Bombers completely lost without Willy

When No. 1 QB forced from game, defence, special teams fall apart

Posted: 11:08 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 27, 2015

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy doesn’t play defence and he doesn’t play special teams.

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy doesn’t play defence and he doesn’t play special teams.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2015 (3755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy doesn’t play defence and he doesn’t play special teams.

Yet both times Willy has left a game this season due to injury — in a Week 2 loss to Hamilton and again Saturday in a loss to Edmonton — both the Bombers defence and special-teams units promptly bit the dust as well.

In both cases, Willy’s departure was immediately followed by the special teams giving up huge punt returns that led to touchdowns. And in both cases, the Bombers defence simply capitulated, and what were tight games when Willy went down promptly turned into routs.

CP
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy (5) is taken down by Edmonton Eskimos Odell Willis (41) during first half of Saturday's game in Edmonton. Jason Franson / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES — CP Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy (5) is taken down by Edmonton Eskimos Odell Willis (41) during first half of Saturday's game in Edmonton. Jason Franson / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

So again — if Willy plays neither special teams nor defence, how come his departures due to injury seem to have had such a profoundly negative effect on both units?

“That’s one of the things as a head coach I need to investigate,” Bombers Mike O’Shea said Monday. “And I do. I try and gauge whether or not there’s that whole team letdown when you believe that people will rise to the occasion.

“And what I see… in that punt immediately following (Willy’s injury on Saturday) is there’s a couple guys who are trying to do too much, who are trying to go in and have an immediate impact and they lose focus of what their assignment was.”

O’Shea has said over and again he loves the “character” in this team and yet the team’s response to the adversity posed by Willy’s injuries — presumably a good test of a team’s character — has been limp to say the least.

Still, O’Shea insists you’ll just have to trust him on this “character” thing. “It’s definitely different than last year,” says O’Shea. “It just doesn’t have the same feel. You’ll just have to take my word on it. It just doesn’t feel that way.”

More time off

With a short week between the loss to Edmonton Saturday and hosting the Lions Thursday, O’Shea raised some eyebrows when he elected to give his players Monday off, meaning a team that has lost its last two games — and three of its last four — will only get two full days of practice — today and Wednesday, before facing B.C.

O’Shea said the decision to give the club an extra day off was made in part based on his team’s terrible record after short weeks — the Bombers are on an 0-8 run on short rest — and a desire to try something new.

“They just played and football is a physical game,” said O’Shea. “Give them a chance to be fresh. It’s just one of those beliefs — and I’ve seen other teams do it — if you’re not fresh you have no chance of executing the assignments at a level you need to compete.”

The extra day off will also give the banged-up Bombers time to recuperate.

In addition to the injury to Willy, right tackle Devin Tyler was also hurt in Edmonton and is out this week. Jace Daniels — who started the first four games at right tackle — will draw back in.

O’Shea said slotback Nick Moore and linebackers Graig Newman and Tony Burnett are questionable for this week.

O’Shea said he hasn’t yet spoken to the league’s discipline people about the “high-low” hit on which Willy was injured, but he intends to do so.

There was no flag on the play, but the Bombers believe there should have been and that the simultaneous hits were dangerous.

Fourth-string QB Dominique Davis has been with the Bombers for four weeks but O’Shea says he’s still not CFL-ready.

So when will he be? “We’ll see. He’s in every day, working really hard. He spends a lot of with (QB coach) Gene (Dahlquist). He’s a sharp kid… How does that translate when he steps on the field? Remains to be seen.”

The Bombers have lost two in a row and three of their last four, but O’Shea bristled Monday when he was asked what is “wrong” with his team at the moment.

“That seems like a strange question,” O’Shea said. “I would never use that term ‘wrong.’ There are things on a daily basis that you install and you coach, and film you watch, and players that need correction on a daily basis on every team in every sport.

“That’s the process you go through.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek