The end of an era in CFL football came last November when Wally Buono retired as the head coach of the B.C. Lions. It will be the end of an era in Winnipeg football this November if the Blue Bombers fail to reach the Grey Cup.
Winnipegers want a winner. They were disappointed in April when their Jets lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They felt blue when their Bombers were defeated in last year’s Western Final in Calgary. They’ve won no Stanley Cups ever and haven’t hoisted Earl Grey’s mug since 1990, the longest drought in the CFL.
Winnipeg is a great sports city. They deserve better.
The Canadian troika of president and CEO Wade Miller, GM Kyle Walters and head coach Michael O’Shea took over the Bombers in 2014. They missed the playoffs their first two years, then finished, third, second and third. They finally won a playoff game, beating Saskatchewan last year. The regime has been characterized by a failure to win big games. Expectations are high at Portage and Main. Fans think six seasons is enough to build a champion. They believe the team has the talent to go all the way but aren’t sure about the head coach.
Last year the defence allowed the second fewest points, forced the most turnovers and scored the most points off turnovers. They’ve added all-Canadian defensive end Willie Jefferson to a terrific line that includes tackles Drake Nevis and Brandin Bryant and end Jackson Jeffcoat. The CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Adam Bighill leads the linebackers. The Bombers are concerned about the secondary after losing veterans Kevin Fogg, Taylor Loffler and Chris Randle.
The Bombers are strong offensively with quarterbacks Matt Nichols and Chris Streveler and future Hall of Fame running back Andrew Harris. The receiving corps is a question mark. They picked up former Stampeder Chris Matthews but I suspect his best days are behind him. Darvin Adams is a star, DrewWolitarski and Nic Demski average. Look for Kenny Lawler and Charles Nelson to provide speed. All-stars centre Matt Goosen and Sukh Chungh left as free agents. Michael Couture should replaced Goosen with local boy Geoff Gray starting at guard. Justin Medlock is a good punter/kicker but the return game needs improvement.
Unlike Manitobans, Lower Mainlanders seem indifferent to their CFL entry. During Wally Buono’s 16-year tenure in B.C., the Lions only missed post-season play once. They won two Grey Cups. B.C. stars like Travis Lulay, Solomon Elimimian, Cameron Wake, Geroy Simons and others took home 28 CFL awards. But average attendance fell below 30,000 in 2013 and has dropped each season since, decreasing the value of the franchise that 77-year-old David Braley has owned since 1997. He wants to sell. Priority No. 1 is increasing attendance.
GM Ed Hervey who led Edmonton to a Grey Cup title in 2015 believes fire-wagon football is the answer. Hervey has blown the team up. There could be as many as 19 new starters next week when they open the regular season against Winnipeg. They have a rookie head coach, former Stampeder defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks who added former players like Ryan Phillips and Nik Lewis to his staff. He also hired Richie Stubler who has won five Grey Cups in a career as defensive coordinator which began in 1983.
They’ll need him.
The team broke the bank signing QB Mike Reilly. They landed the controversial but colourful receiver Duron Carter and made further additions to put an entertaining offence on the field and sell tickets. To find the money to pay Reilly $3 million, Hervey jettisoned stars like Elimimian, Jeremiah Johnson and Emmanuel Arceneaux.
He picked up receiver LeMar Durant from Calgary to go with Brian Burnham and Shaq Johnson. Two spots are wide open. The running back will be former Eskimo John White or Brandon Rutley. Hervey beefed up the O-line by signing free agents Chumgh and Brett Boyko, their 2015 Canadian draft pick who has spent the last four years in the NFL. With Reilly behind centre, B.C. should score a lot of points.
Hervey has impoverished the defence. There will be at least eight newcomers only one, DB Aaron Grymes, a household name.
Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 47 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.
