Game balls

By: Gary Lawless Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Sunday, Sep. 28, 2014

OFFENCE

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/09/2014 (4083 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OFFENCE

Drew Willy went 27-of-41 for 303 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Playing with a banged-up shoulder, he was still Winnipeg’s best player. He gave them a chance to win, with the ball on the three-yard line and a fresh set of downs with 27 seconds left on the clock.

DEFENCE

The whole crew. Nobody stood out, but as a unit they held the Ticats to 16 points and that’s usually good enough for a win. Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros was uncomfortable all night and finished a very ordinary 20-of-46 for 186 yards. The Tiger-Cats were held to 58 yards rushing on the night. Winnipeg’s defence deserved a better fate.

SPECIAL TEAMS

No game ball here. No chance. A blocked punt and a roughing the kicker penalty late in the fourth quarter made for a special teams disaster. Troy Stoudermire did return a kick 51 yards to give the Bombers good field position on a second-half possession, but that was it for this unit. Special teams need to be a strength for this team, not a drain.

CRITICAL NUMBERS

20: That’s the number of seconds teams have to get a play started, but the Bombers couldn’t make this happen in a second-and-three situation from the three-yard line with less than a minute to play. Loss of down and eventually, loss of game.

42: Winnipeg’s leading rusher, Nic Grigsby, had 42 yards on the ground. Not enough.

5: The Bombers’ offensive line allowed quarterback Drew Willy to be sacked five times and belted several other times. With a banged-up shoulder, Willy needed better protection.

4: That’s four losses in a row for the Bombers. They now sit at 6-7, last in the West Division.

LONG-SNAP WOES

The Bombers have had a number of poor snaps on punts and field-goal attempts this season and it’s cost them points and field position. In the first quarter of Saturday’s game, Carl Fitzgerald’s snap to Lirim Hajrullahu was off and the result was a blocked punt. The Ticats took over on the Winnipeg 32-yard line and scored a touchdown two players later. Bombers GM Kyle Walters was in on the bidding for slotback/long snapper Chad Rempel last week after he was released by the Chicago Bears, but lost out when Rempel elected to join the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

FAN-O-METER

The 5:30 p.m. start resulted in a late-arriving crowd, which was officially announced as 28,534. The 20,000 or so who were in their seats for the opening kickoff gave Drew Willy a nice reception, but this was a moment that needed a full stadium throbbing in anticipation of the game’s start. Willy was the focus of fans and media all week as he worked to get in the lineup. Unfortunately, the reality failed to live up to the drama.

— Lawless