Be afraid, very afraid
Hard to get excited about Blue chances
By PAUL FRIESEN -- Winnipeg Sun
Remember when a visit by Montreal was the must-see game of the football season?
You'd need a serious case of amnesia not to.
As recently as last year, Blue Bombers vs. Alouettes was the CFL's version of Frazier vs. Foreman, or Yankees vs. Red Sox -- two CFL heavyweights with a healthy hate on for each other.
The result was a packed house, or close to it: three of the last four times they've met here, they've sold the joint out. The only non-sellout, in July of last year, was still the Bombers' largest crowd of the season -- well over 28,000.
Tonight, as these two renew acquaintances, the buzz around town is more like a collective zzzzzzz. Either that, or Bomber fans are staying home, locking their doors and covering their eyes, afraid of what they might see.
With ticket sales somewhere around the 22,000 range, the faithful have clearly lost the faith. Oh, they believe, all right -- that the home side doesn't stand a chance.
And who can blame them?
The Als waltz in at 8-1, the stumbling Bombers are 3-6, with all but one of those losses the double-digit variety. The CFL's team to beat, against the team to beat up.
Look beyond the records and the feeling this is a car wreck waiting to happen only intensifies.
By now you've heard the Bombers offence has a nasty habit of avoiding the end zone.
Well, the tonic for that type of malady isn't the Alouettes defence, a mean, swarming mass of humanity that leads the CFL in 16 statistical categories and is second in six (that pretty much leaves the fewest-rouges-allowed-by-left-footed-kickers-with-the-wind category as the only one these guys haven't dominated).
ALS HAVE THE EDGE
For example, the Als have snagged 23 interceptions, the Bombers five. Sacks: Als 24, Bombers 11. Yards allowed per game: 257 by Montreal, 400 by Winnipeg.
As for offence, only the B.C. Lions have a better one, particularly in the passing department, led by 2003 most outstanding player, quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
And the Winnipeg defence, well, it's starting not one, but two converted receivers in the secondary.
All that in mind, we thought we'd ask a few Bombers to convince us they actually have a prayer, and aren't just saying them tonight. Here's what we came up with.
"I'm not going to go into a game thinking we're overmatched," receiver Kamau Peterson began. "Unless we are. I don't think we are.
"See, when you've got a team that takes as many chances as they do, all you need is a split-second longer to throw. The question is, can we get that one or two seconds? We feel like we can. That's what gives us a chance. It may not convince you. But hopefully by the end of the first or second quarter you'll be more of a believer."
Fair enough.
But what are the odds of a Winnipeg win?
"If I was a Vegas odds-maker, I wouldn't put us on the same field," O-lineman Moe Elewonibi conceded. "Ottawa beat us by a bunch, other teams have beat us by a bunch. So, about a bunch."
The thing Elewonibi likes, though, is the way players are being held more accountable under new head coach Jim Daley.
"There's no comfort level anymore," Elewonibi said. "Every week you're auditioning for your job. We'd gone away from that in the last few years."
Finally, we go to the defence, and safety Geoff Drover, one of those converted receivers.
"In the CFL, any team is beatable," Drover said. "Three years ago, we were 14-4 and we were beaten by an 8-10 team (in the Grey Cup)."
That seems like an awful long time ago, doesn't it?
