Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Willie Jefferson (5) celebrates stopping the Toronto Argonauts from touching down across the one yard line during second half CFL football action in Winnipeg, Friday, July 12, 2019. Can the Winnipeg Blue Bombers improve to 5-0? They get a good chance Friday as the visiting 2-2 Ottawa Redblacks line up behind a new quarterback. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Winnipeg hasn’t won the Grey Cup since they edged the Edmonton Eskimos 50-11 in 1990. They lost the big game in 1992, 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2011, each time representing the Eastern Conference when either Montreal or Ottawa had folded.
This could be their year. At 5-0, they are off to their best start since 1960 when they opened the season with 10 straight wins.
Although the Bombers have scored the second most points in the league and lead with 13 touchdown passes, they’re doing it with defence. Offensively they rank fifth in net offence, second in rushing thanks to Andrew Harris but dead last in passing. Only the Argos have had more two-and-outs. Still, they lead in time of possession.
They’ve surrendered the fewest points and have the best takeaway-to-turnover ratio. Winnipeg has forced the most turnovers and has the second fewest penalties. They don’t beat themselves.
At this point the Blue Bombers only have two receivers in the top 25, Lucky Whitehead (17th) and Darvin Adams (23rd). I expect the Bombers to be better on offence with the emergence of receiver Kenny Lawler who might be the deep threat they have lacked the last few seasons. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver from California spent the last three seasons on the Seattle Seahawks and B.C. Lions practice roster, from whence he was plucked by Blue Bomber general manager Kyle Walters.
Against Ottawa last Friday, quarterback Matt Nichols was good on 25 of 29 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns. He left the game after completing 19 in a row. He has the best passing efficiency rating in the league at 129.1. This is his best season since assuming the starter’s role in 2015. At 32 years of age, the nine-year veteran should be in his prime.
However, Nichols has been susceptible to injuries during his career as a starter. He has yet to play a full 18 games for the Bombers. If he should get hurt again, fan favourite Chris Streveler can get it done.
Defensively, the secondary has been tremendous with Brandon Alexander and Chandler Fenner on the right side, Jeff Hecht at safety, plus Winston Rise and Marcus Sayles on the left. Even though he only has two sacks and four tackles, by his very presence Willie Jefferson makes his linemates better players.
A five-game winning streak does not a season make. The Eskimos opened the 2017 campaign with seven straight wins, only to lose the next six. In 2010, the Stampeders won nine of their first 10 games, including seven in a row. They were 4-4 the rest of the way and lost the Western final to Saskatchewan. It is who is hot and healthy in November that really matters, not July.
Still, the Bombers seem solid in just about every phase of the game. They’re particularly deep in Canadians and on the offensive line. Harris thrives on hard work and Nichols is a hungry veteran. Former Grey Cup champions like Jefferson and offensive tackle Stanley Bryant provide vital leadership in the dressing room. Head coach Michael O’Shea and coordinators Paul LaPolice and Richie Hall have won Grey Cups and know what it takes to do that. Chief scout Danny McManus is also a veteran of CFL wars who won it all as a player in Hamilton and B.C., valuable experience when searching for players who will be winners.
LaPolice was the last head coach to lead the Bombers to the Grey Cup, a 34-23 loss to the Lions in 2011. (B.C. lost five of its first six games that year).The year before he was the offensive coordinator for the Grey Cup finalist Saskatchewan Roughriders. If he decides to leave Winnipeg, he’ll be in great demand. But he has chosen to stay put in an assistant’s role because he believes the Bombers have an excellent chance to win it all.
By the way, that 1960 season? Coach Bud Grant and several players including Ken Ploen and Leo Lewis told me that group was the greatest Bomber team of them all. In the best of three Western final against Edmonton, they lost the third game 4-2, not even making it to the Grey Cup.
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.
