The road to Grey Cup 103 will not be a walk in the park; it’s going to be a brutal sprint to the finish line on a wire over a ravine. The teams that get the honour to play in front of those cheering crowds will get there through tenacity and perseverance. Game in and game out they’ll have to give it their all. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers last season were the picture of inconsistency. To battle for the Cup in front of their home town they’ll have to clean up a few areas.
The Bad
The Bombers lost six games by more than a touchdown last season, four of which during their eight-game losing streak in the second half of the season.
The games that the Bombers lost were all typical in the aspect that the opposing team had offensive pushes in both the second and fourth quarters. Winnipeg gave up 36% of its points last year during the second quarter, and 29% in the fourth quarter. The Blue simply did not have the ball enough in those quarters. They also had far fewer first down plays than their opponents. You have to have the ball to win the game.
Giving Drew Willy the time and space to make plays is the key to success. The addition of a few free agent offensive linemen will help bolster this position and give Winnipeg a competitive base to work with. With quality players like Stanley Bryant and Dominic Picard leading your offensive line, you have the ability to make some moves. Bryant and Picard will join Chris Greaves, Patrick Neufeld, Matthias Goossen, and Steve Morley in the fight to protect their quarterback.
The Ugly
The other five losses came at a deficit of fewer than six points. In these games, Winnipeg seemed on the verge of glory but the win was snatched away with fourth-quarter mistakes.
The defence was overpowered in the last stages of the game. This was most likely due to fatigue as they spent the most of the game on the field. The offence had the majority of their points in the fourth quarter. If the offensive line could show the grit they possess in the final frame throughout the entire game the defence would have a chance at being fresh for those tough final moments.
The Good
The good is that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ organization has seen these holes in their team. They’re making moves that will give them a more powerful offensive line.
According to Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press, the Blue are looking at a receiver with their first round pick. We can all agree that Nic Demski of the University of Manitoba Bisons would look good in blue and gold but drafting another Canadian offensive lineman might be a better route. The Ottawa Redblacks will most likely use the first overall pick on Brett Boyko, and this leaves Winnipeg with several decent options. They should look no further than Sean McEwen of the University of Calgary. McEwen jumped up the scouting charts and will definitely garner tonnes of attention at this year’s National CFL combine in Toronto, March 27-29.
Mike O’Shea pushes his team to compete at all times. Even though the Bombers lost eight games in a row last year, they never threw in the towel and gave up on the season. They continued to battle, winning their final game of the campaign against Calgary; this showed the drive and commitment to winning that Winnipeg retained, no matter the situation. With a few more pieces in the puzzle, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers very well could be in the picture for this year’s Grey Cup game.
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