LAPOLICE HAS LIT BOMBERS’ FUSE
Winnipeg hasn’t seen an offence like this since 1994
The architect behind what might be the best Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence of the millennium is the same man who created a Prairie powerhouse 15 years ago.
In 2002 and 2003, the Bombers had something special on offence, with Khari Jones at quarterback, Charles Roberts and Mike Sellers in the backfield and Milt Stegall and Arland Bruce catching passes.
They also had Paul LaPolice as offensive co-ordinator, and in 2002, the team averaged 388.1 yards of net offence per game on the way to a 12-6 record.
As they head into a game against the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday that marks the midway point of the season, the Bombers are averaging 390.3 yards of net offence per game.
You have to go all the way back to 1994 — when Matt Dunigan was the quarterback of the Bombers — to find an offence that has been this productive in Winnipeg.
Coming off a game in which they amassed 560 yards against the previously unbeaten Edmonton Eskimos, the Bombers — and particularly their explosive offence — are the toast of the town.
Much of the credit goes to LaPolice, the 47-year-old offensive co-ordinator from New Hampshire, who returned to the Bombers for a third stint on the coaching staff (he was head coach from 2010-12) last season and has quickly built a juggernaut.
“I think he’s done an amazing job,” running back Andrew Harris said Monday. “Last year he got a feel for the type of athletes he had in the offence and this year he has really morphed us into something … putting us in positions to succeed and understanding what we’re good at, what we’re not so good at and just playing to our advantages.
“It’s been a great give-and-take relationship and I feel like it has grown beautifully.”
The Bombers are 6-2 to start the season and have won their past four games. Their offence in now third in the league in net yards (390.3 per game), first in offensive points scored (31.8 per game) and first in rushing yards (103.1 per game).
Head coach Mike O’Shea would be the first person to point to LaPolice’s work as a big reason for the team’s success.
“(It’s been) excellent,” O’Shea said. “The last game especially I thought he had a very good game plan. It was well-executed by the players, which meant it was coached well on a short week. For them to be able to put some stuff in and get it executed, it’s all pretty pleasing stuff.”
LaPolice has been in the CFL since 2000 and has worked for the Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Over the years, he has learned a lot about offences — and he’s putting that knowledge to good use with the Bombers.
Quarterback Matt Nichols is thriving in the LaPolice system, while the versatile Harris has been one of the best players in the league in the first half. Nichols is spreading the ball around to all of his receivers, accumulating yards and touchdowns and not throwing many interceptions.
“We try to cater to the strength of our players and certainly to the strength of Matt,” LaPolice said. “After a year of being with him, we know what he does well.”
Before last year, LaPolice had not been an offensive coordinator since 2009. He was head coach of the Bombers for two-plus seasons, taking them to the Grey Cup game in 2011, but spent 2013-15 on the sidelines, doing some TV work for TSN and working on becoming a better coach.
“The time off allowed me more time to get educated on other things I wanted to do in football, study other systems and other things people do,” LaPolice said.
“It allowed me to do more football, if that makes any sense, because I had more time on my hands instead of always working on your team or your systems.”
One area where LaPolice really seems to be excelling this season is communication.
“What LaPo does well is, I think, he empowers the people who coach for him and also the players,” Bombers offensive lineman Matthias Goossen said.
“Our opinions matter to him. We notice things differently from him because we are actually on the field playing. I love a coach that, when we say something, he listens.”
Bombers quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce played for LaPolice when he was the head coach and he sees a man who has earned the trust of his players.
“I played under LaPo for a number of years and seeing the way he acts around the players, the respect that he gives, he gets that right back,” Pierce said.
“He’s one of the best playcallers I’ve ever been around. I’ve learned a lot from him.”
While they have looked very strong of late, the Bombers know there’s room for improvement.
“His approach to the game has always been the same,” Pierce said of LaPolice. “He’s a guy who will leave no stone unturned and will be creative, think outside the box, which a lot of people sometimes find tough to do. He’s a great guy to learn from and continues to want to be better, to find new ways to do things.
“That approach just sets it for the whole offence.”