For the Bombers, it all starts here

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2016 (3363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — When a franchise has been dysfunctional for as long as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to fixing the problems.

The offence, defence, special teams, quarterback, front office, even the new stadium — all are in various states of disrepair.

So how about this for a suggestion: just start here. And by here, I mean tonight in Edmonton — a place the Blue Bombers haven’t won a game at since 2006.

And if not a win at Commonwealth Stadium, then how about one in Calgary — a place the Bombers have won a game at just once since 2002.

And if not in Alberta, then there’s always Regina — where the Bombers have won just once in their last 13 trips.

While there are all kinds of reasons the Bombers have missed the CFL playoffs six of the last seven years, in some ways it comes down to one simple fact: they are terrible on the road against West Division rivals.

It is not a coincidence the Bombers have been outside looking in since the club moved to the West Division from the East in 2014. Leaving aside Vancouver, where the Bombers have had modest success against the B.C. Lions over the years, the Bombers are — take a deep breath now — 3-32-1 in their last 36 trips to Edmonton, Calgary and Regina, a period that dates back to the start of the 2005 season.

That is a staggering statistic: the Bombers have earned a grand total of just seven out of a possible 72 points in their last 36 games in Edmonton, Calgary and Regina.

Put it all together and the Bombers have been, for all intents and purposes for more than a decade, the free spot on the bingo card when they’ve headed west.

The problem has become more urgent in the two-plus seasons since the Bombers switched divisions because Winnipeg now makes an extra trip west every season (hooray, even more opportunities to lose) and all those road losses in Calgary, Edmonton and Regina now come against division rivals.

Layered on top of all that losing on the road out west is the fact the Bombers have also been terrible at home: 7-23 since moving into Investors Group Field to start the 2013 season.

If you cannot win on the road and you cannot win at home, you quickly run out of places to get a win.

The last time the Bombers recorded a win in Edmonton, it took something just short of a miracle: a 100-yard, game-winning touchdown reception by Milt Stegall on the final play of the game. And the Las Vegas bookmakers think it will take a bit of a miracle for the Bombers to get a win tonight at Commonwealth Stadium.

Vegas had the Bombers a 9.5-point underdog as of Wednesday afternoon, and it’s hard to argue the logic.

For starters, the Bombers (1-4) are banged up this week, with three starters in the secondary — Macho Harris, Chris Randle and Julian Posey — and starting offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld all sidelined by injuries.

Then there’s the fact the Bombers will have a new starting quarterback, Matt Nichols, who will be getting his first start of the season after the club decided to bench Drew Willy.

Finally, the Eskimos (2-2) will be unusually hungry this week after a record-breaking collapse in Week 5 in which they blew a 25-point, third-quarter lead against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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So, yeah, the Bombers are big underdogs tonight, with lots of convenient and ready-made excuses if they should happen to lose, yet again.

But when has it been otherwise in recent years?

It takes talent to grind out a win in a division rival’s building, but it also takes grit, determination and guts. I’d argue the 2016 version of the Bombers has an abundance of the first quality. It’s the others that have been conspicuous by their absence.

A miracle? It wouldn’t hurt. But more than anything, the Blue Bombers just need to man up.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @PaulWiecek