Blue coaching staff struts its stuff in win

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This article was published 11/10/2016 (3287 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s easy to conclude this is the most talented roster Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans have been privy to in years, but the coaching decisions in this latest victory were nearly as impressive as the athletes that carried them out.

This season, versatile running back Andrew Harris has been a Swiss army knife. He does many different things well and is the one multi-purpose implement that can be used effectively in most any situation.

Maurice Leggett, the interception leader of the CFL, has to also be a top-rung candidate for defensive player of the year. He simply has a nose for the football that is uncanny, and the instincts to make game-altering big plays.

Add a vastly improved offensive line and a quarterback who is allergic to turning the ball over, and you have a grouping of talent that is going to make most coaches look more than capable. Yet that didn’t stop this mentoring staff from putting their own stamp on Saturday’s 37-35 win over B.C. with creative flair and piles of bravado.

It is one thing to make gutsy calls when you have a poor record and nothing to lose, but when you are on the verge of the first winning season since 2011 and you are still pushing the envelope of aggression, and rolling the dice, you had better believe this football team isn’t taking anything for granted. Having more wins than losses this late in the year can make you conservative in a hurry. The “don’t blow it mentality,” can become a dominant personality trait and change the way you call a game. Faking field goals, introducing new formations and throwing touchdown passes to your quarterback in the end zone is not taking your foot off the gas, and preserving what you have already accomplished. It is leadership that tells players even though you are going to the playoffs for the first time in forever, the coaching staff is not preoccupied with playing not to lose.

The B.C. Lions had one more win than the Bombers did going into the game, but every time they had a drive that stalled in or around the red zone, they opted to take the points that came from settling for a field goal. Safe, conservative and low-risk decision-making that usually pays off in the long run. Conversely, in the early going, up 7-3, the maverick style leadership on this team wanted another major instead of a field goal, and caught the opponent off guard by being unconventional. It’s a risk they didn’t have to take, and they followed it up with their tailback taking a direct snap, pitching a reverse and having their quarterback sneak, uncovered, into the top of the end zone for six points. Not only is this highly entertaining for the fans, but innovation and guts to this degree inspires the players, and shows how much fun this staff is having working the X’s and O’s.

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Due to an injury, the team unearthed a glut of talent at the tailback spot and both Harris and Timothy Flanders contributed touchdowns.

The coaching staff also took an offensive line that was close to being indicted for its part in the brutalization of former No. 1 QB Drew Willy, and coached it into a unit that can not only pound the ball on the ground, but is keeping QB Matt Nichols so clean in the pocket he could walk into an operating theatre without washing his hands.

The most compelling evidence of the positive impact this coaching staff has had on its players is how they have reacted to adverse scenarios. The leadership on this team never blinked after they relinquished a 21-point lead, and the players followed suit. This team has fully bought into the message that is being pushed in-house, and that is full credit to the coaching staff on this team.

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

twitter: @DougBrown9