Four and oh!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/07/2019 (2248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another week, another win for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

A 48-21 dismantling of the Toronto Argonauts Friday night at IG Field extended the Bombers perfect run this year to 4-0. It’s just the second time in 32 years, and the first time since 2004, that Winnipeg has opened a season with four straight victories.

The Bombers continue their four-game jaunt through the East Division with a home game against the Ottawa Redblacks Friday. After that, the Bombers hit the road for two weeks, travelling to Hamilton to play the Tiger-Cats before staying in Ontario ahead of their rematch with Toronto.

But before we look too far ahead, here are five takeaways from Friday’s win over the Argonauts:

1) Now five weeks into the season, there’s no doubt the Bombers are currently the class of the CFL. They remain the only unbeaten team in the league and have improved with each game.

On Friday, they dominated their opponent for a second straight week, making an immediate mark against the Argonauts right from the opening kick-off. Lucky Whitehead’s 104-yard return touchdown just 15 seconds into the game set the tone the rest of the way, sparking a 21-point first quarter lead and a 37-6 edge at halftime.

Matt Nichols made smart decisions with the ball, throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions. He now leads the CFL with 10 passing touchdowns, and has committed just one turnover. The ground game was also dominant, with five carriers accounting for 189 rushing yards.

With Winnipeg being heavy, 15-point favourites, there was a lot of talk about the night being a “trap” game. But in the end the Bombers delivered knockout blow after knockout blow, looking every bit the heavyweight fans have come to expect from this year’s team.

2) Though the Bombers certainly dominated for much of the evening, there are always areas to improve on. Much of the talk in the locker room after the game was about a poor second half.

Winnipeg was outscored 15-11 through the final two quarters, leaving some players to suggest they had taken their collective foots off the gas. There’s an argument to that of course. Toronto was facing a major uphill battle with how much they trailed and, naturally, that desperation triggered a pushback from the visitors.

Still, the offence struggled to move the ball consistently in the final 30 minutes. Before backup Chris Streveler crossed the goal line on a 23-yard run with 24 seconds remaining, the Bombers had put up just four points in the half. Here are the results of the Bombers’ nine second-half drives: missed field goal, field goal, punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, safety, touchdown.

Unable to chew up the clock on offence, the Bombers defence grew fatigued down the stretch. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson put up 388 passing yards, throwing for three touchdowns (and two interceptions), as Toronto edged Winnipeg in net offensive yards, 445 to 406.

While it’s easy to criticize the effort down the stretch, the Bombers are deserving of a free pass given how dominant they were to start. You also know they didn’t get the same benefit of the doubt when going over the game film the following day.

3) There’s no point in sugar coating it: Toronto looks awful, plain and simple. Just two years removed from winning the Grey Cup in 2017, the Argonauts seem destined to finish last in the CFL for a second straight year.

Now 0-4 with Friday’s loss, the Argonauts have won just once in their last 14 games dating back to last season.

While they have some tools on offence, including an impressive receiving group highlighted by the sure hands of Derel Walker, they remain weak on the offensive line and at quarterback. The defence lacks playmakers, with a secondary that can’t cover the deep ball.

Special teams has also been unable to give the Argonauts strong field position. Only twice did Toronto start a drive in Winnipeg’s end; 14 of the Argonauts’ 19 series began on their own 35-yard line or deeper. In total, Winnipeg racked up 216 kick-off return yards and 134 punt-return yards, for a combined total of a whopping 350 yards.

To add insult to injury, Friday’s beat down came just days after an Argonauts ticket promotion slashed prices by nearly 60 per cent. Already boasting an average attendance that’s 6,000 fewer than the league average of 22,945, it’s hard to imagine fans showing up if the players don’t.

4) Andrew Harris hit another major milestone over his lustrous career, eclipsing 8,000-career rushing yards with an effort Friday night that saw him carry the ball 14 times for 116 yards.

The 32-year-old Winnipeg native now has 8,036 rushing yards, making him just the 12th player in league history to reach the 8,000-yard mark. Harris needs just eight yards to eclipse Tracy Ham (8,043) for 11th spot on the CFL’s all-time rushing list; 428 more yards would put him in 10th place, ahead of Dave Thelen’s 8,043.

Harris will certainly go down as one of the league’s most impressive tailbacks. And since he’s seemingly only getting better with age, he might even be able to crack the top-5, which would include edging former Bomber Charlie Roberts. Here are the current leaders:

1. Mike Pringle – 16,425

2. George Reed – 16,116

3. Damon Allen – 11,920

4. Johnny Bright – 10,909

5. Charles Roberts – 10,285

Harris is off to the best start since joining the Bombers in 2016. His touchdown Friday – a four-yard pass from Nichols that put Winnipeg up 14-0 early in the first quarter – gives him two on the year. Interestingly, he has yet to record a rushing TD. Still, Harris is on pace for a career-best 1,701 rushing yards, which would eclipse the career-high 1,390 he set last season.

5) There’s a bit of déjà vu going on with Nic Demski, who is having another strong start in his second year with the Bombers.

Demski’s 67-yard touchdown early in the second quarter Friday was his second long-distance score in as many games. He reeled in an 82-yard touchdown the previous week against the Ottawa Redblacks – the longest of his five-year career. Demski rushed for another touchdown in a Week 3 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, brining his total to three in four games.

Indeed, it’s been an impressive month for the Bombers receiver. In fact, he’s just one more touchdown away from matching his total from all of last season.

Now, it’s about riding that momentum. Last season, Demski had four touchdowns through the first eight games, only to fall off the map the rest of the year. He went without a score in the final nine games, with only one of those games eclipsing 50 yards receiving.

It’s hard to imagine a similar situation playing out this year given how well Demski is playing. And if can continue to rack up yards and be that dual threat on an offence filled with weapons, it could be the breakout year he’s been hoping for since joining the CFL in 2015.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton