How the Bombers could win tonight:
1. MORE REID, MORE BRYANT, MORE 'O'...
It was a start -- more of a baby step than a giant leap for the Bomber offence -- but last week's effort featured new QB Michael Bishop developing a rapport with Terrence Edwards and showcasing the ability to go vertical on the Argo defence. But the offence had fallen down such a deep dark hole that the progress, such as it is, was simply the start of a collective climb back to respectability. Now that Edwards has been re-introduced to the attack, the club needs both running back Fred Reid and receiver Romby Bryant to become more involved. Reid had 261 yards rushing (6.2-yard average) in the first three games of the season but had just 58 yards on 20 carries (2.9-yard average) in the two-game series with Toronto. What the Argos discovered -- along with everybody else in the CFL -- is that without any kind of passing game the Bombers are one-dimensional offensively and by stacking more people near the line of scrimmage, Reid had no room to do his thing. And then there's Bryant -- the team's leading receiver last year has just 10 catches for 99 yards and no TDs. Just as a reminder, this is the same guy who had 65 catches for 1,206 yards and nine scores last year. The Bombers have moved him from slot to wide receiver in an effort to get him more room and into single coverage, but he needs to be a whole lot busier.
2. NO ORDINARY JOE
The Bombers will be without linebacker Siddeeq Shabazz against the Stampeders and anyone who doesn't think that's a significant loss must have been snoozing for the first month of the season. All the CFL's Defensive Player of the Month did was intercept four passes (already a career high) and return two of them for TDs, force one fumble and recover two others while racking up 23 defensive and five special teams tackles. He is a sideline-to-sideline heat-seeking missile -- some fans have borrowed a nickname and dubbed him 'Siddeeq and Destroy' -- that is always around the ball and his absence, due to an ankle injury, is huge. That said, the Bombers' depth at linebacker means Joe Lobendahn steps in. Before he injured his shoulder in the opener, he was arguably the best defensive player on the field. That's become the book on Lobendahn -- he plays the game viciously, but with such reckless abandon he spends a good chunk of time on the disabled list. Naturally a middle linebacker, he'll step into Shabazz's weak-side spot. While he may not be as adept as his teammate in dropping into coverage, he is one of the best run-support/rush-the-passer linebackers in the land.
3. THE FINAL THIRD OF THE OTHER THIRD
We keep hammering away on this topic, but it has yet to be resolved: The Bombers don't scare anybody with their kick and punt returners. CFL coaches break their squads into thirds: offence, defence and special teams. We all know about the offensive struggles and the stellar play of the defensive dozen. But while the punting/placekicking and downfield kick coverage have been solid for the Bombers this season, the final third of the other third -- the return game -- has been invisible. Winnipeg's average punt return this season is a league-worst 4.9 yards -- about four yards off the league average -- with the longest return just 16 yards. That's hardly changing field position for the better. The kickoff-return unit is posting numbers that rank around the league average, but there is no explosive dynamic return threat. We've seen James Johnson show some flashes on punt returns, but this is an unresolved area that must improve -- especially with an offence that has been challenged to move the ball.
1. MORE REID, MORE BRYANT, MORE 'O'...
It was a start -- more of a baby step than a giant leap for the Bomber offence -- but last week's effort featured new QB Michael Bishop developing a rapport with Terrence Edwards and showcasing the ability to go vertical on the Argo defence. But the offence had fallen down such a deep dark hole that the progress, such as it is, was simply the start of a collective climb back to respectability. Now that Edwards has been re-introduced to the attack, the club needs both running back Fred Reid and receiver Romby Bryant to become more involved. Reid had 261 yards rushing (6.2-yard average) in the first three games of the season but had just 58 yards on 20 carries (2.9-yard average) in the two-game series with Toronto. What the Argos discovered -- along with everybody else in the CFL -- is that without any kind of passing game the Bombers are one-dimensional offensively and by stacking more people near the line of scrimmage, Reid had no room to do his thing. And then there's Bryant -- the team's leading receiver last year has just 10 catches for 99 yards and no TDs. Just as a reminder, this is the same guy who had 65 catches for 1,206 yards and nine scores last year. The Bombers have moved him from slot to wide receiver in an effort to get him more room and into single coverage, but he needs to be a whole lot busier.
2. NO ORDINARY JOE
The Bombers will be without linebacker Siddeeq Shabazz against the Stampeders and anyone who doesn't think that's a significant loss must have been snoozing for the first month of the season. All the CFL's Defensive Player of the Month did was intercept four passes (already a career high) and return two of them for TDs, force one fumble and recover two others while racking up 23 defensive and five special teams tackles. He is a sideline-to-sideline heat-seeking missile -- some fans have borrowed a nickname and dubbed him 'Siddeeq and Destroy' -- that is always around the ball and his absence, due to an ankle injury, is huge. That said, the Bombers' depth at linebacker means Joe Lobendahn steps in. Before he injured his shoulder in the opener, he was arguably the best defensive player on the field. That's become the book on Lobendahn -- he plays the game viciously, but with such reckless abandon he spends a good chunk of time on the disabled list. Naturally a middle linebacker, he'll step into Shabazz's weak-side spot. While he may not be as adept as his teammate in dropping into coverage, he is one of the best run-support/rush-the-passer linebackers in the land.
3. THE FINAL THIRD OF THE OTHER THIRD
We keep hammering away on this topic, but it has yet to be resolved: The Bombers don't scare anybody with their kick and punt returners. CFL coaches break their squads into thirds: offence, defence and special teams. We all know about the offensive struggles and the stellar play of the defensive dozen. But while the punting/placekicking and downfield kick coverage have been solid for the Bombers this season, the final third of the other third -- the return game -- has been invisible. Winnipeg's average punt return this season is a league-worst 4.9 yards -- about four yards off the league average -- with the longest return just 16 yards. That's hardly changing field position for the better. The kickoff-return unit is posting numbers that rank around the league average, but there is no explosive dynamic return threat. We've seen James Johnson show some flashes on punt returns, but this is an unresolved area that must improve -- especially with an offence that has been challenged to move the ball.
