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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
Calgary Stampeders\u2019 Damon Webb (right) intercepts a pass intended for Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Nic Demski Friday night. The Bombers have thrown eight interceptions through seven games and have a league-leading nine fumbles on the season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Compounding matters, star tailback Brady Oliveira went from making the longest touchdown run of his CFL career \u2014 a 45-yard scamper late in the third quarter \u2014 to being a mostly forgotten player in the fourth as the club mostly abandoned the run in an effort to rally from nine and eventually 12-point deficits.<\/p>\n
Oliveira, who had 14 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns against the Stamps, vented a bit during the CJOB post-game show, suggesting the Bombers seem to still be fighting to figure out their identity on offence. The running back (knee) took a maintenance day on Monday and wasn\u2019t made available to reporters to elaborate on his comments, but the topic of the team\u2019s offensive identity was a popular one after Monday\u2019s workout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe identity, at any time, it doesn\u2019t matter who is playing,\u201d said Condell. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what quarterback is playing, it doesn\u2019t matter what tailback is playing, it doesn\u2019t matter what offensive line is playing, we\u2019ve got to be able to protect the football.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be able to create explosives, we\u2019ve got to be physical and we\u2019ve got to finish and we\u2019ve got to marry the run and the pass. I\u2019ve said that before and I constantly say that. Those are the things that we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Condell made it clear the Bombers aren\u2019t doing a good enough job on the ball security side of things, pointing out the team has nine fumbles (five of which were lost) and another eight interceptions through seven games.<\/p>\n
Turnovers are going to happen over the course of an 18-game season, but this is an area the Bombers need to clean up quickly, especially as they welcome the B.C. Lions to Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday night before heading into the second bye week of the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what quarterback is playing, it doesn\u2019t matter what tailback is playing, it doesn\u2019t matter what offensive line is playing, we\u2019ve got to be able to protect the football.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a balanced team,\u201d said veteran Bombers guard Patrick Neufeld. \u201cWe still like to run the football. We have done a good job of running the football. There are opportunities when we have to be better up front and I really like our passing game. Our system is really great. The stuff that Tommy (Condell) has brought in is really great and he\u2019s done things to complement the inside zone and ways we\u2019ve protected the inside zone over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike any offence, you want explosives and that\u2019s something we want to be more consistent with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown also weighed in on the topic of building an offensive identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of what everyone in this league does, you have to look at what you\u2019re going against and what that looks like. It changes week to week,\u201d said Brown. \u201cThere are obviously things that you hang your hat on and those things change throughout the year as you improve on certain things.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s an aspect to every single year, even possibly week to week and month to month, you\u2019re evolving in some areas and you might not be as good as you once were in other areas, so there\u2019s this evolution, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea preferred to speak in generalities when asked for his thoughts on the offensive identity.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell (centre) said after Monday\u2019s practice that he is seeking input from the players on his play-calling.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be good at all sorts of things and be able to draw that up when you need it,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cIf your identity was running screen passes, at some point you\u2019re going to have to do something other than a screen pass to win the game. I think we\u2019ve always landed on the idea that in any given week, whatever it\u2019s going to take, that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bombers have dealt with a few challenges as it pertains to personnel, already using four quarterbacks this season, and dealt with some instability along the offensive line. But the club isn\u2019t leaning on that as an excuse, even if it appears to be part of the reason for the inconsistency on offence as the midway point approaches.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it\u2019s kind of been like a working piece of art,\u201d said Bombers receiver Ontaria Wilson. \u201cIn a perfect world, I feel like we can be a great, explosive offence, with an ability to take shots down the field as well as Brady (Oliveira) to break for big runs and then getting the ball in our good receivers hands and letting them get YAC (yards after the catch).\u201d<\/p>\n Condell was asked a series of questions about not running the ball more in the fourth quarter and wasn\u2019t making any apologies.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery game is different. From a play-caller mentality\u2013 and I\u2019ve done it for over 20 years \u2014 I have never called a perfect game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always trying to make the best decisions I can during the game. I thought that was the best decision for the team, in order to get back into the game,\u201d said Condell. \u201cI would say that analytics would say that running the football has the ability to have (fewer) turnovers than the pass, but the pass would ultimately have more chance of yardage. I don\u2019t know the numbers directly, but analytically, that would be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n Like many coaches, Condell prefers to keep his self-evaluations in house, though he made it abundantly clear that the players are aware of where he stands.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery game is different. From a play-caller mentality \u2014 and I\u2019ve done it for over 20 years \u2014 I have never called a perfect game,\u201d said Condell.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always striving to try to be great for those players and put them in the best possible situation and, at times, I have to own some of the things that I didn\u2019t do correctly and I certainly do that with the team. I do that in there and they understand that from an accountability (standpoint), that I\u2019m going to make mistakes and I\u2019m going to make sure that they know it. I don\u2019t hide behind any of that. But we do that in a team setting, a private setting.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s Condell\u2019s job to help the offence reach peak efficiency as the season moves along. But he is integrating a number of new weapons and is trying to spread the ball around, devising ways to create mismatches, no matter who the opponent might be.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a dictatorship either, as Condell has been seeking input from the players.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to be a part of it, whether it\u2019s from a play-calling standpoint or a scheme design,\u201d said Condell. \u201cYou have to make sure that they understand the intent of everything and the \u2018why\u2019 behind that. And that\u2019s my job.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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