Been there, done that — Bombers steal show again

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This article was published 07/08/2017 (2983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When you’ve recently stared down and conquered Mount Everest, the prospect of summiting a lesser peak is met with both confidence and belief — exactly what the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have done over the last two weeks.

Overcoming a mountainous score discrepancy in the Montreal game two weeks ago was this team’s Everest and ultimate challenge so far this season. They had a map to navigate it — score, onside, score — but there were treacherous crevasses, sketchy ice ladders, avalanches, dangerously low oxygen levels and the advisory that many people died climbing it every year. Or were otherwise defeated and turned around by it. Yet once the team had completed that most improbable and almost impossible climb and overcame a 12-point deficit in only 95 seconds, the next adverse situation they found themselves in didn’t seem to daunting.

In Ottawa on Friday night, the team found itself behind again in the fourth quarter. But it was only by a touchdown and there were more than five and a half minutes left in the game. When you’ve taken down 12 points in 95 seconds, seven in five minutes is almost laughable and they made it look easy — even routine.

The defence, which had already given up 30 points and had hardly covered itself in glory during this game, or so far this season, simply decided they were done surrendering scoring opportunities and gave the ball back to the offence three consecutive times without allowing Ottawa a chance to make it a two-score contest. While a touchdown from the Bombers offence would have made things easier, they had so much time to spare they simply did not need one. It’s much simpler to get into field goal range for Justin Medlock multiple times, so they did that three times and ho-hum, it’s off to Hamilton to play the winless Ticats.

Good teams try to practise every conceivable scenario that may unfold on the field of play, but this team has something better than practising their two-minute drill, they have in-game experience pulling off something other teams could only draw up on the white board. They have taken a hypothetical and an inconceivable and made it part of their reality and experience.

As this game wound down, it really became a study in contrasts between the two teams. Ottawa, with only one win and four losses at the time, looked like a team that knew it couldn’t pull this off. While they’ve had a productive offence all season, Trevor Harris looked like a guy who needed Henry Burris breathing down his neck to seal the deal and his leadership and his experience — intangibles that Burris wielded so well. You could almost see the expectation they were going to blow this game too, and that expectation manifested itself on the field. The Redblacks looked like they knew they were good enough to be in the game at the end, but had no experience or knowledge of how to finish it.

Conversely, the more that time expired in the fourth, and the more urgent and critical the moments became for the Blue and Gold, the more focussed, relaxed and almost methodical they became. Whether it was quarterback Matt Nichols, Andrew Harris, TJ Thorpe, Ryan Lankford or Medlock — they all contributed down the stretch without a sign of panic or excessive concern. They had the confidence and, more importantly, the experience and belief the margin they were facing was surmountable, so they climbed it yet again, and planted their flag on top.

This team, in all phases, is not yet polished or consistent. Their play can often be erratic and their production has peaks and valleys on a seemingly quarter-by-quarter basis. Yet this group also has a steely nerve and uncanny belief in itself when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter and that is a skill and valuable piece of weaponry and experience that may give them an edge down the line.

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

Twitter: @DougBrown97