Blue Bombers may have pulled themselves out of a rut

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This article was published 28/07/2017 (2993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The CFL has long been dubbed the “Crazy Football League” and Thursday’s come-from-behind 41-40 victory for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the Montreal Alouettes was perhaps the truest of testaments to that reputation.

The Bombers, who were seemingly out of the game, down 40 to 28 late in the fourth quarter, clawed their way back in the final two minutes, eventually edging the Alouettes on the final play.

Winnipeg improved to 3-2 with the victory, which keeps them in the mix of a competitive West Division. The Bombers return to action next week in the nation’s capital for a date with the Ottawa Redblacks at TD Place Friday night.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look a five takeaways from Thursday’s win over Montreal…

BOMBERS A SCRAPPY BUNCH

Despite a promising win-loss record, the jury is still very much out as to where in the standings the Bombers will be by the end of the regular season.

In what’s already shaping up to be a close race in the West Division, at this point it’s safe to suggest the Bombers aren’t at the same level of the Calgary Stampeders (3-1-1) or B.C. Lions (4-1), even if they were narrowly defeated by the Leos, 43-40, last week in Vancouver. The 4-0 Edmonton Eskimos have topped the league’s power rankings the last couple of weeks, so they, too, hold an edge over the Blue and Gold, likely until the two face off next month.

But what has emerged this year is the identity of the 2017 Bombers: a scrappy, lunch-pail carrying, blue-collar team that just doesn’t understand the word quit.

Besides the Calgary game, where the Bombers took a 10-9 lead into the second half only to be shutout the final two quarters en route to a 29-10 loss, Winnipeg has shown a high level of resiliency week in and week out.

That was never more prevalent than on Thursday night, when the Bombers erased a 12-point deficit in the final 1:35 to shock the Alouettes.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the comeback was it came at a time when Montreal was rolling on offence. They had just put together their second longest drive of the game, capping off the six-play, 80-yard push up field with a 31-yard run by Stefan Logan to go up 40-28. While Logan and his teammates were celebrating in the end zone, hundreds of fans were making their way to the exits.

The Bombers then responded with two touchdown drives for the win – the scores separated by an onside kick with just 44 seconds left on the clock – that combined for 14 plays and 127 yards in just 95 seconds.

NICHOLS THE BOMBERS TRUE LEADER

But of all the players in the Bombers locker room, none exemplify the team’s gritty persona more than quarterback Matt Nichols.

At 30, it’s hard to think Nichols will ever reach a level of dominance in the CFL to that of Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell or Edmonton’s Mike Reilly. He’ll never have the arm strength or speed of B.C.’s Jonathon Jennings or the patience of Toronto’s veteran pivot Ricky Ray. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone more willing than Nichols to fight harder for his teammates, willing to put his body – and ultimately his career – on the line and who gets feels more gratitude for his teammates success than his own.

“One of the greatest things about this game is when we’re in here after and I get to watch my teammates jump on each other with the look of pure joy – that’s hard to get in life,” Nichols said after the game. “My favourite thing is to sit in my locker and watch all these guys go nuts.”

His coaches and teammates have lauded the leadership Nichols brings to the Bombers ever since he first took over for Drew Willy midway through last season. That was on full display in the final pressure-filled moments Thursday, with Nichols looking calm and collected as he marched down field for the comeback.

His greatest contribution came on the second last play of the game-winning drive, when, after taking a hit to the helmet a few plays before, he rumbled 15 yards up field to the one-yard line. From there, Andrew Harris punched the ball in to secure the win.

NEW FACES STEP UP BIG

T.J. Thorpe surprised many, including himself, when he reeled in eight of nine catches for 65 yards against the Lions last week. I suggested in my 5 storylines ahead of Thursday’s game that Thorpe’s dependability and physicality – half his yards were after the catch and included plays where he broke a number of tackles – could lead to an even stronger impact against the Alouettes.

For an encore, Thorpe, 24, caught seven balls for 64 yards, with 40 yards gained after the initial catch. But as remarkable as it was for his second career CFL start – he now has 15 receptions through two games – what made the night all the more impressive wasn’t just how many he got but when they came in the game. Of the seven grabs, five – totalling 56 yards – were in the final two scoring drives.

Thorpe was just one of a few new faces to have a serious impact in the game. Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, who has been playing well in relief of an injured Tristan Okapalaugo, had a breakout performance. He intercepted Alouettes quarterback Darian Durant on the second play of the game that led to the Bombers’ opening touchdown and recorded a team-best two sacks.

Bombers rookie linebacker Brandon Alexander also had a solid outing – his brightest moment coming when he recovered the onside kick – and the play of Brian Walker at cornerback suggested he’s only to get better with time.

DOWN ON THE D? NOT SO FAST

I wrote a story earlier this week defending the Bombers defence from the criticism they have garnered so far this year. In it, I argued that an improvement would only come with a better output by Nichols and the offence.

The Bombers defence was once again torched by Montreal for far too many yards, surrendering just five short of 500 yards of net offence. Darian Durant feasted on the secondary, tossing for 348 yards and two touchdowns. The 183 yards gained on the ground were the most, by far, the Bombers have allowed this season.

But as bad as those numbers are – and, to be sure, they are bad – it once again came on the heels of an offence that benefitted early from the defence, sputtered throughout much of the game, and then finally rose to the occasion in the final minutes.

Consider this: Montreal led in the time of possession battle through the first half, finishing with 18 minutes and 52 seconds with the ball – and more than 10 of those minutes came in the opening frame.

It was during the first half, when the defence was left to fend for themselves while the offence was unable to sustain any real notable drives, that Durant recorded 202 yards through the air and almost 300 of his net offence. It’s no coincidence that when Nichols was able to move the ball down the field in the second half, the defence was able to perform to a much higher standard, limiting Montreal to 16 points in the final two quarters.

Of the Bombers’ seven drives in the second half, five lasted more than two minutes, with the longest being 4 minutes and 14 seconds. The other two, both of which lasted fewer than 60 seconds, were the back-t0-back drives for the comeback. In the first half, only one drive by the Bombers offence lasted beyond two minutes.

The Bombers D contributed in other ways – an interception that led to the first TD; a goal-line stand that forced the Alouettes to settle for a nine-yard FG in the fourth quarter – but they are at their best when they get some help from the offence.

MEDLOCK SHOULD GET OUT OF FUNK

After hitting 28 straight regular-season field goals to record the fourth longest streak in CFL history, Justin Medlock now finds himself in a bit of a funk.

It was curious how Medlock would recover from a rollercoaster outing last week, when he was criticized for running an ill advised fake punt late in the fourth quarter against the Lions and then fell short on a 50-yarder in the final seconds that would have pushed the game to overtime. The miss was Medlock’s first dating back to Week 15 matchup with Edmonton last year.

Against the Alouettes, Medlock finished 2-for-4, clanging his first attempt from 47 yards off the left upright. His second miss sailed wide right from 37 yards on a kick that would have tied the game early in the fourth quarter. Medlock would eventually redeem himself by executing a clever onside kick that sailed the perfect distance before landing in the arms of Alexander near midfield.

It’s hard to criticize Medlock, especially since despite some recent struggles he remains among the team’s most important players. For fans fearing that Medlock may not be able to bounce back, it’s worth noting he also struggled in parts of last season too. But after going 8-for-12 through the first four games of 2016, Medlock made 52 of his next 56 field goals to set a new CFL record for most – 60 – in a single season.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton