Salvage operation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/09/2010 (5545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They know it, you know it, everyone in the Canadian Football League knows it: There will be no re-serve or reset button on the first eight games of the 2010 season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

And so as much as they wish they could do a control-alt-delete on their four-game losing streak and 2-6 record, it’s right there in the black and white at the bottom of the East Division standings.

That said, if the purpose of a bye week is to allow a squad to recharge both mentally and physically — think of it as a mid-season get-away-from-it-all vacation — then the evidence was there in full Tuesday when the Bombers returned to work after a 10-day absence in what could best be described as a an upbeat first-day-of-training-camp-type feel.

Quarterback Buck Pierce was throwing well, although not necessarily really pushing his wonky knee; two new recruits were in town in offensive tackle Marlon Winn and defensive lineman Jeremy Maddox; safety Ian Logan was back at his post in the middle of the secondary with promising newcomer Marcellus Bowman returning to work at linebacker, while veteran guard Brendon LaBatte was taking turns at left tackle.

Most of all, as the cynics and doubters are ready to write off 2010, there remains a collective resolve to try and salvage something from this season.

"The mood’s still good," said running back Fred Reid after a spirited workout at windswept Canad Inns Stadium. "We feel like we have a good chance to make the playoffs. Our record’s not what we want at all, but we’re getting better in a lot of areas. It’s going to come together.

"We’re going to make a decent run. I feel that all the pieces are in place but we’ve just been killing ourselves. Once we stop doing that we can start pulling some wins out."

Here’s the reality, however: Of the Bombers 10 remaining games, seven come against teams currently with winning records, beginning with the upcoming Labour Day Classic-Banjo Bowl doubleheader with the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the next two weekends. As well, the Bombers have already dropped the season series against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-4), and trail the Toronto Argonauts (5-3) by six points.

The schedule silver lining? The Bombers have two games remaining with the B.C. Lions and one with the Edmonton Eskimos — two clubs they’d have to finish ahead of to qualify for the post-season as a crossover.

"Not to dwell on last year, but when I talked to friends on other teams last year the comments were always about what we were running and all the off-the-field stuff that was happening," began slotback Terrence Edwards. "This year after games we hear, ‘Man, y’all are right there. Y’all are not a 2-6 team.’

"Yeah, we’ve put ourselves in this predicament, but unlike last year we’re hearing that one or two plays here and there and we could be 6-2. The mood in the locker-room is upbeat. No guys in there are thinking, ‘Man, we’re not going to win this game.’ Everybody goes into a game confident we can win. Everybody in there is confident we can win the next two. It’s a positive vibe."

That was hammered home in a team meeting earlier this week in which Edwards addressed the team.

But its crunch time now and the doing takes more heavy lifting than the talking.

"I don’t think you can come back from a break and say, ‘Hey, things are going to be great guys’ and they’re going to believe you," said head coach Paul LaPolice. "In our meetings the other day Terrence spoke out and said some things about how much they believe, how close they are and how mad they are because they’ve lost some games they really feel they could have won.

"I just said, ‘Keep playing guys. There’s 20 more (potential) points left in the year. Just keep playing, take it week to week and then we’ll figure it out at the end of the year.’"

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Today’s Bomber report C3