Bombers gunning for two consecutive victories

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This article was published 14/10/2015 (3740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE public declaration of urgency produced a desired result for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, once again sparked by their defence.

The Bombers held the B.C. Lions to just three second-half points and rallied to snatch victory Saturday, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Despite a mark of 5-10, the Bombers share the five-win rung with the Lions and Montreal Alouettes. One of those teams is going to be in the post-season.

“We came out in the first half kind of slow but we brought a lot of energy in the second half,” said Bombers linebacker Khalil Bass, the CFL rookie who continues to make a good impression. “I think the offence is starting to learn that they can play off of us and is able to take a little more risk and really trust us to hold tight down the stretch.”

The Bombers did exactly that Saturday, scoring 10 points in the game’s final 1:54 to grab the win.

“Everybody knew it was desperation,” Bass said of his team’s mindset. “We’re fighting to be in the playoffs so everyone knew they had to give everything they had to just make it happen.

“For us, playoffs started last week, so everybody’s playing it like it’s playoffs, like it’s lose and you go home, win and you keep going.’

Next up is another major chore Friday in Ottawa against the Redblacks. The team hasn’t won two in a row all season but believes there’s some momentum in play this week.

“We hope so,” Bass said “It will be the first time we’re able to string two together — that’s what we’re aiming for this week. That’s the plan. We have to come out and be consistent, try to win all three phases.

“Usually the breakdowns were in special teams when we tried to string two together. We came close a couple times and then for whatever reason blew it on one or two plays. I think we’ve got that fixed in the last couple of weeks and hopefully that can make a difference for us.”

O’Shea said he’s trying to keep everyone focused on the task at hand, but was maintaining his desire for that urgency.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten out of the woods at all,” O’Shea said. “We’ve just sort of put ourselves in the position that with some more wins, we can actually control our own destiny.

“We’re still approaching this as a playoff game, the mentality that we want to win this game and want to prepare extremely hard. We think it’s vital.”

The coach was also asked to respond to the sentiment too much reliance ahead on special teams and defence and not enough on offence was the road to nowhere.

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“Of course we want more offensive production,” O’Shea said. “But in any game situation, what matters is winning. And you have to do whatever you have to do in those phases to win the game.

“It just so happened it was special teams and defence in this game (Saturday). Offence came alive at the end and scored 10 points in the last three minutes. So to me they were a big part of it, too, and how they got down there and how they got the ball back doesn’t really matter to me. They came alive when they needed to and they chipped in.

“All three phases want to play perfect games. We search for that every week and you’re never going to find it. You just have to make sure you’re doing enough to win.”

NOTES: Centre Dominic Picard was not in Tuesday’s practice, injured Saturday, but O’Shea didn’t rule him out for this week in Ottawa… receiver Rory Kohlert did practise Tuesday after being knocked out of Saturday’s game with a high hit.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca