Death by execution

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2010 (5531 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — The execution killed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

How else does one describe what happened in the 17-13 loss to the Toronto Argonauts at Rogers Centre Sunday afternoon? With the defence pitching a shutout through the first 30 minutes, Winnipeg’s offence managed to put only six points on the board — a showing that allowed the equally inept Argos a chance to hang around and eventually find a break or two.

“At times we were getting first downs, but then you get a penalty… when you’re in second-and-extra (long yardage) that’s hard to convert,” Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice said after the second lowest point total this season (the Bombers scored only seven against Hamilton in July).

“We had a bunch of those. When you don’t execute very well… I know we had a lot of big plays, and we had a lot of yards of offence, but consistently executing wasn’t at the level we expect.”

While the Bombers (3-8) did manage 351 yards of net offence and running back Fred Reid hit the century mark (he finished with 100 yards), the attack never found a groove.

Well-constructed drives were ultimately done in by the Bombers themselves — hiccups coming in the form of dropped passes, disappointing penalties, and questionable calls from the sideline.

“We had three drops that were first downs,” said LaPolice, commenting on the two brutal drops by wideout Adarius Bowman and one off the hands of slotback Terrence Edwards. “You can’t do that in two-down football; it’s too hard to get guys open to begin with. And then when you do and the quarterback reads it, you have to finish.”

Quarterback Steven Jyles, who finished his day with 219 yards passing and another 44 on the ground, said the offence let the defence down, but didn’t want to pile on his receiving corps.

All you can say is ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll get the next one,'” he said. “They’re professionals and they understand what their job is. You don’t need another guy coming down on you when you didn’t make a play. It’s just like a guy running wide open and I miss the throw; I don’t need you telling me that. I know I missed the throw and I need to make a better throw next time. I’ll never come down on my receivers.”

Make no mistake: The Argos defence deserves full marks for holding Winnipeg to a handful of points, but penalties (9-for-80 yards) also hurt the Bombers at critical junctures and often put the club in second-and-long situations.

“We didn’t make plays offensively,” Jyles said.

And then there was the call from LaPolice at the end of the game.

Down by four and inside the Argos’ 30 with just over two minutes to play, the Bombers gambled away their third-and-two chance on fullback Andre Sadeghian.

His only carry resulted in no gain, leaving the Bombers out of downs and prompting many to question why the ball didn’t go to tailback Fred Reid — especially when he picked up the necessary yardage on a previous short-yardage situation earlier in the drive.

LaPolice suggested the call may not have worked even with Reid carrying the mail, as the Argos (6-5) controlled the line of scrimmage at that moment.

“They beat us on the inside move,” LaPolice said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Thirteen points. One gets the sense the Bombers feel they beat themselves, too.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca