THE CANADIAN PRESS
It’s all about making the playoffs in the Canadian Football League. If you are one of the six teams that qualifies for the Grey Cup Derby, all things are possible. That has been proven time and again. And so, like all of the nine teams in the league, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ number one goal, despite a five-game losing streak, is still to qualify for post-season play. At 6-8, the post-season is still available to them.
| Worth Protecting |
|---|
|
Drew Willy has started every game for the Bombers this season, and he’s looked pretty good doing it. He currently leads the CFL with 3,503 passing yards, while posting a quarterback rating of 86.8 in his first full season as a starting quarterback. |
But if their number two goal isn’t to find a better way to protect quarterback Drew Willy, the Bombers’ priorities are skewed and their hopes of achieving goal number one will be out the window. Willy is the next in a long line of quarterbacks trying to deliver the Winnipeg franchise its first Grey Cup championship since 1990. In a nine-team league, that’s a drought of epic proportions.
Through the first 14 games of his Blue Bomber existence, the evidence is overwhelming that while Willy is still learning and growing and developing, he is the real deal. He is the quarterback the Bombers can build a contending team around for years to come.
Trouble is, Willy is taking too many hits. Way too many. And that should greatly concern GM Kyle Walters, head coach Mike O’Shea and everybody in the Bomber organization.
There is no question about Willy’s toughness. He has proven that on more than one occasion this season, bouncing up from a variety of nasty hits to continue to run the Bomber offence. Quarterbacks get hit — there is no avoiding it. But Willy has taken more than his fair share of shots and in my observation it’s starting to take a toll.
He did not look comfortable in the pocket during Friday’s 42-20 shellacking in Ottawa. He appeared to lose patience in trusting his reads, taking his eyes off what was developing down field as the pocket closed in on him. Little wonder. The constant pressure he is under would make any quarterback jittery. His confidence in what is going on around him has surely been compromised.
In their remaining four games, it would be in the Bombers’ best interest to find a better way to protect their quarterback — to minimize the punishment he takes. And it needs to start when the Bombers meet the second-leading sack team in the CFL in Edmonton on Thanksgiving Monday.
The offensive line has to play better. The Bomber running game has to be more effective, a little more creative, and diversified. Draws and screens and counter plays tend to keep defensive fronts honest.
Drew Willy has the talent and the dedication to be a special player. He is a valuable asset and has the talent to lead the Bombers into the 2014 post-season. But only if the Bombers do a much better job of looking after his well being.
