Elliott figures ‘I played all right’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2012 (5091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As you’ve probably deduced by now, quarterback Joey Elliott is a confident man.

He’s been that way since he arrived to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2010, carrying a certain cocksureness with him both on and off the field. It’s not that he’s cocky or arrogant, per se, he’s just sure of what he’s doing and saying most of the time.

Knowing what we know about his demeanor, should anyone be surprised to hear his evaluation of his own play in last Sunday’s 52-0 drubbing at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders?

“I played all right,” he said after practice Thursday.

He was serious, too.

The third-year Purdue product was reminded that he went 9-of-19 for 61 yards and an interception in that blowout loss, failing to move the scant Bombers offence past the Riders 39-yard line that afternoon. Afraid some clarification is needed after that assessment, Mr. Elliott.

“There were a few plays I could have taken back myself,” he said. “I had a few mistakes. Nineteen pass plays, we had a few drops, a few missed assignments, a few missed reads — overall that’s going to turn into a bad performance. Going back and looking at the film, when you don’t look at the scoreboard, offensively we didn’t play as bad as we thought we did on the field.”

Winnipeg put up 102 yards net offence and only managed 10 first downs. At no point was a drive sustained long enough to give the Bombers defence a break. Forget about the scoreboard — those numbers aren’t great, either — which is why interim head coach Tim Burke has told his players to flush Sunday’s result and turn the page.

“I want them to get off of that. I want them to be positive about themselves and I want them to believe in themselves,” Burke said. “Certainly a win would help take care of that. We have to shake off what last week was and believe that was an aberration — that it’s not who we really are.”

The Banjo Bowl is an important game for not only the offence, but for Elliott in particular. With Buck Pierce inching closer to coming back from his left-foot injury (he practised Thursday), the window of opportunity for the 26-year-old is closing. Elliott watched his numbers drop since throwing for 400-plus yards against Hamilton three games ago, and is 77-of-122 for 916 yards with two TDs and three INTs this year.

Forget about inching the Bombers closer to respectability — this is a big game for him.

“I would think so, yeah,” said Burke, who felt his quarterback rushed his throws and didn’t take enough time to finish his reads against the Riders. “We need Joey to play well for us to win and so… you’re only going to be as good as your quarterback. I don’t mean to put the whole thing on a quarterback, but obviously the quarterback is the most important position on a football team and you can’t win a lot of games if your quarterback is not performing. We need him to play well.”

Burke was then informed by a reporter that Elliott thought he played all right, information that put a wry grin on the veteran coach’s face. “I might disagree with him,” he said.

One thing everyone can agree on is the Bombers need to come up with a better game plan for the Riders defence. Winnipeg sputtered out of the gate (again) and couldn’t find a rhythm with or against the wind. The run game wasn’t working (Chad Simpson rushed eight times for 34 yards) and at no point did they stretch the field (the longest pass play was 16 yards).

Sunday was offensive co-ordinator Gary Crowton’s first solo CFL game plan (former head coach Paul LaPolice helped in the week leading up to games before his dismissal). To put it mildly, things didn’t go all right.

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

ERRING IT OUT

After nine games, the Bombers offence is at or near the bottom of most CFL categories. That’s not news, given the injuries at quarterback and the resulting 2-7 record. Winnipeg sits seventh or eighth in most passing categories, ranking dead last in completion percentage (57), average gain per pass (7.1 yards) and touchdown receptions (8).

Here’s a list of the average passing per game rankings and the total points scored (plus the club’s overall QB ranking) this season:

1. Montreal: 331.1 yards; 263 points scored (107.2)

2. Toronto: 299.9 yards; 210 points scored (93.5)

3. Hamilton: 297.1 yards; 266 points scored (105.3)

4. Saskatchewan: 270.7 yards; 242 points scored (92.4)

5. B.C.: 265.3 yards; 227 points scored (95.4)

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6. Calgary: 264.0 yards; 248 points scored (96.3)

7. Winnipeg: 257.9 yards; 176 points scored (73.2)

8. Edmonton: 247.4 yards; 220 points scored (82.4)

Source: CFL.ca