3 Keys to Victory

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2010 (5873 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

1. PROTECT THINE HOME TURF

Winnipeg is just 5-5 in its last 10 games at home dating back to last season — 2-1 this season — hardly establishing Canad Inns Stadium as a nightmarish place to play for the opposition. Not too long ago the gents on the TSN panel, Matt Dunigan and Chris Schultz, were asked which stadium they most hated playing in back in the day. Both picked Winnipeg essentially for the same reason: whatever the outcome, they left River City in the late ’80s and early ’90s bloodied and bruised after what was almost always a vicious street fight. The Bombers must establish that again if they are going to make that step back into the CFL’s high-rent district.

"We’re going to war. It’s a big game for the tie (season series), for the points," said Bomber defensive end Odell Willis. "But we just want to come out and show our fans that this is the Bomber team y’all been wanting to see. We’re going to come out and drop bombs everywhere. We’re just gelling together. I feel like we’re close. Each game we’re close, we’re one play away. I see progress. I just ask everybody to hang on with us because we’re going to be special."

2. CAN GLENN, BRUCE III AND STALA BE STOPPED?

It’s never as simple as saying three Ticat players have killed the Bombers this season. After all, it’s a team game, it takes all 12 players to make a play work and… blah de blah, blah. Forget all that. Kevin Glenn, the former Bomber QB, has completed 68.8 per cent of his passes in the last two wins over Winnipeg, throwing for six TDs against just one interception. Arland Bruce III, another ex-Bomber, chewed up the defence with 11 receptions last week for 197 yards and a TD while Dave Stala continues to make catches in crucial moments that keep the Ticats on the field. Take those three out of the contest — as the Bombers did in their home opener by sacking Glenn six times — and Winnipeg’s chances for a ‘W’ increase tenfold. Let them do their thing again and it’ll be Misery City all over again.

So, how do the Bombers disrupt Glenn & Co?

"It’s a combination of a lot of things," said head coach Paul LaPolice. "When you get pressure on the quarterback that helps the cause, but Kevin’s a tough one to pressure. If you try to blitz Kevin all the time he’s going to get the ball out of his hands because he’s got a quick release. It’s a mixture of pass rush, coverage and keeping them off balance. That’s the challenge you have to fight through. And then sometimes you’re going to be in a man-to-man situation and you have to step up and win those battles."

3. A NEW WRINKLE HERE, A NEW LOOK THERE

If you think it’s dumb — silly, ridiculous, asinine, stupid also apply — that the Bombers and Ticats would face each other four times in the first seven weeks, trying walking in a coach’s shoes for this stretch. Putting together a game plan for an opponent isn’t easy when they’ve thoroughly studied your strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. But it’s not impossible, either.

"Part of that chess match is they kinda know what we’re going to do and we’ve got to make sure we execute better than them," LaPolice said. "The other part of that is we usually carry a lot of offence that isn’t called from week to week. Over the course of our wrist-banded game plan last week there were 20 plays that weren’t called. So, those things can be brought back because we believed in those."

And if they work, even better.