There are fans out there that are loving it that the Bombers have lost 3 straight Grey Cups; and I get it. I remember when Calgary was often in the Grey Cup and the team I was cheering for was not. There was a bit of joy seeing Calgary lose. I found the memes that others posted amusing. There is just something irritating about another team, other than yours, continuing to make it to the big game.
But for all the CFL fans poking fun at the Bombers, where was your team? Were they competitive? Did they make the playoffs? How did they do in the playoffs? Unless you are a Toronto fan, the Bombers did better than your team this year. And unless you are a Montreal fan, the Bombers did better than your team the last 5 years.
So continue to poke fun, it is ok, I get it. But you have to admit that it takes something special to be in the Grey Cup 5 years in a row. Wait, I can hear it starting already, “Yah, but it is only a 9 team league.” Yet that argument falls short, as the other teams are not making the Grey Cup 5 straight years in a row.
Ok, not that I have ruffled some feathers, it is time for Bomber fans to have a reality check.
Bomber’s Reality Check
The Bombers’ outcomes are not good enough in the Grey Cups. Yes, starting 0-4; then moving to 2-6, and then hosting the Western Final and being in the Grey Cup is massive. But that is not good enough. Losing 3 straight Grey Cups, and the last one in particular was horrific.
While you cannot hang the lose on one player, you can hang it on a group. Many want to hang the lose on the offence, but I am going higher. I blame the loss on the Bomber’s coaches.
The Bomber’s offensive coaches (with the assumed blessing of O’Shea) thought too hard, changed the game plan going into the game, and outcoached themselves. Look, there were right in those 2 regular season losses against Toronto. They lost each game by 1 point. In one of the games Toronto called a time out that they did not have, and were not penalized…that could have changed the outcome. In the other game, Collaros arguably scrambled for a first down…which also could have changed the outcome of that game.
So, Winnipeg did not need to change their game plan that much. They only needed to protect Collaros better, and execute just a little bit better. Instead, they decided to do something completely different. And when Collaros came back in the Grey Cup game, he only had 6 completions…the same amount he had at half time!
I actually do not mind the Bombers being aggressive and going deep at the beginning of the game to back off Toronto’s pass rush. But when Wilson comes in at quarterback, to not give Oliveira the ball (the MOP and Most Outstanding Canadian) is unthinkable! Instead to stick with the game plan and have Wilson throw the ball was a terrible idea – the Bombers were already in field goal range!
The Blue Bombers trailed 17-13 in the fourth quarter when Terry Wilson entered the game in relief of Zach Collaros for one series and the team settled for a field goal after a Willie Jefferson interception. The Argos then scored on an ensuing drive to go up 24-16. On why they didn’t lean more on Oliveira at that point in the game…
“You put Terry in, and (the Argos) rode the box, they had 10 guys in the box. The play gets changed because of the structure of the defence. If I was the defensive coach, as soon as you put a backup quarterback in, we’re loading the box because we’re going to hand it to Brady. We had Kenny (Lawler) in the end zone and just missed him. Then we got Keric (Wheatfall) open in the end zone, and it doesn’t work out, either – source.
And that mistake of sticking to the game plan was compounded when Collaros came back into the game. Getting 5 stitches, and having the coaches tell Zach to keep going long was ridiculous! If not at ant time before, that is exactly when you rely on the league’s MOP!
Maybe coach O’Shea left the decision in the hands of Pierce. Maybe coach O’Shea left the decision in the hands of Collaros – no pun intended. But in the biggest game of the season, the head coach must interject and say, “Look, this is not working.” It does not matter if you are the kind of coach that releases other coaches to do their job and do not micromanage. But there needed to be some micromanaging in that game, unless O’Shea truly believed they were on the right path…which apparently he did.
Here is O’Shea’s entire interview.
It is also rumored that twice on defense the Bombers only had 11 players, and one of those times Toronto scored a touchdown! Again, a coaching mistake.
Absolutely terrible coaching led to the Bombers losing the Grey Cup. And that is your reality check!
Maybe you agree. Maybe you disagree.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this!
