What is going on in the Manitoba capital lately? A 5-1 start and praise from all sides. Excited fans and the league about the turnaround from the previous 3-15 year. Since then, though, it’s been a nose dive straight to the bottom of the Western division. The losses have mounted up, and they have a 1-5 record since those first six games.
Their current 6-6 record is good enough for last place in the CFL Western division. Combined with a shoulder injury to their prized pivot Drew Willy, it’s panic mode in Winnipeg. Willy’s injury will be reevaluated later in the week, but with him possibly out of the line up in the midst of a nose dive in the standings, what else could go wrong? What happened to the confident blue and gold?
Reality has set in. This team is just a .500 team that had a very good start. Aside from the first week’s win, the 2014 Bombers truly only had one dominating victory this year, and that seemed ages ago in week 3 against the BC Lions. The Blue Bombers didn’t convince in their single-point win against Montreal, nor in their last-second game-winning drive against the Ticats. The rest of the CFL has figured them out.
Head coach Mike O’Shea says his run defence is nothing to worry about. Was it arrogance or ignorance when he told the the media, “I’m not worried about our ability to stop the run”? Whatever it may be, his team is suffering from his inability to make adjustments as the year turns into a sprint to the playoffs.
Consider this: in the last five losses Winnipeg has chalked up (three against Saskatchewan, and one each against Toronto and B.C.), they were unable to stop any of those three teams’ ground games. Those teams ran all over them, literally pushing the Blue Bombers’ defence wherever they wanted. The mushy Bomber run D is a major problem and must be adjusted now. There is no room for maybe next week, and no sense in claiming that the run defence is fine.
Continuing with the league’s eighth-ranked defence against the run will kill Winnipeg’s hopes of a playoff spot. And even if they squeak in, it surely will be a quick one game, one loss in their post season. Allowing over 128 yards per game on the ground is mind-boggling in a pass-oriented league. It is imperative for a defence to shut down a run game now. As fall approaches, teams will look to run first and keep the opposing offence off the field.
With Winnipeg on a bye this week, the squad will likely have team meetings and practices focused mainly on run defence and how to make a tackle. Now is the time to finally address an issue, not to bury their heads in the sand. They have Calgary twice and B.C. one more time before the end of the year, and they both have talented backfield. If Winnipeg wants to reel in the rest of the West they must figure out how to stop a running game. If they don’t, expect big changes on the team’s defence for next season – O’Shea can’t play linebacker and coach, can he?
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