Blue ‘D’ won’t let Cats pile up points, they say

By: Adam Wazny Posted: 1:00 AM CST Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011

FIFTY-two points will not happen today, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers insist.

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FIFTY-two points will not happen today, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers insist.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2011 (5422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FIFTY-two points will not happen today, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers insist.

Members of the Bombers defence feel the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — who outscored the potent Montreal offence to the tune of 52-44 in the East semifinal last weekend — will not be able to duplicate that kind of production in today’s East Final at Canad Inns Stadium (noon, TSN, CJOB).

Defensive back Jovon Johnson, the division’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee, wasn’t too impressed with how the Hamilton offence looked. That, or he doesn’t give Montreal’s defence much consideration.

wayne glowacki / winnipeg free press archives
Kito a no go: Poblah will not be activated for today�s game, coach Paul LaPolice says. — wayne glowacki / winnipeg free press archives Kito a no go: Poblah will not be activated for today�s game, coach Paul LaPolice says.

His feeling on the subject lies somewhere in the middle.

“For me, it looked like a Madden football (video) game, to be honest,” he told reporters Saturday. “They’re an explosive group, they have playmakers all over the field, but we expect better from ourselves.”

Betting on the Tiger-Cats equalling (or even approaching) that point total in the East Final is a bad gamble. Winnipeg’s defence has been a top unit in the CFL all season, holding offences to just over 300-yards per game and averaging just 24 points against in the regular season. The cold will certainly slow the offence down, as well.

That said, a few Bombers were impressed with how the Tiger-Cats showed some backbone and mental toughness. Montreal certainly wasn’t the same club they were in 2009 or 2010, but not many opponents were able to keep up with Alouettes offence this season.

Winnipeg managed to measure up all year. Hamilton did the same last week.

“They went blow for blow with the defending champs — you have to give them credit for that,” veteran receiver Terrence Edwards said. “You can’t overlook that. When Montreal came back and kept coming back, a lot of people probably thought, ‘OK, here goes Montreal,’ but they (Hamilton) didn’t go down.”

Head coach Paul LaPolice put things in simple terms when discussing the Ticats potential for offence: “We have to make sure we can limit their big plays. That’s a hard thing to do.”

Winnipeg won the season series over Hamilton 3-0, outscoring the Tabbies 87-60 in the three games.

NO POBLAH: The Bombers chose to not make a change in the receiver corps, electing to not activate rookie non-import Kito Poblah for the game.

LaPolice said Poblah wasn’t quite ready mentally to return, believing he had not fully grasped the offensive playbook since returning from a shoulder injury a couple of weeks ago.

Rookie Jade Etienne, who gives Winnipeg a little more versatility special teams-wise, remains on the roster.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca