STOP MASOLI
That’s the tough task the Bombers face in rematch with Ticats tonight
Jeremiah Masoli can do a lot of things on a football field and has a bundle of dangerous weapons at his disposal, which might explain why he has become an elite passer and a major concern for any defence that has to face him.
That task this week falls to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who had no answer for Masoli and head coach June Jones’ run-and-shoot offence when they met the Tiger-Cats on June 29 in Hamilton.
The Bombers believe they have the answer for how to slow down the Tiger-Cats offence when the teams meet up on Friday night at Investors Group Field, but can they execute that game plan?
The last time they met, the Bombers gave up 386 passing yards, 480 yards overall and lost 31-17.
So what now?
“The key with any quarterback is making him feel uncomfortable in the pocket and keeping his feet unsettled,” Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill said. “Other than that, No. 2, we’ve got to be able to get different looks on the back end to make him hold on to the football, double-guess where he wants to throw his first read. When you mix that with pressure, you usually have good results.”
That answer most likely applies to almost any opponent and any quarterback. In this case, it’s much more easily said than done.
Masoli has thrown for 300plus yards in 11 of his past 12 games and in six of seven games this season.
His receivers are lighting it up, with Jalen Saunders second in the CFL with 686 yards, Brandon Banks fifth with 612, Luke Tasker 15th with 328 yards and Chris Williams 17th with 320 yards.
Masoli can distribute the ball very well, and also has the ability to take off, which keeps defences off-balance.
“He definitely is the orchestrator of the offence and he’s the guy that’s keeping them on time,” Bombers defensive back Chandler Fenner said.
“A lot of times, they go on two and you have to have a good schedule in order to that. In the first game, they went on two almost the whole game.
They tweaked a lot of plays throughout the game based on what they saw us doing so as far as us countering that, we have to be sharp.
“That has an effect because it’s timing. It keeps them on time and it throws our timing off. We need to reverse that and throw their timing off. We don’t want them to be on schedule like they were the whole time last time. We need to put them on their heels, take them out of their comfort zone, so we can win the game.”
The Bombers offence can play a big role as well, by doing its part to keep Masoli and Co., off the field.
The Bombers have been no slouches on offence this season, thanks to an offensive line that has allowed the fewest sacks in the league while also leading the way for the most rushing yards, a force of a running back in Andrew Harris and a good ball distributor in quarterback
Matt Nichols.
If the defence is able to keep Masoli in check, the Bombers offence, which averages 31.1 points per game, should be able to put up a big enough number to earn a victory.
Still, though the defence has been much stronger this year than it was last season, it’s a big if because of the talent level on the other side and the creative offensive game planning.
Those Hamilton attributes are brought together by a quarterback who has completed a league-high 66.8 per cent of his passes and is third in the league in deep ball completions.
“It’s super-impressive,” Nichols said of Masoli. “I’ve always been a big fan of his. I’m super proud of the way he’s been playing. I’m hoping he doesn’t play too well (Friday), but overall he’s one of the (quarterbacks) I have a ton of respect for, the way he has waited his turn and was ready to roll when (a job) was handed to him. I think he’s done a great job.”
It’s probably too much to ask for a defence to shut down an offence with as many options as the Tiger-Cats have. So several Bombers players said clamping down in one specific area could be the difference-maker.
“You’ve definitely got to stop the run,” defensive end Craig Roh said.
“If you can just stop that option right from the get-go and they become a passingonly team, they become much more one-dimensional.”
Even that one dimension will be a real handful.