Bombers 80th anniversary comes with a 20 year drought

Author: Joe Pascucci

November 11, 2009

Joe Pascucci's E-Take is sponsored every Wednesday by Biotech Laser, who utilize a low intensity laser that stimulates the natural healing of tissue. www.biotech-laser.com.

Another season has come to an end for the Blue Bombers without a Grey Cup and so heading into the team’s 80th anniversary they will be reminded that it has been 20 years since they last put their hands around and drank from Earl Grey’s mug.

Mike Kelly faced the media on Monday to breakdown the 2009 season and besides stating the obvious that his failure to get the offense to produce was the biggest disappointment of his rookie year as head coach, he spoke of how (this season) they had laid the foundation for future Grey Cup victories.

He is somewhat correct on that point with the players that were brought in like defensive backs Jonathan Hefney, Keyuo Craver, and Lenny Walls, defensive ends Odell Willis, and Phillip Hunt and linebacker Siddeeq Shabazz.  But after a fast start in which he returned two interceptions for touchdowns, Shabazz’s play tailed off – but that may have been more a case of his injuries.

The Bombers did not have a receiver with more then a thousand yards.  Adarius Bowman came closest with 925 and his six touchdowns were second only to running back Fred Reid.  But Bowman didn’t catch a pass in Sunday’s loss to the Tiger-Cats and seemed out of sync (as did most of the receivers) with quarterback Michael Bishop.  That aside it was a good pickup by the head coach who traded Dan Goodspeed to the Roughriders for Bowman.  The Riders then dealt Goodspeed to the Tiger Cats and that is a another story.

The offensive line performed far better then expected and the additions of Glen January and Steve Morley at the tackle spots made up for losing Alex Gauthier to free agency and the trade of Goodspeed.  Kudos to Obby Khan who played a full season after his health issues the last couple of seasons.  Meanwhile Brendan Labatte continues to prove what a smart move former GM Brendan Taman and current receivers coach Bob Dyce made in drafting him.

Back to the quarterback.  Kelly said he wanted to bring Bishop back but hinted that it may be for his veteran presence.  Of the five (or was it six quarterbacks that Kelly brought to training camp?) all were off the roster by mid season.  Only Stefan LeFors was still cashing a cheque as he was placed on injured reserve.

I’m not revealing secrets by saying that was Kelly’s biggest faux pas of this past season.  You can’t win if you can’t score and the quarterback is what drives the offense and Bishop just couldn’t do it with enough consistency.  While Kelly lamented the fact (too often for my liking) that Bishop didn’t have the luxury of going through a training camp, whose fault was that?  From my vantage point its Kelly’s who could have brought Bishop to their Florida camp as he did Casey Printers and Marcus Crandell.  I will back Kelly on his decision not to bring Printers to camp.  Having been in attendance to witness the opening practice I had a sense that Printers wasn’t exactly buying into what Kelly was preaching.  Printers’ body language suggested to me that he was disinterested in the head coach’s beliefs on how to play the position.  Kelly says they are talking with a couple of quarterbacks on their negotiations list and they would join Casey Bramlet, Ricky Santos and Adam DeMichele in the Bombers stable of pivots.

On Mike Kelly you would have to say when it came to his public relations skills with the fans and media that he needs work.  When he first arrived coach Kelly would always drop a line about his NFL connections but finally stopped doing that around September when his behavior became more relaxed and less confrontational.  Kelly should have already known before he was handed the job by president Lyle Bauer that he wasn’t going to like everything that was said or written about him.  Being second-guessed comes with the job description when you’re the head coach.  Kelly still hasn’t mastered his emotions but it’s obvious to see when he’s biting his tongue.  Since he has already proclaimed his return and Bauer has publicly supported his choice as head coach we can look forward to another season of Kelly’s Heroes.

If at the beginning of next season the Bombers are still losing and the fans continue to stay away, how many games will it take before the club’s board of directors say to Bauer its time for a coaching change.  For me that will be the biggest story concerning the Bombers when they commence the 2010 season.

« Back