The Bombers are on the brink of history after going 9-0 on the season so far.

Since the start of the CFL in 1958 only four teams have ever started the season 9-0. Wait, what? 1958? No, that is not a typo. You can find a quick read of the history of football in Canada here.

The last time the Bombers started a season 9-0 was in 1960 when they went 10-0. Who was the last team to start a season 9-0? Find out here.

However, if you look at the final score of the Bombers’ game in week 9 it is a bit misleading. Winning 35-20 may have you think that the Bombers easily took care of business. Yet that was not the case. I thought the Bombers would get all over the Alouettes quarterback Trevor Harris, and have him running for his life.

I was wrong.

Not so. At least not in the first quarter where Zach Collaros was sacked three times, and Harris only once.

In the second quarter the two Jeffs (Jefferson and Jeffcoat) would get in on the sack party, registering one a piece. Each quarterback would be sacked once in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter – Winnipeg’s best quarter – only Harris would be sacked.

Then there were the interceptions.

Zach Collaros would throw an interception on his second toss of the game. He would also throw an interception in each of the second and third quarters. However, Trevor Harris would throw all three of his interceptions in the fourth quarter, where Winnipeg really began to step up.

Collaros would also have two fumbles, one called off due to Montreal being offside.

Needless to say this was not Zach Collaros’ best game, therefore he will not be in the conversation for the game ball.

Here is the game’s highlight video.

Side Note
Interesting side note. You can register a quarterback sack and a forced fumble on the same play! I did not know that until looking at the Play By Play for this game.

When I read play 28 of the game, “”(01:27) Z. COLLAROS Sacked by A. PICKETT (7 yds), Z. COLLAROS Team Loss (-7 yds), Fumble forced by A. PICKETT, Lost, Recovered by N. USHER at W52 (12 yds), Tackle: J. GRANT” I realized that there was mention of a sack and a forced fumble. So I headed over to a knowledgeable Twitter message group that I am a part of, asked the question if you can record a sack and a forced fumble on the same play, and learned that you could.

This rule changed 20 years ago. Prior to that you could have either a sack, or a fumble on a play but not both. Then the rule changed 20 years ago so that if you forced a quarterback to fumble the ball there was no sack unless the quarterback fell on the ball and was touched to be down by contact. If the ball had been recovered by anyone else then there was no sack.

6 years ago that rule was adjusted. The rule was changed so that a sack is awarded when the quarterback fumbles the ball across the line of scrimmage or if an offensive player recovers the fumble and gains positive yards on the play.

Game-Ball

In a game that looked anything but great for the first three quarters, there are some Bombers that came to play.

*Winston Rose found himself with 6 defensive tackles and an interception. Could he get a game-ball?

*How about the Winnipeg defence? Montreal was only able to generate 3 points off the three turnovers Winnipeg committed.

*Maybe Adam Bighill with a late game interception to help seal the deal? *How about the Janarion Grant punt return for a touchdown with 6:17 remaining in the fourth quarter that helped ice this one away?

*Hey, I really liked the Willie Jefferson interception near the end of the game where Montreal was trying for a 2 point conversion. On Montreal’s first try for the 2 point conversion Willie Jefferson jumps offside moving the ball to the 2 yard line. On the second try for the 2 point conversion Montreal gets called for a procedure penalty. Now Montreal is trying their 2 point conversion from the 7 yard line again.

This time Willie Jefferson intercepts the ball on the goal line, runs it out to the 6 yard line, where he makes a spin move, laterals the ball to Houston, who makes a guy miss and takes it to the house!

Unfortunately, this play was called off as Jeffcoat was called for roughing the passer.

Any of those players could have earned the game-ball. But I am giving the game-ball to Coach O’Shea and the coaching staff.

Why?

Culture.

The Bombers looked tired in much of the game, which really comes as no surprise. From July 4th to August 4th they played 6 games! 5 of those 6 games were on the road. Collaros did not play the way we have come to expect him to play. The Bombers only scored 14 points in the first 3 quarters. The Bombers were tied with Montreal going into the fourth quarter.

I have no clue what happened on the commercial break between the third and fourth quarter, but it was a different Bombers team in the fourth quarter.

They had life. They had energy. They put up 21 points.

Here is how Montreal’s series ended in the fourth quarter:

*Missed field goal from 50 yards.

*Punt returned for a touchdown by Grant.

*Interception by Winston Rose.

*Interception by Adam Bighill.

*Montreal touchdown from Davis to White Jr.

*2 point convert try intercepted and returned for a touchdown (which would have only counted for 2 points as a missed 2 point convert that is returned for a touchdown is only awarded 2 points) this did not count because of a Winnipeg penalty.
*2 point convert try failed as Walker made the tackle on Feaster.

*On side kick try, with a result of illegal kickoff out of bounds.

Based on the first three quarters I watched, Winnipeg could have imploded like Montreal did in the fourth. But they did not. They regrouped, stepped up, and secured their ninth win in a row.

For developing a culture that does not quit, Coach O’Shea and the coaching staff, you get my game-ball.

Jock

The horns!

These horns are terrible on every TSN broadcast from Montreal. Nevertheless, this game they were the worst! I do not know if TSN moved their microphones but it sounded like the guy in the picture was mic’d up! Seriously, I distinctly heard 2 horns, and one was far more pronounced than the other.

Do not get me wrong, I love a good raucous crowd, and the crowd at IG Field in the rematch against Montreal will be rocking! But watch a Bombers game on television and it is roaring loud. However, the roar is synchronous – as a result it is not overshadowed by a single annoying sound.

Reading the comments apparently Montreal’s social media team needs a reality check. Maybe they should have sold reality checks for $90 instead of a helmet full of poutine.

For not adding to the atmosphere, but taking away from it, guy with the air horn, you get the jock.  

What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.

Find all my articles here.

Written by a Bomber fan, for the Bomber fans.

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