Ball control ‘huge’ for Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’shea has a simple solution for dealing with an Ottawa Redblacks offence that spreads the ball all over the field through the air and can move it on the ground, as well.
“Don’t let them have the ball,” O’shea said Thursday.
The Bombers will host the Redblacks Friday night at Investors Group Field in a matchup of two 5-3 CFL teams that can put up big numbers on offence.
The Bombers lead the league in points per game (33.1), while the Redblacks are coming off a game in which quarterback Trevor Harris passed for 487 yards, five receivers caught at least six passes for 70 or more yards and running back William Powell ran for 104 yards.
Granted, all that came against the putrid Montreal Alouettes defence. But it’s clear that, if you give the Redblacks too many chances on offence, they’re going to make you pay.
“We definitely want to limit their opportunities,” Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols said. “I’ve watched every game on TV, and it seems like almost every time they have the ball, they string together some type of drive and aren’t going to give you a lot of two-and-out opportunities. When you do get your opportunities as an offence, you have to make sure that you go out there and keep them off the field and keep resting your defence.”
Given the Redblacks’ offensive success this season, it seems likely they’re going to put up some points against a stingy Bombers defence. The Bombers have allowed the second fewest points in the league this year (21.3 per game), but they’re still closer to the middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed (325.4 per game).
They’re a bend-but-don’t-break defence and, so far, it’s working for them.
“We do give up yards, but we’re not letting them score,” safety Taylor Loffler said. “We always seem to be able to bull up and come with what we need to, when we need to. It’s been working great so far.”
For Bombers players on the offensive side of the ball, they would prefer to not make the defence have to work so hard. The Redblacks have allowed an average of 351.8 yards per game this year and are sixth in the league in pass defence, allowing 272.4 yards per game.
There should be opportunities for the Bombers offence to do some damage — if it stays as sharp as it has been, for the most part, during a three-game win streak.
“Ball control is going to be huge in this game,” Bombers running back Andrew Harris said. “I talk about it, preach about it, all the time, but that time of possession is going to be absolutely crucial for us — and protecting the ball.”
The Bombers lead the league in forcing 25 turnovers (tied with Calgary) but have also turned the ball over 16 times themselves. They’ll surely need to win the turnover battle against an Ottawa team that coughed up the ball four times last week, keeping them to just 24 points despite their offensive onslaught against Montreal.
“When you play a team that’s as good as Ottawa, you have to play three-phase football and you need to win the field position battle, you need to stay on the field on offence, and you need to get off the field when you can, quickly, against their offence,” O’shea said.
“You certainly don’t want to make mistakes that extend drives for them, because they’re good enough on their own at extending drives.”
One thing is certain: The numbers Redblacks QB Trevor Harris put up last week made the Bombers sit up and take notice.
He threw the ball an incredible 54 times, completing 44 of those passes.
“Everything really runs through Trevor Harris,” Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill said. “He’s executing at a high level right now and he’s a great quarterback. You know, 44 completions in a game says a lot about what they can do on offence. They’re a ball control offence and they tend to be smart with the ball. They proved that, if you’re not going to stop them throwing the ball, they’re going to keep doing it.”
You can bet the Bombers defensive line will be looking to make Harris uncomfortable and, ideally, take some of the pressure off a secondary likely to be overworked.
“I think we’ve done a great job of mixing up different looks and getting pressure on the quarterback, making him pat the ball, step up in the pocket,” Bighill said. “That’s the No. 1 thing in this league. You’ve got to affect the quarterback.”