‘We’ve burned our hand on the stove enough’

Jordan Younger sees the growing pains, yet he still sees the potential through it all.

This isn’t about watching film through rose-coloured glasses either, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator has no trouble acknowledging the issues that have occasionally plagued his unit during a 5-5 start.

There have been missed tackles, blown coverages and the occasional costly penalty.

There have also been goal-line stands that hold the opponent to field goals and some really stingy showings, including a performance that bordered on dominant in building a 16-6 lead over the Edmonton Elks last Friday.

But an inability to get a late stop proved costly as the Elks came away with a game-winning field goal as time expired.

“Inconsistent is as fair a word as any,” Younger said earlier this week as his scrum dwindled down to a one-on-one conversation. “So now, it’s a matter of: can we keep ourselves in position and keep ourselves in the hunt while we’re gaining this experience and gaining this wisdom so that at the end of the year, we’ve banked enough plays, we’ve learned enough and we’ve burned our hand on the stove enough to say that we’ve made those mistakes already and now we’re ready to let loose, relax and just play ball.”

There have been plenty of examples of the Bombers burning their collective hands on the stove so far this season and some of that is related to situational awareness.

For example, the Blue Bombers had Elks running back Justin Rankin surrounded on the final drive, but the defensive player closest to the ball carrier thought the primary objective was to tackle him in the field of play, given the amount of time that was on the clock during the final three minutes of the second half.

“You have one player thinking we want to keep him in bounds, so they’re more passive in the way that they play it. In that, there’s a ripple effect, because everybody else slows down because the guy at the point of the attack didn’t shoot,” said Younger. “We have to do a better job of making sure we understand that there was enough time for them on the clock to take their time to move the ball into field goal range, we’re not playing against the clock, we’re really playing against the yardage.

“It’s not a matter of effort, it’s not a matter of trying hard, it’s a matter of understanding the situation and shooting your gun.”

Another part of that is related to inexperience, with Younger noting the Bombers have featured five or six new starters on defence at times.

“The learning curve and what we’re asking them to do is very difficult,” said Younger. “Offences put a lot of effort into their systems and all of their answers are built in. On defence, you’ve got to learn and build that experience and build that wisdom.

“It doesn’t come overnight, it doesn’t come in a couple of games. For some of those guys, again, it’s new.”

The Bombers could be getting some positive news on the injury front as safety Redha Kramdi has been a full participant this week and could be in position to be activated from the six-game injured list in time for Friday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes.

Montreal is 9-1 and lead the league in explosive plays (40), second down conversions (117 of 202 for 57.9 per cent) and red-zone efficiency (29 touchdowns in 39 trips for 74.4 per cent).

The Alouettes offence is led by Most Outstanding Player front-runner Davis Alexander and features a prolific and balanced attack – which means the Bombers defence is in for its stiffest test of the season to date.

“You look at their team and I would say where they’re the most different is on first down,” said Younger. “They have and they use different personnel groupings in different ways than any other team uses. That’s where they’re the most successful.

“Then, you have a guy like Davis Alexander who, even when you do dial it up on second down, he’s able to extend plays, make people miss and throw the ball down the field. They’ve got a system where even their role players are executing at a high level. It’s a huge challenge.”

The margin for error is slim for a club that currently sits fourth in the West and has the Calgary Stampeders sitting just two points behind in the standings.

“Everybody has to hit their own target. You can’t really cheat or lean too much,” said Younger. “Run versus pass, short passes versus deep passes, they can do it all. They can beat you in the screen game, they can beat you running the ball, they can beat you in play action, they can beat you in drop back. So, the fact that they’re that balanced is what makes them difficult to play against.”

Limiting the mistakes is paramount.

“We shouldn’t be looking for a larger margin for error,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “Nobody plays a perfect game, but you should be looking to play better and better every week and looking to play as tight and as clean a game as possible.

“This is where the games get really fun.”

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