New beast roams East

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This article was published 25/10/2009 (5819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They have more personalities than Sybil and can be tougher to read than Dostoyevsky.

Yes, one week the Winnipeg Blue Bombers can look like they would be life-and-death just to win an intra-squad game. Then along comes a performance like Saturday’s — a dominating 41-24 win over the Montreal Alouettes in front of just 21,378 at Canad Inns Stadium — when they take the best outfit in the entire Canadian Football League across their knee and administer a spanking so severe it HAD to open some eyes across the ol’ loop.

"To me, this was a good win for our morale and for our city," said linebacker Ike Charlton, who was just one of several Bombers who were sensational. "A lot of people didn’t give us a chance, but this showed that with our resilience and desire we can still get things done.

"A game like that just tells you that if we could ever put all this together at once, woooooo, the sky’s the limit for us. Sky’s the limit."

Given where this crew was just five weeks ago — 3-8 and flat-lining fast — the Bombers’ recovery is remarkable. Not only are they now tied for second place in the East Division with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 7-9, they have won four of their last five and, if not for a gruesome implosion in last week’s loss to the B.C. Lions, would be arguably the hottest band in the land.

Interestingly, with both the Bombers and Ticats winning this weekend and the Edmonton Eskimos falling to 7-9, a crossover from a West team doesn’t appear to be the slam dunk it was a few weeks ago. It also means that regardless of what happens next weekend, the regular-season finale between the Bombers and Ticats here on Nov. 8 will be for second spot in the East.

The Als, meanwhile, had a six-game win streak snapped and lost to an East opponent for the first time this season. Montreal was without all-everything QB Anthony Calvillo, who dressed but opted to hand over the offensive controls to Adrian McPherson to rest his wonky calf muscle.

"Not having AC out there is a big weapon sitting on their bench," said Doug Brown. "They’re keeping their 50-calibre nice and shiny and oiling it up for the playoffs. He’s a phenomenal player. But we showed we can compete with the rest of their starters out there.

"Today we really complemented each other out there… offence, defence and special teams. When we gave up a touchdown on defence, the offence went out there and drove the ball. When we got some stops defensively they were able to move the sticks. That shows we’re coming together at just the right time during the year."

The victory was keyed by many contributors, but here are a few worth highlighting:

"ö Quarterback Michael Bishop was superb, completing 17 of 33 passes for 411 yards with two TDs and one interception. It was the first 400-yard passing effort by a Bomber QB in 29 games, dating back to Ryan Dinwiddie’s 450-yard performance in a win over Calgary last July 24.

"ö Receivers Terrance Edwards (six catches, 156 yards, one TD) and Titus Ryan (4-140-1) were dynamic.

Bishop completed eight passes of 20 yards or more in the first three quarters, including scoring-strikes to Edwards of 57 yards and Ryan for 53 yards.

"ö Bomber rookie defensive ends Phillip Hunt and Odell Willis registered two sacks each while Barrin Simpson led the club with seven tackles and two knockdowns.

"ö The Bomber O-line was solid, not yielding a sack to an Als team that entered the game with the second-most in the league.

"ö Troy Westwood, playing in his first real game since the 2007 Grey Cup, finished with a 38.2-yard average on five punts.

"The guys in this locker-room know how close we are," said head coach Mike Kelly. "Maybe this is part of our maturing process and it’s all finally starting to come to fruition. I know those guys are capable of doing that, so I’m not surprised by any of this."

BLUE NOTES: OL Ryan Donnelly didn’t finish the game as his knee swelled up and was replaced by Luke Fritz. DB Nick Kordic suffered a hamstring strain and will likely be replaced next week by DL Justin Shaw. WR Adarius Bowman was dinged in the first half, but did return to the game.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca