Blue alert

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2011 (5265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Attention CFL clubs: As we head into the second trimester of the season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence will be sporting a new addition to their uniforms.

 Giant targets on their backs — waiting for your best shot.

 “Teams are definitely going to start taking shots at us; that’s because we’re getting the best of them and they’re getting frustrated,” Bombers DB Jovon Johnson said following Friday’s 28-16 win over Edmonton. “They are going to try to take their shots but we (are not) going to retaliate because we’re smarter than that.”

 Take that last game, for example. Fourth quarter, Winnipeg is up by 10. Given the Eskimos’ high level of execution on offence coming into the night, by no means was the outcome decided. But with the final score still waiting conclusion, the Bombers coaxed the visitors into four unnecessary roughness penalties, errors stemming from the frustration of playing against the top defence in the league.

 Edmonton lost composure, and its first game of the season.

 Winnipeg (5-1) saw one flag of its own during one of the skirmishes (after Ricky Ray was intercepted by Johnson), but it was merely a footnote to this new reality of Bombers football.

 Everything — from the outcome of plays to the calls from officials — is in a Blue and Gold scope now. With that, a target for other clubs to aim at is born.

 And thus the next challenge is presented for the Blue and Gold defence, the one where all attention is placed not on how the group performs on the field but how it handles its sudden rise to contention.

 An argument can be made the club has done well by the struggles of last season and despite what people said about the team being better than its record, no one expected a 4-14 operation to take such a giant leap out of the weeds like the Bombers have.

 But the surprise factor is over now. Opponents’ best shots — both during the play and after the whistle — are yet to come.

 “This is what we have in front of us now, right?” defensive back Deon Beasley asked. “Teams are going to give us their best now, and if that doesn’t work then they’ll try to distract us and get us off what we’re doing.

 There’s a target, yeah.”

 Before painting the Bombers as the innocent prey, let’s not overlook that the players themselves are helping with (and embracing) the construction of this bull’s-eye on their own backs.

 Confidence is running high — rightly so, given the success to this point — and this new attention as to what’s being done on the defensive side has led to the production of T-shirts capturing players jumping over one another while acting out a Planet of the Apes fantasy.

 Call it the ‘Orangutaunt.’ Yes, target or no target: Some high times on defence, but the players say they can see the fine line, the one that puts the target in clear sight for hunters.

 “We’re having a lot of fun out there,” DB Brandon Stewart said.

 “(Teams) are coming for us now. There is a lot of talk out there, that’s part of the game, but I think we know where the line is.”

 It’s easy to trot out the ‘act like you’ve been there before’ message, but when there are 30,000 screaming people backing a winning product, you are instantly reminded not many around the club have been in a situation like this before.

 Players are having fun and the fans are having fun, but the head coach is asking them to be smart enough not to retaliate during intense situations. And the only celebration players are allowed is to quickly mimic a gorilla.

 “I like seeing guys confident,” Paul LaPolice said. “I’m not going to stifle them too much. But certainly if they get a penalty on it, I’ll address it and I’ll fine ’em if they do something dumb.”

 NOTES: With Doug Brown (foot) missing last week and Dorian Smith (ankle) in a walking boot over the weekend, there are question marks on the D-line. Right now, DTs Don Oramasionwu and Bryant Turner are the only healthy interior linemen. Deji Oduwole is another option, and the club is hopeful Jason Vega (knee) will be on the field today… Edmonton, practising in Winnipeg this week, brought in veteran WR/KR Jason Armstead Monday… Arland Bruce is considered ‘probable’ to make his Leos debut Saturday.

 adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

FIRST STOP

 How good is the Winnipeg defence? A look at some key defensive categories and how much separation the Bombers have on second-best team after six games: Quarterback sacks: 25 (B.C. second with 14)

 Interceptions: 10 (Edmonton, 9)

 Fumble recoveries: 8 (several with 5)

 Total takeaways: 23 (Edmonton, 17) Average yards against per game: 289 yards (Calgary, 301)

 Fewest touchdowns against: 8 (Hamilton, 12)

 Fewest first downs against: 103 (Calgary 107)

 *Fewest points against: 113 (Edmonton, 127)

 * The Bombers are surrendering an average of 18.8 points per game, tops in the CFL, and are on pace for 339 points this season. That would be the lowest franchise total since the club allowed up 383 points in 2001 (21 points per game) and the lowest since 1985 (259 points in 16 contests; 16 points per game average). Last season, the Toronto Argonauts gave up a CFL-best 442 points against (24.5 points per game).