Poor start spells trouble

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This article was published 17/11/2011 (5378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The slow starts.

You know all about them, Blue Bomber fans. You’ve anguished over them. Some of you have probably ripped your Winnipeg jersey off and thrown it across the room or down to the stadium steps in frustration (or disgust) over them.

While it’s true the downward spiral this club has embarked on through the last 10 games (3-7 over that span) is overshadowed by the first-place finish and the amenities that come with it, that recent slice of season unveils an interesting trend: In those three wins — important division victories over Montreal and Hamilton — the club enjoyed a halftime lead in all of them.

The losses, though, have shown an inconsistent effort through the first 30 minutes that has cost the club games. A sharp opening drive has stalled into a field goal attempt and settled into an extended malaise from there. In some cases, quick two-and-out ‘drives’ haven’t led to anything more than a light jog from the sidelines to the huddle and back again.

One dropped pass and confidence seems to shake.

Then come the last two outings, where Winnipeg stumbled out of the gate so badly that it looked like they had tied its track spikes to the starting blocks. In Calgary (Nov. 5), they trailed by 24 in the second quarter and against Toronto (Oct. 28), a 24-3 hole in the second was too deep to climb out of.

This poor opening argument can’t continue in the East final, players say.

“We can’t spot teams 10 or 20 points before we get going on offence. That’s not how you win games,” receiver Terrence Edwards said after an indoor practice at the University of Manitoba soccer facility.

“If we can just get a 10-point lead, that could be the advantage we need. Once we get the lead no one is going to take it from us. Those guys (the defence) can bring us home.”

The blueprint available to the Bombers for the Tiger-Cats is solid: Build up some points on the scoreboard and challenge the opponent try to claw back into the game against a defence that has four league all-stars on it in a hostile environment of cold temperatures and a passionate crowd.

“The faster we can get them out of the game the better it will be for us,” receiver Cory Watson said. “Especially in the cold; it’s hard to be mentally focused when it’s cold and you’re losing.”

This works both ways, though, and it doesn’t explain why the Bombers need a wakeup call before games.

Fair or not, when a team goes through a prolonged period of sleepy starts the finger points to the coaching staff. Pre-game speeches in front of the TSN cameras are nice and everything, but are the coaches doing enough to focus the players before kickoff? Some would say, based on September and October, that it doesn’t look like it.

Head coach Paul LaPolice understands that criticism and responds this way: “We have them focused and prepared to play, I believe, but when you don’t execute… that’s the killer. Every time we make plays early in a game, we get fired up and we roll from there.

“I know that’s what people say. There’s an element of truth to that — you can see teams not ready to play — but I don’t think we’ve seen that in two years here. That criticism doesn’t bother me.”

Winnipeg’s slow starts become a bigger concern when you factor in time (bye week) and temperature (cold) surrounding the club these days. When your car sits around for a week and is asked to fire up on a crisp Sunday afternoon, chances are it will be a little sluggish out of the driveway.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @wazoowazny