THE CANADIAN PRESS
Dear Maurice Leggett, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and really the entire city of Winnipeg: I would like to apologize for what I am about to write.
After your 32-18 win over Montreal you find yourselves 5-4. You guys haven’t won four in a row since the 2011 season; you hadn’t won four games in a row on the road since 2001. Right now you should be feeling pretty good about yourselves. I imagine Winnipeg fans have a little extra spring in their step after enduring that 1-4 start to the season.
But of course, leave it up to the media to be the Debbie Downers to a really nice run by Winnipeg. Moe Leggett, one of the main catalysts for this recent success, unwittingly predicted my column when after the win over Montreal he said: “We feel like we’re not respected. We feel like we’re still underrated by everyone, so we’re just going to keep going making plays and we’re going to stay hungry.”
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Andrew Harris’ late touchdown sealed the deal vs. Montreal (The Canadian Press)
To you, Moe, let me first say, that’s good advice — you guys should stay hungry … and now it’s time for the disrespecting! Every week I get asked by my editor, Jeff Krever, to send in my weekly picks and every week I pick against you. I mean, there is no way your defence is going to force another six turnovers, is there? And yet for the third week in a row that is exactly what happened. Every time you look up there’s Kevin Fogg or Khalil Bass or Julian Posey forcing a turnover or Leggett scoring a touchdown.
Listen, I want to believe in you — it’s a really fun story — but I feel that what I’m watching is not going to last. Can you really blame me? You haven’t made the playoffs since losing 34-23 to the Lions in the Grey Cup and the past four seasons your record is 21-51 — that’s 30 games under .500!
Think about how this season started. You guys gave up over 400 yards to a Montreal squad that no one expected much from offensively in a 22-14 loss. Drew Willy was sacked five times and Weston Dressler left the game with an injury. Who didn’t at that point pencil in Winnipeg for five wins with Mike O’Shea looking for his next gig?
So now I’m expected to believe you’re a legitimate playoff contender? Winning games by forcing six turnovers while being out-gained offensively and your opponent leading in time of possession is just not that sustainable. Eventually, the opposing quarterback isn’t going to serve up a bushel of interceptions and at some point Justin Medlock may actually miss a field goal or two. The question is, can Winnipeg win when everything isn’t going its way?
Of course, there are several counters to my clearly anti-Bombers agenda. Go back to their 30-23 win against Edmonton that started this whole streak. In that contest, the Blue Bombers outgained the Eskimos while dominating time of possession and the turnover margin was just plus-one for Winnipeg. That’s a quality win against the defending champs where the formula for victory wasn’t simply waiting for the other team to make all the mistakes. Also it’s not as if all these wins came down to last-second heroics; the Bombers’ last three wins were all by double digits as they have outscored their past four opponents by 64 points.
Finally, to the good people of Portage and Main, I would recommend you throw the name Andrew Harris in my face. Harris has been exactly what Winnipeg needed: a steadying force on offence no matter who is at quarterback. For anyone wondering whether he has lost a step, just go back and watch his 19-yard touchdown run that ended any hope for a Montreal comeback win on Friday night. Harris still has enough speed to beat Bear Woods and Chip Cox to the corner and the vision to make his way into the end zone (shout out to Gerrard Sheppard and Rory Kohlert for their downfield blocking!) Oh and hey, just look at that schedule! With back to back games coming up against Saskatchewan, there’s no reason to think that the team won’t be 7-4 by the time kids are fully back in school.
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Matt Nichols has helped the Bombers win four straight, but can he keep it going? (The Canadian Press)
Now does that last paragraph sound like I’m sucking up? What if I added that I’m a big fan of Kirk Penton; Gary Lawless is a personal hero of mine; and I always enjoy chatting with Troy Westwood, Matt Leibl and Brandon Rewucki on TSN 1290 in Winnipeg? Now it really sounds like I’m trying to make amends, doesn’t it?
Well to the team and the city, I say prove me wrong. Prove to me that Matt Nichols can be more than a caretaker quarterback. Prove to me you can win games without every bounce seemingly going your way. Prove to me that the failures of the past four years are done and the team is entering the next era of Swaggerville.
Of course in the big picture you don’t have to prove anything to me. I’m just the gasbag yelling on the sidelines. This year is all about the organization proving to itself that it has turned the corner. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.
