Blue’s O’Shea riding a nag in CFL derby

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This article was published 08/09/2014 (4035 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike O’Shea is about to find out what Winnipeg is all about. And this city is going to learn a lot about its football coach, too.

Losers of four of their last five and now 6-5 on the season after a 30-24 Banjo Bowl loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Blue Bombers are a far cry from the 5-1 mark that had fans swooning in July.

That’s adversity that just punched this team in the lips. Will they wipe the blood away and keep trucking? Or faint at the sight?

O’Shea sets the direction for this team and certainly he won’t be getting queasy over some rough water. But he’s got to get his message across right now.

“The people we brought in here. The players and coaches. The character,” said O’Shea on Sunday evening when asked about keeping his team on the right path and not letting this season swirl down the toilet.

Fair enough, coach. But teams go south. Happens all the time. Nowhere in the coaching handbook is there a chapter about stopping a slide. For a rookie, it’s one of the biggest lessons.

O’Shea, and the 2014 Bombers for that matter, will be judged on how they finish up their final seven games. Find a way to start winning again, grab four more, and this is very likely a playoff team and O’Shea is up for coach of the year.

When he took this job, O’Shea said he was glad to be in a town where the CFL mattered. Good stuff. But this week, when he’s picking up milk at Safeway and his cart gets sideswiped by the blue-hair in the Bud Grant jersey, the truth about this town will sink in for O’Shea.

You’re great when you’re winning. You’re a rube when you’re not.

At 5-1, the Bombers were a mirage, nowhere near as good as their record. At 6-5 they’re a lot closer to their reality. This group is .500, give or take a game.

Low on Canadian talent, susceptible to the run and owners of a three-import offensive line that at best can be called adequate. Not a championship formula.

Quizzed about the 196 yards rushing the Riders picked up Sunday, and the 807 ground yards allowed in the last five games, linebacker EJ Kuale was defiant. “That’s a vanity stat,” he said.

O’Shea was also nonplussed about his team’s run defence.

“I’ve seen it too many times, where rushing yards didn’t necessarily add up to wins,” he said.

Except in this case. The Bombers are 1-4 in their last five games and have allowed an average of 161 yards against on the ground.

Mike O’Shea isn’t delusional. But he’s not going to admit failure in any facet of his team’s game in front of a microphone.

Football seasons are about ebbs and flows. The record at the end of the season is the telling mark.

O’Shea is very well aware of this and knows the fight is just getting angry. His crew has taken a few licks. He and GM Kyle Walters can study the film and see who is worth keeping and who should be replaced.

Then Walters can look O’Shea in the eye and tell him what changes can actually be accomplished.

The fixes aren’t easy. O’Shea’s reality is he is coaching a flawed team. What can he get out of them? That’s what this season will turn on.

Maybe next year we’ll get to see how O’Shea handles a thoroughbred.

But this is all about North Bay’s favourite Irish getting a nag over the finish line.

Roll up your programs and start banging your thighs, Winnipeg.

The stretch is here and your football team is flagging. Let’s see if the new rider can whisper or whip the magic message.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless