CFL
If you subscribe to the theory that nothing is gained from losing, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have made precious little progress the last two months. A seven-game losing streak has seen a season that held such promise because of a 5-1 start deteriorate into yet another season of utter frustration for the Bombers and their fans.
Last weekend’s 33-23 loss to Calgary left the Bombers with a 6-10 record and on the precipice of elimination from the playoff chase. Only a minor miracle will allow the Bombers to keep playing beyond the Nov. 1 end of their regular season.
It’s a bit of a sad commentary that moral victories are now being celebrated, but that was the case in the loss to Calgary as the Bombers fought back from an early 14-0 deficit and were only trailing 26-23 with less than three minutes to go. The Stampeders put the game away with a late touchdown, improving to 13-2, but not before the Bombers gave them an argument.
And the highlight of the Winnipeg comeback was the play of backup quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Robert Marve. With Drew Willy sidelined by a thumb injury and playing in his first regular season game since the end of the 2010 NFL season, Brohm looked liked a polished vet, completing 14 of 23 passes for 194 yards before a broken thumb on his passing hand forced him out of the game midway through the third quarter.
The 29-year old Brohm has had to show an inordinate amount of patience since becoming a second round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2008. He spent time with the Packers and Buffalo Bills in the NFL before moving to the Las Vegas entry in the UFL.
The Hamilton Tiger Cats brought him north in 2013 and he moved to Winnipeg in March of 2014, when the Blue Bombers acquired him in a trade on the advice of former Ticats scout Danny McManus. Brohm’s performance against Hamilton was proof that the Bombers made the right move in keeping Brohm over Max Hall as their backup to Drew Willy.
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And then there’s Robert Marve. When Brohm went out of the Calgary game, the 25-year old Marve got his first taste of CFL regular season action, and the rookie from Purdue did not disappoint. Marve, discovered by the Bombers at their mini-camp in Florida in the spring, completed 5-of-10 passes for 64 yards and rushed for 36 more, leading the Bombers to a pair of touchdowns in a late game rally that fell just short.
Marve has a big arm but it was his scrambling that brought the crowd of 22,000 to its feet on more than one occasion. On one particular play, Marve pulled a houdini-like escape from the pocket and, running full speed to his right, completed an eight-yard pass to Brett Carter that gave the Bombers a first down and drew the loudest roar of the night from the fans.
Drew Willy, recovered from his thumb problem, will be back at the controls of the Bomber offence when the BC Lions visit Investors Group field on Saturday night as the Bombers try to snap a seven-game losing streak and avoid mathematical elimination from the playoffs. But the injury that sidelined Willy for last weeks game against Calgary allowed the Bombers to extract at least one positive from the late season skid — the knowledge that their backup quarterbacks can play.
