Hamilton, Ottawa games must-win for desperate Bombers

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This article was published 09/09/2014 (4378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SO where do the 6-5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers go from here?

Well, the simplest answer is they go to Vancouver, where they will face the 6-4 Lions on Saturday in what will be — in all likelihood– a battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division.

But what about the bigger picture? Well, let’s handicap the final seven games of the Bombers’ regular-season schedule:

SEPT. 13 @ B.C. LIONS — The Lions will almost certainly be once again led by backup QB Kevin Glenn after starter Travis Lulay reinjured his shoulder last Friday in his first start after a year-long rehabilitation. The last time the Bombers faced Glenn and the Lions at BC Place was July 25 and they humbled the Leos, winning 23-6.

BYE.

SEPT. 27 VS. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS — The 2-7 Ticats found yet another way to lose on the weekend, blowing a 21-7 third-quarter lead to fall 38-31 to the lowly Montreal Alouettes. The Bombers will need to bank this one as a win if they’re going to make a playoff push.

OCT. 3 @ OTTAWA REDBLACKS — The Redblacks are so hopeless, they held B.C. to just seven points last Friday night and still lost to fall to 1-9. Like the game against Hamilton, the Bombers will absolutely, positively need to bank this one as a win before the heavy lifting in the West Division begins in earnest.

OCT. 13 @ EDMONTON ESKIMOS — The Eskimos destroyed the Bombers 26-3 at Investors Group Field in Week 4 and the Bombers are winless in their last seven games at Commonwealth Stadium.

OCT. 18 VS. CALGARY STAMPEDERS — The Stamps are 9-1 and in cruise control. Where they’ll be in the standings five weeks from now remains to be seen, but this fact won’t change before then: Calgary has beaten the Bombers nine straight times.

OCT. 25 VS. B.C. LIONS — See above.

NOV. 1 @ CALGARY STAMPEDERS — See above — plus this: The Bombers haven’t won in Calgary since October 2002.

BYE.

— TSN reporter Sara Orlesky tweeted Monday Bombers defensive end Jason Vega sustained an MCL injury in Sunday’s game.

A Bombers spokesman confirmed Vega did sustain a knee injury, but said the extent of the injury was still being determined.

— If it seemed the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Bombers didn’t like each other in Sunday’s Banjo Bowl, well, that’s because they didn’t.

Bombers offensive tackle Glenn January said the eight major penalties and two ejections the two teams racked up during the game were symptomatic of a general dislike between the two teams. “A lot of emotion,” January said in the Bombers locker-room at Investors Group Field after the 30-24 loss.

“I think there’s a lot of distaste for that team in this locker-room. A lot of guys have played for that team, a lot of guys have watched them play and watched their style of play and, you know, don’t appreciate it.

“But if you can’t beat them, you can’t stop them. So I guess that will continue until somebody shuts them up.”

— A safety on a botched long snap, a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a punt returned for a touchdown made for a nightmarish day Sunday for the Bombers special teams unit.

It will get better, promises the team’s special teams captain. “Very frustrating,” said Michel-Pierre Pontbriand. “We’ve got to fix our things, for sure. We’ll look at the tape, come back into the meeting room and then work harder. For sure we’ve got to be more disciplined in our cover lanes, in the return game… we’ve got to fix everything right now.”

— Bombers cornerback Chris Randle says the responsibility to get the team back on track after a skid that’s seen them lose four of their last five games rests with the team’s locker-room leadership.

“This adversity we haven’t faced before. We’re a new team. But the leadership on this team — the (Greg) Peachs, the (Drew) Willys, the (Nic) Grigsbys — we’ve got to bring us together… The leaders need to bring us all together and believe in it. Believe in the system the coach is talking about… and trust in each other.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek