After losing to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Princess Auto Stadium last Thursday, the Bombers find themselves at 1-1. And while 1-1 is not a terrible start to the season, the Bomber team that lost to Hamilton looked a lot different than the Bomber team that beat Calgary.
This year I have been coaching my son's 13U baseball team. We drafted a good team. We picked guys that should help us win games...yet at times this season we have not been consistent, and that has shown on the baseball diamond. While I expect that from a 13U baseball team, I certainly do not expect that from a professional football team. However, that is exactly what I saw from the Bombers in their loss to Hamilton; a team that looked out of sorts and different that than themselves a week prior.
In Week 1, the Bombers got after Calgary's quarterback and sacked him four times. In Week 2, Bo Levi Mitchell had all day. But the even more shocking thing is that Bo did not need all day. His pre-snap reads were bang on. He always knew where the one-on-one coverage was going to be, and he immediately threw the ball there.
When asking if I think the Bombers are in trouble, let us first look at the numbers.
Winnipeg Offence
Offensively, those are not bad numbers. Personally, I would have liked to see the Bombers run the ball more. There is one school of though that says when a team is chasing the game of course they get away from the run...they need points and the clock keeps ticking. I am good with that philosophy late in the fourth quarter if a team is trailing. However, implementing that strategy earlier in a game seems to usually result in a loss...albeit a closer loss.
I cannot count how many time a head coach came in front of the cameras after a loss and when asked why their featured running back did not get more touches the response had to do with them chasing the game. On the other hand, I could count on about 1 finger the number of times a coach came in front of the cameras after a win (when they were trailing), and was praised for getting away from the run game. It just does not happen. When a team abandons the run game, the defence can focus solely on pass coverage.
But back to the passing. In my preview article I said, 3 Things To Watch For
1) Quarterbacks
For me, this game does not come down to which quarterback makes the most plays, or passes for the most yards. Rather, it is which quarterback makes the least amount of mistakes that result in the least amount of damage. Both Collaros and Mitchell are gun slingers. They are going to go out there, forget about the last play....and toss it up again, and again. While that is a ton of fun to watch, when it does not work it is problematic. Collaros played some of his best football when he was disparagingly called a "game manager." On the other hand, Mitchell plays his best football when is is not a game manager.
So Collaros is going to have to find a way to manage the game while at the same time stretching the field. As for Mitchell, he is going to need to continue to air out the ball and hope his players can make big time catch after big time catch. Because here is the thing about the Bombers, their defence will allow some big shots down the field."
I think I about nailed that. Collaros put up some big numbers, but threw an untimely and costly interception. Yet, the Bombers offence is not a concern of mine at the moment, and is not why they lost the game.
Winnipeg Defence
The Winnipeg defence however is a concern of mine.
The numbers here tell a story, but they do not tell the whole story. To know the whole story you would have had to watch the game. Winnipeg's defence had no answers for Hamilton's offense. Quite frankly, it was ugly to watch. Hamilton made play after play, while Winnipeg did not, or could not make the adjustments. If you watched the game it were as if Bo Levi Mitchell had the Bomber's defensive playbook and knew based on the Bomber's alignment what play he should run.
It is only one game where the Bomber's defence looked completely outmatched. However, if the Bombers come back from the bye week and put up that kind of defensive garbage, then it it time to hit the panic button. That might sound overly dramatic, but Hamilton, and then Edmonton know the Bombers' defence better than the Bombers...that is a huge issue that will need immediate attention!
The Unusual
Castillo hitting the upright and therefore missing the field goal. Does it suck? Yes. Does it happen from time to time? It sure does, even for such a great kicker like Castillo. But I am not concerned. That kick did not cost the Bombers the game. Nor do I think that the Bombers would be any more in that game if Castillo hit it. The Bombers lost by 10...not 3.
Final Thoughts
I get it, it is only game 2 and to say that the sky is falling is a bit premature. However, there are a few trends that simply cannot continue.
First, the Bombers' defence has to be way better. It is the CFL and teams will continue to throw deep balls. However, an offence simply cannot be able to continually identify pre-snap where the one-on-one coverage is. It is very hard to get pressure on the quarterback that way and you will get burnt down field.
Second, the Bombers need to run the ball more! Quite frankly, after last year I do not have any time for excuses or explanations when the Bombers do not run the ball at least 15 times.
Third, if the Bombers offence continues to put up a ton of yards, but also turn the ball over that is problematic. I would rather have an efficient Bombers' offence that puts up less yards...but protects the football.
Should two of these three areas of concern continue, then I believe the Bombers are in a world of hurt. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait another week to see what, if anything changes, as the Bombers are on a bye week this week.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.