Blue embarrassed

Plenty of blame to go around

You know all that controversy gurgling just below the surface in the Winnipeg Blue Bomber camp?

Well, last night against the B.C. Lions it boiled over, and the resulting mess left this team a scarred, disfigured shell of its former self in front of more than 25,000 horrified onlookers at the Stadium.

A 48-17 Lions romp not only pasted a losing record (2-3) on head coach Dave Ritchie's gang, it left you wondering if this team would even be able to recover -- and who would be around to see it happen, if and when it does.

Start with the head coach, who had fought off whispers of his imminent firing after the first two games by leading his team to back-to-back victories.

What transpired last night has to put Ritchie right back where he was two weeks ago.

The Bombers weren't undisciplined last night, they were embarrassing.

A game-turning sequence late in the third quarter told you all you needed to know.

Handcuffed by an offence that's forgotten how to finish drives, the Bombers were trailing 27-12, still in the game with plenty of time left.

That's when Markus Howell, a receiver playing defence after an injury to veteran corner Eric Carter, intercepted a pass at the Winnipeg goal line and returned it 93 yards.

Cue the comeback, right?

Wrong.

Terry Ray was called for roughing the passer, negating the interception. That's not what sunk the Bombers. How they reacted, is.

Ray went ballistic, rushing back onto the field to bump the official and earn an ejection.

Throw in a couple of objectionable conduct penalties, and the Lions had the ball on the Winnipeg one.

Seconds later it was 34-12, and the Bomber meltdown was on.

"It was all frustration," Ritchie would say later. "I called 'em all in and talked to them before the next play."

They obviously didn't listen.

This wasn't Winnipeg's first run-in with the refs. The road to the previous B.C. touchdown was also paved with the sins of the Bomber defence.

It's true there were bad calls, but that doesn't get this team off the hook.

Known around the CFL for a lack of discipline, last night it cost the Bombers a game. It's not the first time in Ritchie's six-year tenure.

After the game, Ritchie singled out his defensive backs for poor coverage, and his offence for not scoring touchdowns.

Which brings us to the other controversy.

The play of quarterback Khari Jones through four games was mediocre.

Last night, with a new, three-year, million-dollar contract in his back pocket, he continued to be mediocre, albeit with plenty of help.

That might be the most troubling part of it -- that Jones' teammates on offence appear to have, all too often, deserted him.

"Khari's had way too many balls dropped," Ritchie said. "We've got to take a hard look at that."

There's more, though.

In his last two starts, Jones has led his team to one major score.

Lions quarterback Casey Printers, a 23-year-old making his second career start, was the one who looked like a former MVP.

Jones was supposed to come into this game with a renewed sense of purpose. Pulled in favour of backup Kevin Glenn last week, he had something to prove, with no contract talks to distract him.

A crowd chanting, "We want Glenn," finally got its way late in the third quarter, but it was far too late.

Ritchie, who said this week he'd have a quicker trigger finger, should have made the change at half-time.

Five games into the season, the new offence of co-ordinator Ronnie Lancaster looks no better than the old one, led by the fired Paul LaPolice.

Who's left to blame?

On a night the Bombers were honouring their 1984 Grey Cup champs, they instead embarrassed everybody in attendance.

Some 25,000 fans deserve refunds, an explanation and, if things don't change in a hurry, some action.

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