Three keys to Blue Bombers' success

During a recent four-minute radio bit, I was asked to come up with three of the most imperative, actionable items the local professional football squad needs to deliver on for a successful 2016.

While it can be difficult to sort through the chaff and identify these key kernels — as an obscene number of variables can impact a football season — it is an interesting and thought-provoking exercise.

 

It’s easiest to begin with what is sure to be a consensus factor for success for most any CFL team: the task of keeping your starting pivot clean and upright for 18 games. With all due respect to Matt Nichols — who does give the Winnipeg Blue Bombers an opportunity to win should a piece of starter Drew Willy break again — the franchise quarterback is still the quickest road to competence and to redeeming a ticket to the playoffs.

While the play of the offensive line is critical in keeping any pivot functional, the line should never carry this burden alone. If you give most defences enough of the same looks as to how and where your quarterback will operate in predictable scenarios, regardless of whom you have on your line, they will find a way to get to him.

The challenge will be as much about forcing defences to respect the run, having the entire offence understand the protection schemes, moving the pocket and changing the launch points, and having a crew of receivers that can recognize and adjust to the coverages and imbalances that occur. It all starts with the five men up front but it will take the entire unit to help keep Willy healthy.

The second core factor is the lag time it usually takes a new offence, with new players, to get up to speed. The Bombers simply don’t have the luxury of growing pains this year.

Each season, you are certain to hear defensive players play at a higher level faster than their counterparts on offence due to the different nature of these phases of football. Smart defensive co-ordinators working with a number of new players (Winnipeg’s defensive line will have three new starters) keep things simple at the beginning of the year and gradually add complexities and wrinkles. If your starting 12 on defence play fast and react instinctually, they are already three-quarters of the way to tapping their potential as a unit.

Conversely, because things such as timing, recognition and rhythm are critical for an offence to be productive (and there is a new playbook to be learned as Paul LaPolice takes over plotting the Bombers’ attack) this will be a large obstacle to surmount. Add to the equation they will be competing against some of the best defences in the CFL last year, starting in week 1, and this learning curve needs to be short and sweet — or it could be over before it begins.

Finally, the third major variable deals with the many new, high-profile players that joined in the off-season the Bombers via free agency.

From a leadership standpoint, there is a fine line between a player joining a football team and wanting to step up and lead and contribute, and a disastrous Casey Printers-type scenario (circa 2007, when he reportedly alienated three-quarters of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ room by assuming a mantle of leadership that had not yet been granted to him).

Rarely do all new additions understand the size of the contract you wield does not automatically garner you authority and a platform on a new team. When existing leadership ranks are merged with new personalities that are also used to leading the way, it is up to the head coach to clearly define roles and ensure group dynamics are as harmonious as they can be in such a testosterone-laden environment.

Outside of navigating these three ominous factors, a return to prominence for the Blue Bombers should be a piece of cake.

 

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears weekly in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97

I'm going on record now, if we can score more points than the opposition in half of our games, we'll be 9-9 and in the playoffs. That is this week's lead pipe cinch.

If Drew Willy can throw the ball to a receiver and the receiver is in the endzone  and catches it, and does this for 50 times this season, Willy could have 50 touchdowns. 

Doug brown does a lot of talking....still waiting for him to say something though.

1 hour ago, DR. CFL said:

Essentially if all the pieces of any team come together they will have a successful season. Works 50% of the time Doug. Doug truly has all the answers, just ask him and in 1,000 words OR MORE he will tell u.

I like Doug Brown whether his opinions are popular or not.  He's the only writer/broadcaster we have (bad lot) with any inside football knowledge worthy of thought.  I think what he said holds fairly true for any team in transition, not just the Bombers.

 

This team has had the longest period of transition going. Any longer and they should call a transition repair man 

I'm not sure what Brown's angle is....  trying to be funny?  Is he bitter?  Pompous?  Arrogant?   

Brandon, I vote for your last 2 choices.

I was too young to be a Hippie in the 60's & I'm too old to be a Hipster today. No other choice but to remain being the crusty old man chasing kiddies off my lawn.

If the other teams keep winning they could make trouble for us 

The obvious leaders of this team...

On Offense, it's Drew Willy

On Defense, it will be Jamaal Westerman for sure.

10 hours ago, iso_55 said:

I was too young to be a Hippie in the 60's & I'm too old to be a Hipster today. No other choice but to remain being the crusty old man chasing kiddies off my lawn.

You've mastered it.

Folks around here don't like his opinion, but Brown's not wrong. New systems and players take time to gel, protecting the QB is job #1 and we have a very tough start to the season. Most of the goodwill the Bombers had has been used up over the last 4 years out of the playoffs so they won't get much support if they can't put some W's on the board early on.

11 hours ago, iso_55 said:

I was too young to be a Hippie in the 60's & I'm too old to be a Hipster today. No other choice but to remain being the crusty old man chasing kiddies off my lawn.

This is so beautiful I'm going to crochet it, frame it, and mail it to you for your birthday.

(may need some time to learn to crochet)

16 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

I'm going on record now, if we can score more points than the opposition in half of our games, we'll be 9-9 and in the playoffs. That is this week's lead pipe cinch.

26 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

Folks around here don't like his opinion, but Brown's not wrong. New systems and players take time to gel, protecting the QB is job #1 and we have a very tough start to the season. Most of the goodwill the Bombers had has been used up over the last 4 years out of the playoffs so they won't get much support if they can't put some W's on the board early on.

I'm pretty sure "folks around here" all agreed with his opinion, because it was the equivalent of saying water is wet.

"Folks around here" also are starting to recognize that outside of talking about specific defensive schemes or relating anecdotes from his time as a pro, his takes on the state of current Bomber affairs don't have any extra value beyond what you'll find here on MBB, and come sprinkled with a liberal amount of snark.

1 hour ago, mbrg said:

I'm pretty sure "folks around here" all agreed with his opinion, because it was the equivalent of saying water is wet.

"Folks around here" also are starting to recognize that outside of talking about specific defensive schemes or relating anecdotes from his time as a pro, his takes on the state of current Bomber affairs don't have any extra value beyond what you'll find here on MBB, and come sprinkled with a liberal amount of snark.

exactly, it's not that I disagree with him. It's just he says the obvious, over and over and over again. His article's aren't "hard hitting" like they state they are in the bottom "Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist,"

They're more like, a gentle tickle that everyone who knows anything about the team agrees with because it's so damn obvious.

Mrs. Brown, you have a lovely doubter.

But really, that article by Brown can describe any team in the league...

51 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Mrs. Brown, you have a lovely doubter.

But really, that article by Brown can describe any team in the league...

How old are you man? 

You are right about changes in other teams. Just look at the Western teams.

The BB are not the only team with changes and turmoil.  I would say the two green teams had some sloshing back and forth of coaches and personnel.

What the heck is Wally up to in BC anyway? No way that paying your QB with a rookie DB salary is going end well. 

Even in Calgary the old man at the helm is now upstairs (Certainly the least of the turmoil). 

There is going to be stuff happening all over.

 

They built it and they came....they don't start winning and they will stop coming.

Didn't find it that negative myself.

Our OL is relying on at least one bad player and two young guys as it stands, haven't heard any talk about going to 3 imports.  Our boundary WR (Adams) is not the sharpest knife in the drawer even if he has all the physical tools, and that's one of the guys who can bail out the QB when he needs it.

Our DL on the whole is average to weak until we see someone step up and take that end opposite Westerman.  Shologan and Thomas give adequate play, but aren't difference makers.  Hopefully Cummings can be one inside.

Still a lot of questions in important spots and Lapolice isn't a saviour for the offence.

33 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Didn't find it that negative myself.

Our OL is relying on at least one bad player and two young guys as it stands, haven't heard any talk about going to 3 imports.  Our boundary WR (Adams) is not the sharpest knife in the drawer even if he has all the physical tools, and that's one of the guys who can bail out the QB when he needs it.

Our DL on the whole is average to weak until we see someone step up and take that end opposite Westerman.  Shologan and Thomas give adequate play, but aren't difference makers.  Hopefully Cummings can be one inside.

Still a lot of questions in important spots and Lapolice isn't a saviour for the offence.

I think the saviour on offence will be the 3 headed monster of Dressler Smith and Harris, how you account for all 3 on every snap is beyond me.

Edited April 6, 20169 yr by Bigblue204

I expect Euclid Cummings will be the one who provides the spunk that motivates Shologan and Thomas to play extra well, along with our all-star Westerman. We have enough eyes on that final 4 DL spot that I'm sure we will fill it..more than adequately. That's the beauty of having talent on the line. It won't be Westerman alone this year, he will have help, which also helps the LBs. Domino effect.

 

OL is still a concern until proven otherwise.  They switched out Picard for Keeping/Goossen but otherwise it's the same line as last year, minus Chris Greaves.  We need Goossen to take a big step forward, Chungh to stay the same or get better, Neufeld to stay healthy, and we need to draft a guy who will be ready to play if called upon.  I'm not saying that won't all happen.... But there's no guarantee.  I like Matt Nichols but if Willy goes down for a long period of time, this team is out of the playoffs again and we get a whole new front office and coaching staff yet again.  I really hope the OL is going to be good enough.

If Bombers are still flying high by LD Brown will be writing how difficult it is to deal with high expectations and pressure to win all the time. A winning record also leads to being over-rated and undeserved hype.

Quote

OL is still a concern until proven otherwise.

This is it in a nutshell. We, as fans, have to see the improvement, because we're still being told there is no concern at all in their O-line. MOS just reiterated this very comment in a recent radio interview.  They like their Canadian talent and the imports that they've brought in. He mentioned Manase Foketi as someone they've had their eyes on since 2014, Jace Daniels as being healthy and Jemarcus Hardrick as a good pickup.

Fine. But now we have to see it..