‘Momentum is huge’: Bombers seek to tackle slow-start streak

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This article was published 19/07/2017 (3362 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the B.C. Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers last met, it was the Bombers lamenting a dismal finish that cost them the game and from going a step farther in their search for a Grey Cup. With the two teams meeting again Friday night at BC Place, the focus has shifted to a strong start, establishing an effort early that they hope will continue through the final whistle.

“Momentum is such a huge thing in this league — it’s a real thing,” Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols said Wednesday, following the team’s last practice before hoping on a plane to Vancouver. “It seems like when any time you get rolling, you stay rolling… you try to capture that momentum early and that’s what starting fast is — jumping out and getting some early momentum, and that carries you through the rest of the game.”

Finding that early momentum, however, has been a difficult task for the Bombers through their first three games this season. Winnipeg has scored just seven points in the opening quarter, just one more than the Edmonton Eskimos.

With the Bombers currently at 2-1 on the season, their slow starts haven’t proved too costly at this point. But it’s certainly not a recipe for continued success.

“You don’t want to get into a habit of always having to claw out of a deficit,” said Nichols. “There are nine good teams in this league and the more you let people get out in front of you, it’s hard to get back. I think every team’s focus is to start fast and, for us, it’s a main focus of ours.”

The concept of starting fast seems like a simple one: get out there and get the job done. Although there’s certainly some truth to that, the work to ensure it happens doesn’t simply begin once the opening whistle sounds.

At the entrance of the team’s tunnel at Investors Group Field is a slogan — “FROM THE HANDSHAKE!!!” — the Bombers have made their official mantra. It’s a blueprint of sorts and something the team uses to remember football is an everyday thing. It’s written in capital letters, ending with a series of exclamation marks to add extra emphasis to this meaning.

Though it represents a full-game effort in order to achieve success on the field, to triumph that mindset needs to be in place before the game begins.

“It means, ultimately, coming into the game 100 per cent mentally focused and understanding from the handshake, as we always say, we have to be 100 per cent locked in,” said middle linebacker Sam Hurl. “Because if you’re there mentally, completely focused, everything else will follow.”

“Momentum is huge in the sense that it just allows everyone to continue to feed off each other,” said Hurl. “On the defensive side of the ball, when the offence is rolling it’s great for us to be playing off them. And when (the defence) has momentum, when we’re making big plays, it allows for the offence to see that and… that’s how it helps build an energy all around each other, that we’re rolling on all cylinders.”

Where the Bombers have been at their best this season is in the second and third quarters, where they have scored 64 (74 per cent) of their 86 total points. Winnipeg has been most productive in the second quarter, with 36 points. The Bombers have struggled to score points in the final 15 minutes of games, with just nine points thus far.

That trend may be shifting, though, as the Bombers did show in last week’s win over the Toronto Argonauts an ability to finish strong. Nichols and the offence were able to maintain possession of the ball for long drives in the second half, enough to take notable time off the clock, while a rested defence limited the Argonauts to just three points in the final two quarters.

It was in stark contrast to their two previous games, where the Bombers were unable to stall opposition attacks late in games. Even in a 43-40 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the season opener, the Bombers surrendered a two-touchdown lead to the Riders before squeaking out a win in extra time. Against the Calgary Stampeders the following week, they led 10-9 at halftime only to be shutout in the second half in a 29-10 loss.

The Bombers suffered a similar fate against the Lions the last time they met, in the West Division semifinal last season. The Bombers led 25-12 through two quarters but as the chips began to fall in favour of the Lions, the Bombers folded under the pressure — their season ending with a heartbreaking 32-31 defeat.

Winnipeg has had to go through that game film this past week, suffering through an agonizing look into the past for lessons that should bode well in shaping a better future. They hope to turn the tide this year against a B.C. team currently atop the division with a record of 3-1.

“The end of the game you win, whether it’s by a point or not, then you go back and you fix and look at the mistakes that were made and look at the reasons why things happened,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “It’s a lot easier to do when you win, obviously, than when you lose.

“When you play good opponents like this, it’s very hard to play three quarters and win. You need to play every single play.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton joined the Free Press newsroom in 2015, reporting on the sports and investigative beats until he left the Free Press in July 2026.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produced was reviewed by an editing team before it was posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.