Quarter back Matt Nichols got the starting job in 2016 when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were 1-4. He led them to a 10-3 record through the rest of the season, grabbed a playoff berth, and saved head coach Mike O’Shea’s job. On top of that success, Bombers general manager Kyle Walters exchanged pivot Drew Willy and his massive contract for 2016 CFL All-Star TJ Heath, what turned out to be the 2017 first overall pick (Faith Ekakitie), and a 2018 third rounder from the Argonauts. All in all a pretty good season for a team many thought would be in the basement again.
The cat’s out of the bag now: the 2017 Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a lot of potential. The questions is, can they repeat the year they had under Nichols?
Schedule
Winnipeg has to wait one extra week to start their 2017 campaign because of a bye week. This is a big issue. Football is a gruelling, demanding sport, and that leads to injuries. At some point in a season, majority of teams will have injuries to key guys. That’s football.
This makes bye weeks very important for teams to give their players a week off to get healthy. After their bye week, Winnipeg plays 11 straight games before their next bye in week 13. Their stretch to end the season is also difficult, with two games with the Lions three weeks and a road game against the Stamps to end it. A bad schedule can make or break a year and the Bombers schedule is not good.
Defence
Creating turnovers was the name of the game for Winnipeg last year. The defence snatched a league high 30 interceptions, 13 more than the next best, and forced 25 fumbles. This helped them post an outrageous plus-29 giveaway/takeaway ratio last year, which led the CFL. Most of their secondary is returning from last season, including Taylor Loffler, Kevin Fogg, Chris Randle, Bruce Johnson, and TJ Heath. They also have linebacker Maurice Leggett, who tied Health for the most interceptions in 2016.
Last year’s stats attract attention, but they distract from the number of yards the Bombers gave up in the process. It’s hard to imagine this unit repeating the numbers they put up last year in the turnover department.
The defence’s biggest weakness was their ability to get to the quarterback, ranking third last with 33 sacks. They attempted to address the issue by bringing in five new defensive linemen including Drake Newis and 2017 first overall pick Faith Ekakitie. If the trend continues and they don’t force the amount of turnovers from the previous year, the Bombers could be near the bottom in most defensive categories.
More Points
Nichols created the turn around the Bombers experienced. However, the offence lacked production in some key areas. They benefited from the position the defence put them in more than once. But the offence only found the end zone 37 times in 2016; only the Argonauts and Roughriders were spotted there less.
Their challenge is to do more this season. Last year the unit was on the field around 25 minutes less than the average offence in the league. To take pressure off the defence to force turnovers and give them the rest they need, the Bombers offence needs to score more points and extend drives.
Winnipeg experienced a great year in 2016. They snapped a four year playoff drought and sported a record above .500 for only the second time in nine seasons. To get back to the postseason again, the 2017 campaign needs to be the year Nichols blasts off. The defence can only do so much to stop offences – especially for strong teams like Calgary, B.C., and Edmonton – from scoring. The offensive unit needs to control the possession and score consistently for the Blue Bombers to sustain this success.
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