Five story lines to watch as the Blue Bombers enter Redblacks territory
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/10/2015 (3732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — Five storylines to consider prior to tonight’s CFL game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks:
1. Matt Nichols vs. the Redblacks
Winnipeg’s starting quarterback is in the very unique position the next two weeks of facing the Ottawa Redblacks in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
Nichols also played the Redblacks on consecutive weekends in July when he was the quarterback of the Edmonton Eskimos and he came away from that experience with decidedly mixed results.
Nichols threw a career-high three touchdown passes in a win over Ottawa July 9, only to follow that up eight days later with a career-high three interceptions in another win over Ottawa July 17.
The Bombers are obviously hoping it’s the former Nichols who shows up in Ottawa today and not the latter.
2. Will the real Blue Bombers
offence please stand up?
Speaking of inconsistent, Winnipeg’s anemic offensive performance in a win over the B.C. Lions last weekend came after a sparkling second half for the Bombers offence a week earlier in a loss to the Eskimos.
While last week’s final result — a victory — was obviously preferable to the loss to Edmonton, the Bombers are going to need an offence that looks more like it did against the Eskimos if they’re going to match up with the high-octane Redblacks.
Ottawa has one of the most potent offences in the CFL with the ageless Henry Burris under centre and you know they’re going to put some numbers up on the board.
The question is whether Winnipeg’s offence can carry their share of the load this week.
3. Will the real Blue Bombers
special-teams unit please stand up?
A Bombers special-teams unit that has been the Achilles of this team all season — even costing co-ordinator Pat Tracey his job — was spectacular and decisive in last week’s win over the Lions, racking up two blocked punts (including one that was returned for a major); two fake punts (including one on third and 10 late in the fourth quarter that set up the game-tying touchdown); and five field goals courtesy of placekicker Sergio Castillo in his Bombers debut.
It was a performance for the ages and it would be ridiculous to expect the Bombers to replicate it against Ottawa.
But if Winnipeg’s special teams are even half as good this week as they were last, they’ll be twice as good as they’ve been the rest of the season.
4. Who makes the better halftime adjustments?
Ottawa has outscored their opponents in the third quarter of their last seven games in a row — and by a wide margin, 68-10, suggesting a Redblacks coaching staff that is making savvy adjustments at halftime.
Working in Winnipeg’s favour is the fact the Bombers coaching staff has also been credited with making good halftime adjustments in each of the last two weeks.
Last weekend, it was Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall, who went back to the drawing board after a half that saw Lions quarterback Jon Jennings throw for 307 yards and three touchdowns in the first two quarters.
Hall made some tweaks and the Bombers defence held the Lions to just 58 yards net offence in the second half.
Two weeks ago, it was Bombers offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille who made the big halftime adjustments, sparking an offence that registered just 81 passing yards in the first half against Edmonton to put up 239 yards through the air in the second half.
5. Who wants it more?
The Bombers will be mathematically still alive in the playoff race no matter what they do in Ottawa this weekend, but their playoff hopes would take a major hit if they fall to 5-11 with a loss to the Redblacks.
On the flipside, the Redblacks have a chance to clinch the nation’s capital its first CFL playoff berth since 1994 with a win over the Bombers.
That’s some big stakes for both sides. Desperation looked good on the Bombers in B.C. last week, but that’s no small carrot being dangled in front of the Redblacks too.
Someone is going to want it more. That team will probably win.
Twitter: @PaulWiecek
another ‘must-win’
There’s a reason why you haven’t heard Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea speak about his club’s game tonight against the Ottawa Redblacks as a “must-win.”
That’s because every game from now on is a “must- win”, O’Shea explained Thursday afternoon.
“It goes without saying — the urgency is there and this is a playoff game. We’re treating them all like that going forward,” O’Shea told reporters shortly after his team’s arrival in the nation’s capital.
The Bombers would claim the final playoff spot in the West Division if the season were to end today, but O’Shea says his 5-10 team doesn’t want to just limp into the playoffs.
“In order to do well in the playoffs, you want to go in on a roll,” he said. “That’s the whole point, right? We need to also prove to our team we can win two games in a row. Because if you want to win the Grey Cup, you have to be able to win more than two games in a row.”
The Bombers haven’t won two in a row since July 2014 and come into tonight’s game following a dramatic last-second victory over the B.C. Lions last weekend.
O’Shea had spent much of last week telling anyone who would listen — including his players — their game against the Lions was a “must-win” and that seemed to translate into a sense of urgency in a second half that saw the Bombers storm back from a 23-9 halftime deficit.
But having played that card successfully last week, O’Shea has dropped the wordplay this week and is simply focusing his players on putting together a successful three-phase effort to beat a second-year Redblacks squad that is 8-6 and a bona fide Grey Cup contender.
The Redblacks lead the CFL in net yards, passing yards, first downs and time of possession. Winnipeg defensive back Johnny Adams — who leads the league in interceptions with six — said the key to containing Ottawa is to figure out how to contain their 40-year-old wonder, quarterback Henry Burris.
“He brings a leadership to their team. We need to be prepared as a defence and a team to go out there and play Winnipeg football,” said Adams.
gridiron trickery
Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell was asked if he changed his normal game preparations after watching the film of Winnipeg’s win in B.C., in which the Bombers used all kinds of gadget plays on special teams — including a pair of fake punts — in their victory over the Lions.
“No, you’ve just got to make sure you’re sound and you play smart,” said Campbell. “Mike O’Shea is one of my favourites in the CFL because he’s a special- teams guy and he appreciates it. And I grew up doing special teams, too.
“So we know we’ve got our hands full.”
straight from hank
Henry Burris held court with the media Thursday and was in vintage form.
Here’s a sampling:
On growing old: “Well, I don’t feel like I’m 40. I don’t have to take Viagra or Cialis or nothing like that.”
On the doubters who have second-guessed him his entire career: “The doubters are always waiting on the front lawn for me. I don’t know why. I don’t know what I’ve done to any of them.”
On building a new expansion franchise from the ground up and the on-field struggles in Ottawa’s inaugural season in 2014: “Sports is not a fast-food industry,” he sald. “You can’t just put something in place and expect it to sell right away. Not many restaurants or businesses do well in their first year either.”
game-winning heroics
That walk-off field goal by Winnipeg placekicker Sergio Castillo last Saturday night in the win over the B.C. Lions was the first time a Bombers kicker had booted the game-winning field goal as time expired since Troy Westwood nailed a 55-yarder to end the game on July 10, 2003.
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