Bombers not taking Ticats win for granted when they face Esks

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This article was published 10/07/2016 (3370 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winning comes with some strange side-effects.

On one hand, the thrill of victory offers a shot of confidence and reinforces a player’s self-belief and a team’s collected trust in their fellow man and the team as a whole.

On the other, it can serve as a blanket — one that covers some glaring errors that can be glossed over and neglected due to the fuzzy feelings a victory creates.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-2)find themselves on both sides of the fence in that regard, revelling in their most recent 60-minute effort (a 28-24 win July 7 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) while trying not to look past what needs to change to earn a consecutive ‘W’ Thursday at home against a stiffer test (the 1-1 Edmonton Eskimos).

“There’s more cover-up after winning a game because it’s such a good feeling and you try to cover up those mistakes,” veteran defensive back Chris Randle said Sunday. “But good teams look at those wins and get better from them.”

Losing often breeds negativity, and silver linings and positives are often fodder fed to the media and fans to disguise the struggle and mask (perhaps) a lack of confidence and self-belief.

Randle said despite his team’s initial 0-2 start, confidence never evaded the squad. “It’s just a process. Us going out there and actually doing it (gives) us more belief in what we’re doing. But as far as confidence, I think we’ve been pretty confident from the beginning.”

For a player such as defensive back Maurice Leggett, who pulled in two interceptions against the Ticats, including taking the ball 50 yards for a pick-six in an impressive individual performance, it’s all about going out there and repeating the previous week’s effort.

“The way I approach it is treating it as if I can do it again,” he said. “If I score, I’m happy that I scored, but I’m not celebrating as if it’s my first time. It’s just like, OK, now let’s do it again.”

Win or lose, corrections belong on either side of the ledger, according to head coach Mike O’Shea, noting his team is aware of that reality.

‘There’s more cover-up after winning a game because it’s such a good feeling and you try to cover up those mistakes. But good teams look at those wins and get better from them’– Bombers defensive back Chris Randle

“Nobody has played a perfect game, everyone is in pursuit of that,” he said. “The point is to keep the good things we did and fix the stuff we didn’t do so well and keep building off it.”

When asked about his CFL team having to learn how to win, O’Shea said he’s sure there’s something to it — although he admitted it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly “it” is.

“I think what it comes down to are those critical moments in games where you’re making the right decision. Are you executing at a higher level than the opponent on those critical plays?” the coach said.

“From the film, there’s still lot the players can see that could given us even more in all three phases, really.”

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Meanwhile, a few days removed from the “Madden glitch” — receiver Ryan Smith’s seemingly impossible no-look hip catch that resulted in a touchdown and a 22-7 Bombers’ lead in the second quarter and some international notoriety to go along with it — it still had some minds boggled on the team’s first day back to practice.

“Yeah, I still don’t understand it. I don’t even know how to describe it when they’re talking about kids putting it on their phones saying it’s a glitch, a Matrix type of thing,” O’Shea said. “There’s one replay that I look at where you can’t see the ball coming in and then it appears on his hip and I equate it to a Bob Wylie magic trick or something like that, he conjured the ball on Ryan’s hip.

“It’s going to be one of those things I was just happy to be a part of. I will remember where I was and when that catch happened. It should get a lot of replays for a long time because it’s extremely odd.”

NOTES: Linebacker Khalil Bass, kick returner Quincy McDuffie and defensive lineman Jake Thomas missed practice Sunday. O’Shea said there were no serious injuries emanating from the July 7 win in Hamilton.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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