Blue have special needs

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This article was published 04/07/2010 (5636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the few real concerns for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers following Friday’s impressive 49-29 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was special teams.

On the first play of the game, Ticats returner Marcus Thigpen runs an Alexis Serna kickoff back for a 93-yard touchdown, without any Bomber laying a finger on him. Winnipeg eventually climbed out of that early hole, but ground work for worry was laid.

Flash forward to the fourth quarter: Up 31-15, the Bombers elect to try a 49-yard field goal. Serna drags it to the left, and Thigpen — rested from his initial dash — does himself one better, returning this one 118 yards for a touchdown.

Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice put the blame on himself for that special teams breakdown.

"That’s probably a bad decision by myself with a big lead," he said Saturday. "We should have just punted it and put it back there when you have a decent lead and your defence is playing so well. When you kick long field goals and you miss them, you have bigger bodies on the field. It’s sometimes hard for that to work out.

"If I (could) do it over, I would have punted the ball."

LaPolice said the staff will evaluate the three Serna field goal misses in the game. At least two bad snaps disrupted things for the kicker.

One thing LaPolice did like was the work by punter Mike Renaud.

"Our punt team was awesome. I think we out-punted them by 15 yards every punt," LaPolice said.

Renaud averaged 60.4 yards in five punts Friday, compared to Justin Palardy’s 45.1-yard average.

GOOD PHIL HUNTING: Phillip Hunt was only following orders.

That’s how the Bombers defensive end explained his performance against the Ticats. Two quarterback sacks, three defensive tackles and one forced fumble in the waning minutes of the game helped seal the Winnipeg win.

"The city really wanted the win against this team, because they put us out of the playoffs last year," the tenacious Hunt said after the game. "They humiliated us by jumping in the boat and all that."

Also involved in the emotion of Friday were the fans, who gave Hunt a specific assignment from the stands.

"The fans were crazy," he said. "Everyone was screaming, ‘Make sure you hit Kevin Glenn.’ Man, I don’t think Winnipeg likes Kevin Glenn too much."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

Quick hits

— Coach Paul LaPolice had no news on the various injuries Saturday. DB Keyou Craver (knee), DB LaVar Glover (hip), and S Shawn Gallant (knee) all left Friday’s game. LaPolice expects to have a more comprehensive update Monday.

— If the DBs are out for an extended time, look for the club to bring in a body or two this week. By the end of the game, non-import LB Chris Smith was back playing safety, taking over for Ian Logan, who had slid over to fill a defensive back spot.

— Jovon Johnson on Winnipeg’s only interception Friday, a ricochet off Ticats WR Drisan James that landed in the waiting arms of LB Courtney Smith: "Momentum — the big M — is a big thing in this league. Whenever you make a play like that… those are the types of plays that change the momentum. It kills the other team and their confidence. That’s what happened on that play."

— Wazny