Blue Bombers’ hearsay

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This article was published 27/07/2013 (4432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BLUE BOMBERS PIERRE-LUC LABBE ON THE FOURTH LOSS IN A SEASON JUST FIVE GAMES OLD:

“I’ve been around for some tough starts to seasons in Winnipeg and we always say the season is long and there are lots of games left, but very soon the hole becomes too much to get out of. What are we, 1 and 4? It’s bad when it gets to the point where it’s hard to keep track of the number of defeats.”

LABBE ON THE TEAM’S FUTURE:

“If this keeps up, people will lose their jobs. It’s professional football. We’re not paid to play. We’re paid to win.”

LABBE ON THE LOCKER-ROOM ATMOSPHERE:

“It’s bad in here. Guys are angry with themselves and how we are playing. It’s only going to get uglier if we can’t find a way to get some wins. No one is happy.”

RECEIVER JADE ETIENNE, WHO HAULED IN HIS FIRST TWO CAREER TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN A LOSING EFFORT:

“It’s great to get the monkey off my shoulder. I came this close three times already and it was nice to get that off my back. But it sucks to lose. Again, we’ve got to do something to improve.”

RUNNING BACK CHAD SIMPSON ON HOW IT WAS THE BOMBERS OFFENCE WAS ABLE TO SO EFFECTIVELY MOVE THE BALL FOR FIVE MINUTES IN THE FIRST HALF, BUT NEVER AGAIN:

“I’m not sure. I’m sorry, I can’t give you much right now. I’m just not sure… There were definitely some positives on offence. But again, you don’t play just for positives and potential. You play to win and we didn’t win.”

BLUE BOMBERS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN STEVE MORLEY ON HOLDING LEADS:

“We were winning that game and then we just let them blow by us. We have to play better with a lead and keep playing the entire game. They were just better than us as the game went on.”

BOMBERS QUARTERBACK JUSTIN GOLTZ ON WHETHER HE’LL START NEXT WEEK AT B.C.:

“That’s not my decision but I wish I had done more to make it a clear-cut decision.”

GOLTZ ON HOW HE FELT :

“I felt good. I felt comfortable. I felt well-prepared. They didn’t do a lot that we didn’t see in film but it was a big momentum shift when you have a few two-and-outs and they’re on the field for a long time.”

BLUE BOMBERS DEFENSIVE BACK JOVON JOHNSON ON WHAT WENT WRONG:

“We talked about this in our meeting. We need to communicate better and we can’t have busted coverages. The result is big plays for them. And that’s what happened.”

OFFENSIVE TACKLE GLENN JANUARY SAYS ALL THE LOSING IS GETTING VERY OLD:

“It is. Especially when you get a taste of how good this team can be and you go out there and you put together a couple of really solid drives against a quality opponent. But we’ve got a few days off and I think we all need to take some time away, look at ourselves and come back next week ready for work.”

BOMBERS HEAD COACH TIM BURKE ON WHETHER BUCK PIERCE OR JUSTIN GOLTZ WILL START THE NEXT GAME:

“I’m not going to get into that at this time. Right now, if Buck’s still hurt, Justin will be in.”

BURKE ON WHAT WENT WRONG WITH HIS DEFENCE:

“Let’s see — we couldn’t tackle and we couldn’t cover and we couldn’t sack the quarterback.”

BURKE ON WHY HE GAMBLED ON THIRD AND TWO WHEN HIS TEAM WAS DOWN 10 POINTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER (THE GAMBLE FAILED):

“Sorry, I just don’t remember the situation. Remember, it’s a game when you’re in the pressbox, it’s a war when you’re on the sideline.”

BOMBERS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ZACH ANDERSON ON THE MOOD IN A LOCKER-ROOM IN THE DEPTHS OF A MOUNTING LOSING STREAK:

“It’s tough losing three in a row. You put all that work in during the week and to come out with a loss, it’s tough. I wouldn’t say humbling, but it’s definitely disappointing.”

BURKE ON WHETHER HIS TEAM WILL BE AIRLIFTING SOME NEW TALENT INTO THE CITY BEFORE THEIR NEXT GAME AUG. 5 VERSUS THE B.C. LIONS:

“It’s hard to airlift guys in at this time of year. Everyone’s in NFL camps at this point so you’re just waiting for people there to get cut before you can bring anybody in.”

BURKE REACTING TO A REPORTER’S SUGGESTION THAT SOME BOMBERS PLAYERS WERE SAYING FRIDAY NIGHT THAT SOME OF THE TACKLING WOES WERE DUE TO A SIZE ADVANTAGE CALGARY ENJOYED:

“You know what, if that’s the case, that’s not a good excuse, I will put it that way. You’re on the football field, you’re one of the 12, your job is to tackle them. If you can’t, because they’re bigger than you, then you’ve got to go.”

— compiled by Gary Lawless, Paul Wiecek