Blue QB controversy might be brewing

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2016 (3526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 33-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders at Investors Group Field Thursday night was the latest chapter in the same old story for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

At 1-4, the Blue and Gold remain in the thick of a gruelling start to the 2016 schedule. The Bombers head to Edmonton next week to take on the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium, followed by a home date with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in what will likely mark the return of quarterback Zach Collaros.

Before we look ahead, here are five takeaways from Thursday’s game:

QB CONUNDRUM

Mike O’Shea said a lot of things after the loss, but it’s what he wouldn’t say that stuck out most in his post-game press conference. The Bombers bench boss pulled quarterback Drew Willy in favour of backup Matt Nichols midway through the fourth quarter after Willy was intercepted by Calgary’s Joe Burnett, who took the ball 34 yards for a touchdown.

Nichols led the Bombers to their only touchdown of the game on the very next drive, making a case to start next week against the Eskimos. When asked after the game if he would return to Willy as his starter, O’Shea refused to commit one way or the other, adding he’d figure that out over the next week of practice.

It’s hard to think O’Shea won’t go back to Nichols. But if he does, he risks alienating Willy, a player who all of last week was defended as the team’s leader and is paid a handsome sum to be just that. But winning is all that matters, and it’s no longer clear Willy gives this team the best chance of doing that.

WILLY’S WOES

To solely blame Willy for an underwhelming offence this season would be an unfair assessment. After all, to have success, the offensive line needs to provide time and space for the quarterback and open holes for the running game; the running back needs to find those holes and wear down opposing defences; and receivers need to get open and make plays.

Just because Willy isn’t the only problem, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the answer, either.

Thursday’s loss dropped Willy’s record to 12-21 as a starting QB in the CFL.

Since opening the 2014 season 5-1, Willy has won just six of his last 17 games with the Blue and Gold. He’s thrown for 300-plus yards nine times over his career, but never more than 361, and has thrown for three or more touchdowns in a game twice. As an offence, he has scored more than 30 points in a game once. Needless to say, the jury is still out on whether he can become a viable starter, let alone lead the Bombers out of what’s becoming a deeper hole each week.

As rough as it’s been for Willy, it hasn’t been much better for Nichols over his CFL career. Nichols has a mark of 7-12 as a starter, including a 2-5 record with the Bombers last season.

STILL PENDING

If the QB issues weren’t enough to deal with, the Bombers may also have their hands full with a number of injuries to their secondary and offensive line.

Defensive backs Chris Randle, Macho Harris and Julian Posey were all forced from the game, along with right tackle Patrick Neufeld and left guard Jermarcus Hardrick. O’Shea couldn’t provide any immediate updates after the game, nor would he divulge if any of the injuries were more serious than others.

With Johnny Adams and Bruce Johnson still weeks away from returning, even one more loss to the secondary would be drastic for the Bombers, who entered this week allowing the most net offence against with 451 yards per game.

Offensive lineman Jeff Keeping, whom the Bombers signed in the off-season as insurance for a young and inexperienced front five, is also expected to be a few more weeks from a return, meaning rookie Michael Couture may earn his first CFL start earlier than expected.

HOUSE OF HORRORS

Of all the issues that surround the Bombers’ current regime, the most troubling has to be their dismal record at home. With the loss to Calgary, the eighth straight to the Stampeders on home turf, the Bombers fell to a staggering 7-23 record at Investors Group Field.

The Bombers have now lost six straight games at IGF dating back to last season. It’s a troublesome pattern, and one that dates back even before the team moved to the University of Manitoba for the 2013 season. Since 2009, the Bombers have posted a record of 22-40 at home and do not having a winning record against any of the eight other teams in the CFL: B.C. (3-4), Calgary (1-7), Edmonton (4-4), Hamilton (3-6), Toronto (3-8), Montreal (4-6), Ottawa (1-1) and Saskatchewan (3-4).

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What’s worse is the fans seem to be taking notice. The 24,007 who bought tickets for last week’s loss to Edmonton were the lowest attendance ever for a stadium that holds more than 33,000 and only slightly less than the 24,677 who showed Thursday. With just one more game in the summer, it’s hard to think that number will climb unless the wins do.

NOT ALL BAD NEWS

It was not all doom and gloom. Receiver Weston Dressler has his best outing as a Bomber, reeling in 12 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Justin Medlock seemed to regain his confidence, hitting all three of his kicks from 46, 41 and 37 — in that order — to improve to 11-for-15 on field-goal attempts.

Perhaps the most promising sign of all is the Bombers still believe they can turn it all around. From stall to stall after the game, the message was the same: you can bend but not break in the face of pressure. They’ll be tested once again this week.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.