Keeping pivot off the turf Job 1 for Bombers

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This article was published 03/05/2016 (3678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If there is any conclusion to be drawn from a three-day mini-camp where not all of the phases of the team participated — and plays were run against the air — it’s that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers seem to have an understanding of their vulnerability, and appear to be determined to do something about it.

While mini-camps will tell you close to nothing about the quality and calibre of the team that will eventually take the field after weeks of condensed training camp, it does tell you exactly what your offensive or defensive co-ordinator has been obsessing about all off-season, and what weaknesses they have been itching to address from the get-go.

Regardless of how instructional and fundamentally simplistic mini-camps are, the themes and concepts introduced first are usually a road map and blueprint of what the franchise wants its identity to be. As strategic and cunning as some co-ordinators can be when implementing their game plans, they most often cannot hide their eagerness and enthusiasm to jump right into those defining aspects of their scheme from their very first practice.

Whether it was mentioned in passing, shared on fan forums or filed in accounts by those who were assigned to be there, the same observations and common phrases kept showing up and were seemingly repeated throughout the entire three-day ordeal.

The first, and most common, was how the focus seemed to be on the quarterbacks getting rid of the ball early and often, which went hand in hand with a lot of “shorter passes, bubble screens and quick, short routes” being run. As amusing as it is to hear about “short” passes and “short” routes being run predominantly by “shorter” receivers, an ability to have a quick passing attack is one of the many options to successfully nullify a heavy-pressure opponent.

While we may not see with any of these new receivers, for some time, the kind of non-verbal, instinctual communication Milt Stegall was once able to create with the pivots he played with — that allowed him to adjust his prescribed route and exploit the middle of the field any time a defence overextended itself with pressure — at least we now know we casual observers aren’t the only ones hoping to see the bull’s-eye taken off Drew Willy’s jersey this season.

Despite the spot problems over the last two years with areas of the defence, run game, offensive line, inappropriate schemes and backup pivots, the underlying vulnerability that consistently led to underachievement was none other than the inability to keep the most impactful player on the field healthy and upright.

In fact, one of the biggest frustrations in covering this team the last two seasons has been seeing the potential of the quarterback when he has time in a clean pocket, versus how quickly that promise deteriorates under siege. The fact there was such a huge discrepancy in performance between those pristine-pocket operating conditions and the stretches where free rushers were seemingly burying him at will with few consequences, had to have made selling out to get to Willy a safe gamble for most any defence that faced him.

While it is far too soon to tell whether the new players, schemes and leadership will mesh well and complement one another, at least most of us can share in the optimism that comes with observing a team that is finally making an attempt to address the root of one of it’s most fundamental problems, and at the earliest of all opportunities.

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

Twitter: @DougBrown97