No defending Bombers’ struggles on D

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This article was published 01/08/2017 (2981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s still early, but a 3-2 start to the 2017 regular season is small comfort for Winnipeg defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall.

Hall, who watched his Blue Bombers defensive unit get scorched for 531 yards against, including 183 on the ground, in a 41-40 win over the visiting Montreal Alouettes last week, isn’t a happy man these days. Far from it.

If not for the dreadful and winless Hamilton Tiger-Cats, whose defence is being carved up for an average of 36.8 points per game, Winnipeg would be at the bottom of the league in points allowed by the defence at 33.4 per game.

Adding to Hall’s concern was Tuesday’s performance at practice.

“I didn’t think we practised very well,” Hall said from field level at Investors Group Field. “The effort level was there, I just wasn’t happy with how we practised all the way around.”

The defence’s sins on Thursday against the Alouettes were plain enough to see, too.

“Defensively, we weren’t consistent enough,” Hall said. “We gave up too many explosion plays and the explosion plays were fundamental plays — you’ve gotta make a tackle, you’ve gotta be in the right gap and you’ve gotta make the play when you have an opportunity to make the play. We didn’t do that on a consistent basis.”

And then there were what Hall refers to as the “off-the-field killers,” penalties that extended Montreal drives and led directly to 17 points for the visitors.

“The big plays are going to occur, I understand that,” Hall said, “but you want to make them earn it and don’t get it in chunks. Make them drive it if they’re going to drive the ball. Make us be in position and let it be football.

“Overall, defensively, we haven’t played consistent for four quarters for five games. When you look at it, we’ve played five games and we’ve given up 40(-plus) points in three games. To me, if we want to get where we want to be, you can’t play football like that.

“Forty points, maybe once or twice in an 18-game schedule, not three times in a five-game schedule.”

Based on Montreal’s success on the ground during Week 6, Hall believes the Blue Bombers can expect a heavy dose of the running game Friday in Ottawa.

The Blue Bombers have also exhibited a vulnerability to the pass, which doesn’t sit well with veteran cornerback Chris Randle, who believes offensive totals have been inflated by more stringent illegal contact rules and how they are enforced.

“I think if you look at yardage around the league, it’s higher in general,” Randle said. “At the end of the day, we want to limit those yards, you want to limit those explosion plays… It’s not easy being a DB in this league.”

Experience isn’t always the best way to prevent big offensive explosions. Winnipeg leads the league with nine interceptions but is last in pass knockdowns with eight.

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“I’ve been beat. A lot of older guys have been beat — it’s not just the young guys,” Randle said. “It’s about coming together as a collective unit and not panicking. It can get to a point where it can pile up with yardage or pile up with play after play that they’re making and it’s about being resilient. It’s about being tough and standing up to the challenge when it comes and making plays… I think if you give up the yards, come back and make a play and that makes it OK.”

Safety Taylor Loffler, who leads the club with 22 defensive tackles (two more than Randle), understands what he and his teammates are struggling with.

“I wouldn’t say (the new rules make it impossible), it makes it more difficult but it’s more of an offensive game now,” Loffler said. “You’ve just got to play to the rules. You may not like ’em but that’s what they are and you have to do what you can.

“You see calls that are made that are tough, especially when you get to a spot where you can get them (opponent’s offence) off the field and there’s a call.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14