they’ve accomplished so far this season, but believes they are capable of being better and he hopes this is the week they show it.

“We’ve got Edmonton this week and that’s a great team and a great challenge for us,” said Picard.

“We take pride in keeping our quarterback upright, but the only stat that really matters is the W.”

Left guard Chris Greaves, the only real constant from last year’s offensive line, says he thinks even with the sack decline this year, his QB has still been spending too much time on his back.

“Our goal is zero sacks,” said Greaves. “Is it going to happen? I don’t know. But why not strive for it — that’s the goal.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek