Game Balls

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009

OFFENCE

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/10/2009 (5845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OFFENCE

For the second week in a row, quarterback Michael Bishop was steady, efficient and mistake-free for the most part. He did throw an interception in the fourth quarter as he went for a sideline shot to Otis Amey that hit the receiver in the hands before Eskimos DB Jason Goss snatched it away. Bishop had bland numbers at 20-for-34 and 184 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The bottom line is he managed the team to a win and is beginning to pick up confidence as the club’s offensive leader.

DEFENCE

Jovon Johnson was absolutely everywhere in this game, making seven tackles and breaking up a number of passes, including a touchdown attempt late in the third quarter that put an end to an Eskimos drive and virtually silenced the visitors for the night. Lenny Walls was also strong on the night and made a nice interception midway through the fourth quarter as Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray attempted to fire up a comeback. Linebacker Joe Lobendahn had six tackles while DB Jonathan Hefney had seven and an interception as both were strong for the home side.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Johnson gets his second game ball of the night for the play of the season as far as the Bombers are concerned. Johnson caught a missed field goal in his own end zone and raced 118 yards for the touchdown return. Johnson finished with 303 combined return yards for an elite special-teams effort.

CRITICAL NUMBERS: 5-8

After falling to 3-8 and appearing all but dead the Blue Bombers have crawled out of their football grave and showed signs of life as the season hits the stretch run. They travel to Hamilton for a game on Thanksgiving Monday next week and should the Ti-Cats lose to the Stampeders this Saturday, the game could be for second place in the East. Wow.

FAN-O-METER:

The fans spoke in their reluctance to attend this game despite the team’s decision to black out the TV broadcast for local viewers. Only 21,965 were announced at the stadium, the smallest home audience since 1999, when only 21,915 showed up for a 43-16 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Those in attendance were pretty quiet most of the night and this is a trend the front office and the players will want to see end. The club has had two crowds well below maximum capacity in a row and the team’s poor record and coach Mike Kelly’s up and down relationship with the community have to be seen as major contributors to this issue.