Taitthedorunrun

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/10/2008 (6562 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THEY are rather large men, the big dudes who make up the Winnipeg Blue Bomber offensive line. And when they stick out their considerable chests and strut — as they did, and rightfully so, Friday night — it’s virtually impossible not to notice.

Bomber running backs Fred Reid and Joe Smith may have received a lot of the love following the critical 25-16 victory over the Toronto Argonauts that keeps the Bomb Squad in second spot in the East Division, but it was the big eaters up front who did all the dirty work. As Smith himself so perfectly put it post-game, the holes the O-line opened up for the two Bomber ball carries to skedaddle through were so big his grandparents could have waltzed through unimpeded.

And over in one corner of the Bomber locker-room, the spot where the O-line resides, the pride in their handiwork was obvious.

“I don’t ever remember that happening to me, having two running backs going over 100 in the same game,” began right tackle Alexandre Gauthier. “Normally most of the teams have one running back they use 90 per cent of the time. But we’ve got two great weapons who are running differently and that can put a defence on its heels.

“It’s great when it’s important, when you can do that when it really counts. And near the end of the game we got into the huddle and we said, ‘Hey, we need to stay on the field. We don’t want the defence to have to come back on the field.’ We ran the ball and we just ran the same plays we had been running the whole game. (The Argos) were ready for it, they were trying to stop it but we were winning our one-on-one battles.

“That last drive was amazing. We were hitting them, bang-bang-bang, and then we end up with a score (Smith’s eight-yard run around the right side)… that for sure made us feel good.”

That last drive and the Bombers ability to grind the ball along the ground may not only provide more hope that 2008 is salvageable — this bunch has now won four of its last five games — but actually thinking about a bigger picture than just a playoff berth. And if the O-line can play a role in this club getting some of its mojo back, they’ll be more than eager to lead the charge.

“We need to get some respect back from the rest of the league,” said Gauthier. “I still think we’ve got a really good team even though we’ve struggled at times this year. Now we need to put it all together… we’ve done it here and there, now we need to be more consistent. We have the attitude that we want to win our last three games so that we can become the team that everybody is scared of getting in the playoffs.”

Now, not only is it rare for the Bombers to have two running backs both go over 100 yards in the same game (Reid had 107 yards while Smith rumbled for 101), it’s not that often the squad finishes with 200 yards (222 vs. Toronto) along the ground in a single contest. The Bombers have had over 200 yards rushing only 12 times in the last 15 seasons, the last coming a year ago in a win over Calgary.

Not coincidentally, Winnipeg is 10-2 in those games.

“Look, when you’re pass protecting it’s not something that an O-line likes,” Gauthier admits. “But when you run the ball, you’re the hammer and you can pound and actually be the aggressor. That’s what we practice for, that’s what we’re playing for is running the ball.

“And a game like that, that’s the best.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

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