Exhibition observations: Winnipeg vs. Montreal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/06/2010 (5655 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I don’t feel like leaving the press box yet, so let’s fire off some first impressions from Winnipeg’s 34-10 victory over the Montreal Alouettes before heading out:

THE SHOTGUN: Hard to not walk away from that game without thinking Buck Pierce is going to be the Bombers’ No. 1 guy come July. The 28-year-old pivot was impressive, showing a nice touch with the ball and a good head for decisions. Speaking of Pierce’s head for decisions (get used to that coming up a lot this season), how many people held their breath when he tucked the ball under his arm and left the pocket? Read to the bottom of this post for the answer.

DROP ZONE: One complaint along press row was the number of drops by the Winnipeg receiving corps. It is exhibition, but some of those balls on the turf are momentum killers come the regular season. Could be something to watch as we go along here.

NOT A FULL SQUAD: In the post-game press conference, Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice went out of his way to point out the Montreal squad was not the real Montreal squad CFL teams will see this season. Only a handful of starters made the trip west, and it showed. Winnipeg looked good, but there is an asterisk to its performance today.

TRIGGER HAPPY: The guy who fires the cannon is not in mid-season form yet. Not one, but two, premature booms came from the south end. One of the blasts actually held up the game for a bit, as rattled officials and players from both sides weren’t really sure what was happening.

FLAG DAY: OK, what is the deal with these dudes? They run around the field, in between players at times, holding giant flags with the Bombers logo on them. Several people texted me during the game, wondering what the deal was — specifically with the lead guy, who doesn’t have a flag. He’s like the pace car or something.  Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer. I will say this: I like the concept, but the execution is all wrong. What I’d like to see is each flag have a letter so that they spell B-O-M-B-E-R-S. That would look cool.

THE ANSWER: Everyone wearing Blue and Gold at Canad Inns Stadium.