Pitiful, embarrassing, disgusting, or as my 11 year old son son said, “sloppy, lame, dookie,” Use all those words and more to describe what Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans saw from their team Friday night.

If there is any bright light it is this
When a team loses so badly I do not want to hear, “We will have to check the tape,” “We will have to see what when wrong,” “I am sure there are things that we could have done better.” NO! None of that. I want full transparent honestly. And at least Willie Jefferson brough that. “Like this is crazy for us to play like this at home in front of out home fans…all the support we get from our fans.”

Why is this a bright spot? Because it is one thing for those covering sports to say it, but it is another when a player or a coach says it. At that point, you know the team really understands – unlike Tommy Condell defending not passing the ball a week ago. But we will get into that in a bit.

Play Calling
Before I get more into that, I want to highlight a play that many fans will not agree with, but I do. After BC missed their first field goal, I fully agree with Winnipeg going for their first field goal on third down. What I don’t agree with is Winnipeg going for their other field goals when they were close to the end zone.

Had Winnipeg gone up a bunch of points on BC they would have taken the Lions out of the game early. Instead, they continued to go for field goals. They left the Lions in the game, feeling hopeful, and having a chance. That should not be the case for a 1-4 team playing their third string quarterback who is getting his first start in the CFL.

One could argue that the Bombers’ strategy actually worked as they were up by six points with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But I will make the counter argument that it worked against them by leaving the lions in the game.

Run The Ball – But Not That Much

Every Bombers’ fan was pretty much begging Tommy Condell to run the ball more. And in his post game interview after the Calgary game when he was asked about not running the ball more, he was pretty defensive and almost belligerent. His posture and tone completely changed as he answered that question and defended his decision not to run the ball in that fourth quarter. Dripping with arrogance after a loss.

What we saw at the beginning of the game versus BC and all throughout the game was a dedicated over commitment to run the ball. It was almost as if Tommy Cordell was saying, “You want to criticize me for not running the ball enough fine. We’re gonna run the ball on every single play right up the middle, making it very hard for Oliveira to get first downs, and then we’re gonna pass a few times with success and have you to beg me to go back to passing the ball.”

Now I certainly cannot say for certain that that is what was going on, but give me another logical reason as to why Condell was calling all of those runs, some of them with very terrible designs and very little possibility for execution.

BC Record Running – Bombers’ Defence Had No Answer

In talking about running the ball. Winnipeg had absolutely no answer to stop BC from running the ball. BC ran for 377 yards the most BC lines have ever rushed in any CFL game ever! It was as if the Bombers had just given up. And that’s not something that we’ve said about the Bombers for a very long time!

The BC Lions’ quarterback, Salter, himself ran for 160 yards. Everyone knew that he presented a run threat. So the Bombers’ either had to get after him early and often or very least contain him and make him throw the ball. The Bombers didn’t either of those.

Questions Remain

Earlier, I said the questions around the league about who the 2026 Winnipeg Blue Bombers are. And even before that, after dropping their home opener, I said Winnipeg can’t keep doing these three things or they’re gonna be in serious trouble.

“I get it, it is only game 2 and to say that the sky is falling is a bit premature. However, there are a few trends that simply cannot continue.

First, the Bombers’ defence has to be way better. It is the CFL and teams will continue to throw deep balls. However, an offence simply cannot be able to continually identify pre-snap where the one-on-one coverage is. It is very hard to get pressure on the quarterback that way and you will get burnt down field.

Second, the Bombers need to run the ball more! Quite frankly, after last year I do not have any time for excuses or explanations when the Bombers do not run the ball at least 15 times.

Third, if the Bombers offence continues to put up a ton of yards, but also turn the ball over that is problematic. I would rather have an efficient Bombers’ offence that puts up less yards…but protects the football.

Should two of these three areas of concern continue, then I believe the Bombers are in a world of hurt. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait another week to see what, if anything changes, as the Bombers are on a bye week this week.”

Not Enough 7’s

Leading up to this game here was a key point of mine.

“More 7’s
Yes, Castillo helps the team win by having an exceptional range for field goals. But it is ridiculous if he is kicking 5, or 6 field gaols because the Bombers simply cannot finish the drive with a major. I am more than fine with field goals when other teams would be punting. What does not help the Bombers’ case is the inability to finish drives. The Bombers went out in free agency and apparently upgraded their receivers. I was excited when I saw their moves in the off-season. I am less than excited when I see their performance so far.”

How Many Wins This Season
Here are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers remaining games:

Go ahead and tell me how many more wins do you think they can get or what’s the best they can end up in the West.

Final Thoughts

The Bombers now find themselves on a bye week. And I seriously would not be surprised if the organization said, “Bye-Bye,” to some players or staff this week.

I think the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea needs to have a serious conversation with their offensive coordinator Tommy Condell. And that conversation needs to go something like this, “What in the world were you thinking? We brought you in here to do one job and that was to run a prolific offence with the players we have. I don’t need you to send any messages to the media or Brady Oliveira or our offence in a game do that behind closed doors! FIFO!”

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers shouldn’t feel disappointed, upset, or even frustrated. They should feel embarrassed.

And they certainly should not just watch the film and then flush it. They need to stew in this for a little bit. They need to let this cut deep. They need to let this all-consume them for a while.

Because you know what? Even though the Bombers are 4-4, which looks like a decent record, their trajectory is falling straight to the ground, like a brick thrown out of an airplane.

Am I being too harsh? Let me know.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.