Bombers’ prowess on the field matters more than record

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/10/2018 (2521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are times when teams are better than their record indicates. Other times, a team’s record is superior to what they really are. Look no further than the Blue Bombers’ blowout victory on Saturday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders for evidence of both.

As should be apparent after that 31-0 debacle, the Riders are a straw house whose foundation is built on unsustainable football, and the big bad wolf just blew down their front door. Sure, they have an excellent defence and special teams, but their offence is substandard and it’s the reason they are not as good as their record suggests.

These days, the Zach Collaros experiment appears to be petering out. While his win/loss record is impressive, his skillset is not what it used to be. While it appears he is still processing at a high level, and knows where to go with the football and when, he looks frail in the pocket and doesn’t appear to have the arm strength, velocity, or confidence to make all of the throws required of a tier one pivot.

The running backs in Saskatchewan are good, but their offensive line is average and their receivers scare no one. Outside of the B.C. Lions, they are the only winning team that has given up more points than they’ve scored. They rely on contributions and scores from their special teams and big plays from the defence, because they cannot effectively sustain drives and produce offence with any regularity.

As the Bombers demonstrated on Saturday afternoon, if you play mistake-free football and don’t turn over the ball or allow big plays from their special teams, they aren’t capable of marching the field on you. Put them on a long field, and sooner or later, they will be punting, or turn it over. Largely, they have accomplished that 10-6 record because of the exemplary play of their defence and those special teams. But even the best of defences cannot be counted on, week in and week out, to sustain and augment your offensive production.

The Bombers were patient, and played high percentage football, and the field position game against the Riders. They took their shots when they were available, but they didn’t force things downfield. When it wasn’t available, Nichols took a sack or threw the ball away, and took three points or flipped the field on the Riders. As long as you don’t give up short fields and scoring turnovers to their defence, they simply don’t have the offensive acumen to consistently move the football.

At the other end of the record spectrum, the Bombers are much more dangerous than their upstart 9-7 win/loss totals suggest, and are currently the hottest team in the CFL, as demonstrated by their four-game winning streak. This time of the year, it is all about how you are playing right now; all your record does is provide you with the opportunity.

And right now, the Bombers are playing their best football. After a tune-up and confidence game against the Alouettes, this team has now beaten Edmonton, Ottawa and Saskatchewan. In two of these games, the defence surrendered an average of 1.5 points. Offensively, no one in the CFL has scored more points.

The Bombers have seven losses under their belt, because they went through a four-game stretch where they didn’t play their style or brand of football. Once their quarterback got his mojo back, and they got dialled in, they have been on a virtual tear, almost exceeding the high expectations put on them by many at the start of the year.

When they met the Riders for the third time, they were up against an opponent that still probably has second place in the West all but wrapped up. But when you looked at the matchup — outside of the turnover bonanza of the first two games — you knew something had to give. Yes, the Riders have a very good defence and special teams unit, but so do the Bombers, so these phases should balance out. And when it comes to comparing offences — well, there really is no comparison.

Yes, the Bombers may only have the third-best record right now in the CFL, and only one more win than three other teams. But don’t be fooled by how bunched up they are in the standings. They are currently playing better football than anyone else in the CFL, and at this time of the year, that’s a very promising sign.

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

Twitter: @DougBrown97