Boo Birds rattle the Bombers
With one game to go before the annual Labour Day Classic, this past week was much different in Regina than it was in Winnipeg.
As my old boss Jim Hopson was being inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour on Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were about to head into a gloomy night.
The smoky, cloudy air in Winnipeg was a sign of things to come.
The Ottawa Redblacks played a very good road game and clearly established themselves as a top contender, registering a statement win (44-21).
With questionable personnel decisions late in the game and a poor result pending, the Blue Bombers brought out the boos from their fans.
They must have forgotten that I left town in 2008.
Piling on to the mess on the field, the self-inflicted wounds continued as Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols made it clear to the media after the game that he didn’t take kindly to the boos.
The Bombers could have easily avoided all of this drama by not playing their marquee quarterback in garbage time.
Losing by 16 or 23 points is irrelevant compared to putting your star quarterback at risk behind a struggling young backup offensive tackle, who was in the game due to injury.
With three of the next seven games versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the pressure in Winnipeg has greatly increased, one would think.
The outside noise will really intensify with possible losses on the road to the Calgary Stampeders and the Roughriders over the next two weeks.
The key is to ensure the noise stays outside. Maintaining the players’ confidence and keeping upper management believing in the group is the job Bombers general manager Kyle Walters likely will face if the losses multiply.
Meanwhile, coming off a bye week, Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones decided to shake things up and create some waves of his own.
The odds of self-inflicted wounds were greatly reduced in Saskatchewan with the release of Duron Carter.
The boos weren’t heard in Saskatchewan, but a lot of outside noise certainly was.
A talented, dynamic player was gone. The second-guessing had begun. Calls for terminations were starting to be heard from some fans.
A common refrain was that Jones the GM had let down Jones the head coach. People wondered what was going on.
To his credit, Jones supplied the answers by delivering a resounding, 40-27 victory over the visiting Stampeders on Sunday.
His bye week review and evaluations proved to be a huge success.
Has order been restored in Saskatchewan? The next three games — Saturday’s contest against the host B.C. Lions, followed by a home-and-home set with Winnipeg — will provide that answer.
As my esteemed colleague — my parents told me to be nice to Rob Vanstone — noted in his column, it was a statement game by the Roughriders.
Now, can the success be sustained?
The cheering in Regina was so frantic that it created two time-count violation penalties by Calgary.
By contrast, the booing in Winnipeg just led to more questions being asked by a frustrated crowd that was watching a troubling loss.
Statements were made in Regina and Winnipeg, but there were two different messages.
And now for the weekly predictions — a head-to-head battle with the fading Vanstone (sorry, Mom) ...
EDMONTON AT HAMILTON (THURSDAY, 5:30 P.M.)
Taman: Tiger-cats are coming off a bye week. Short week for the Eskimos. Does it matter? Yes. Tiger-cats by four.
Vanstone: Mike Reilly’s roll continues. Eskimos by six.
TORONTO AT MONTREAL (FRIDAY, 5:30 P.M.)
Taman: Why not? Montreal pulls off biggest upset in the league this year ... or ever! Alouettes by four.
Vanstone: That is Taman’s kindest donation since Chris Williams was traded to Hamilton. A true gift for me in the head-tohead derby. Argonauts by 15.
WINNIPEG AT CALGARY (SATURDAY, 1:30 P.M.)
Taman: Will Calgary lose two in a row? No. Stampeders by five. Vanstone: Calgary will be ornery after loss in Saskatchewan. Stampeders by nine.
SASKATCHEWAN AT B.C. (SATURDAY, 8 P.M.)
Taman: Saskatchewan is on a roll after beating Calgary. Lions’ playoff spot is rolling downhill and fading fast. Roughriders by eight. Vanstone: Riders are erratic this season. Lions by three.
Records after Week 10: Vanstone 26-12 (1-3 last week); Taman 2513 (3-1).
FANTASY PLAYERS TO WATCH
Taman: Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell will be in rhythm this week early and often. Not playing against Jones’ defence will seem like a huge relief. Expect 300-plus yards and three TDS against a Winnipeg defence that is in the wrong place at the wrong time this week, visiting Calgary after a loss.
Vanstone: Cheap! Nice, gutsy pick, Taman! Picking Mitchell is too, too easy. Why don’t you pick the Harlem Globetrotters to win while you’re at it?! Two can play at this game. I’ll pick another elite quarterback — Reilly — to light up the Tiger-cats.
REVIEW OF WEEK
10 fantasy picks: We both picked someone from the B.C. Lionstoronto Argonauts game. Vanstone picked the Lions’ Bryan Burnham, who had four catches for 91 yards (including a 44-yard TD). I chose the Argos’ James Wilder Jr., who had 10 carries for 91 yards and four catches for 49 yards. I win by 49 yards. Forget about the Burnham touchdown. The Lions lost. Taman wins on a tiebreaker by picking Toronto AND Saskatchewan to win! Vanstone throws challenge flag. Command centre ... closed! Sorry, Rob. (And sorry, Dad.)