Battered Blue aren’t ready to panic — yet

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2011 (5442 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have taken a step back. Those fitted in Blue and Gold merchandise might want to do the same.

In case you haven’t noticed, there are more than a few souls out on the ledge now that the club is riding a two-game losing streak heading into a very tricky part of the 2011 CFL season. Starting with Sunday’s visit to Molson Stadium, three of the next six games are against the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes, a schedule that has some searching for a tall building.

Some, not everyone.

“There’s no panic button,” Bombers offensive lineman Glenn January said as the sun set on Sunday’s 45-23 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “No one in here is freaking out or anything like that. We know who we are.”

That’s where the unrest starts: Those outside the room aren’t exactly sure who these Bombers are or where they’re headed. The Week 7 team was a different shade of Blue and Gold than the Week 11 club, and with a season-ending knee injury to middle linebacker Joe Lobendahn and a return to the always-popular Buck Pierce injury watch (he’s day-to-day with bruised ribs), people are starting to get a little anxious.

The message boards and call-in shows don’t lie.

Why is the running game struggling to get on track — is it Fred Reid or is it the offensive line? Why have there been 10 turnovers on offence in the last two contests? Why can’t the club put a decent kick return together? Why did the head coach stick with a visibly injured and completely out-of-sync starting quarterback for so long?

It’s the strange by-product of winning. Expectations have been run up so high following the summer months that this mid-season slump — a downturn clubs all over the country have experienced this season — is met with shock and disbelief. Yes, two embarrassing losses to the hated Riders by a combined score of 72-30 factors into the worry from a fanbase worn out from 20 years of lost expectations, but that’s the Bomber existence in these parts.

Inject those same fans — heck, poke a needle in the coaches and players, too — with some truth serum before the season, and they would glow under the seemingly impossible thought of holding down first place in the East Division, seven wins and 10 straight starts from a quarterback with a lengthy injury history at this point.

Sounds pretty good, right?

It was. Three weeks ago, the Bombers were champing at the bit and figuratively thumping their chests for a game with the Alouettes to see how they measure up against one of the top clubs in the CFL.

Coming off two concerning losses to the left-for-dead Riders, Winnipeg is suddenly out on the ledge, dealing with injuries and the fact they can no longer surprise opponents with their speed and aggressiveness.

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Answers have been replaced by questions and while the Bombers say there’s no full-blown panic, not with a 7-3 cushion to soften any immediate falls in various power rankings, the perception of the Bombers’ invincibility has certainly evolved. Urgency has suddenly entered the equation this week.

“If anyone has the idea that we’re going to Montreal to get a ‘gimmie’ win, we have another thing coming,” Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown said. “We have to work even harder and really get back to the kind of fundamental focus that we were doing earlier in the year.”

The Bombers return to the practice field this morning.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca