Think tank in session

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/08/2009 (6136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This is what happens when a professional football team can’t find the huddle, let alone the end zone: They make calls to confidantes, lean on old contacts and hold meetings about how the meetings are run.

Ladies and gentlemen we give you the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a squad in big-time self-examination mode after getting spanked 39-12 by the Montreal Alouettes last Saturday night. Desperate to find remedies for an ailing offence that is averaging a league-low 17.9 points per game, the Bombers have spent the last two days tossing around ideas on just about every topic imaginable, including hiring an ‘offensive consultant’ with CFL experience to lightening the workload of head coach Mike Kelly.

Heck, if these guys could summon the spirits of Bill Walsh, Vince Lombardi and Frank Clair you can bet they’d be feverishly working the Ouija board as we speak.

"We’re doing everything we possibly can to understand our players better and put them in positions to be successful," said Kelly. "We have good resources here, we have the right people here. We need to just keep learning about each other and any information we can get from other sources, that’s what we’re trying to do."

Included among those other sources are Mike Jones, the receivers coach with the Toronto Argonauts who worked with Kelly in the XFL, and former Bomber GM and head coach Cal Murphy — the current boss’s mentor. When contacted by The Free Press Monday, Murphy said he preferred to keep his discussions with Kelly private. Interestingly, Bomber assistant Manny Matsakis also called Michael Bishop’s college coach at Kansas State, Bill Snider, and chatted about what makes the quarterback tick.

"In my past we had success trying to keep defences off balance by dropping back, rolling out full sprint or half-roll and having bang-bang-bang routes," said Bishop. "Those are routes that if you can hit it, you hit it, but if it’s not there you know where you want to go right away. I need to get into the flow of a game early then everything else will settle in.

"Right now you look at film and you see that we could have had this, we could have had that. You can come up with a million different things, but at the end of the game it’s just about being ahead on the scoreboard. It’s about the basic things; about just going out there and getting it done.

"I’ve been a fan of the (offensive) scheme. It’s been proven it works. But everybody has to be on the same page on every snap… if one guy’s timing is off, the whole play is off. I’ve seen teams win games with it and so if we can get everybody on the same page, this could be a great deal."

Indeed, as Kelly’s scheme continues to come under fire — it’s been called everything from dated to predictable — the coach said he was willing to adapt to other ideas and would welcome another set of eyes with CFL experience. As well, Monday’s story in The Free Press where president Lyle Bauer spoke of finding ways to help Kelly also opened some eyes in the football operations department.

"I don’t know if that type of person (consultant) is available because I don’t want to bring somebody in here without CFL experience," said Kelly. "But I certainly think that since that (story) came out, it has motivated other people on the staff. Everybody’s chipping in and there’s no doubt in my mind that there isn’t one man down that hallway who doesn’t want to succeed and is willing to take on extra loads if that’s necessary in order for us to get this right.

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"We’ve done some things over the last 48 hours to adapt and adjust and hopefully the fruits of our labours will show at the end of this week."

BLUE NOTES: The Bombers have added receiver/returner Otis Amey to their practice roster and with the injury to Terrence Edwards (turf toe) he could be in the lineup as early as this week in Vancouver. Amey (5-11, 200, Sacramento State) was with B.C. during training camp this year. Originally signed by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2005, Amey played in 11 games that year and last season led the AFL with 50 touchdowns. The Bombers also released RB Lavarus Giles, who was spectacular in the pre-season but lost his job to Yvenson Bernard… S Ian Logan (groin) is doubtful this week and veteran Shawn Gallant worked in his spot Monday.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca