Bombers get off to rough start with 22-14 loss that could have been much worse

If you look solely at the box score, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' season-opening 22-14 loss to the Montreal Alouettes Friday night wouldn't seem that bad. Sure, a home loss is a lousy way to start the season, and sure, they only scored 14 points, but that's a one-score game, and one where they had a chance to tie it at the end if their final play onside punt had worked out better. Moreover, quarterback Drew Willy threw for 303 yards, while running back Andrew Harris picked up 80 rushing yards and 40 receiving yards. The true story of the game likely makes the loss much more frustrating for Winnipeg fans, though, as their team was outplayed throughout,only woke up to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion inside the final three minutes, and wouldn't have had a chance to tie the game at all if Montreal had made a final field goal or punted through the end zone for a rouge. If the Bombers can play the way they did in those final minutes, the high expectations for them this year might not be totally in vain, but the rest of their performance Friday left much to be desired.

Let's start with that Winnipeg offence, which received plenty of hype this offseason after big-name additions like Harris, Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith. Harris was pretty good, especially in the second half, and his 6.2 yards per carry average bodes well for what he can do this year, but Montreal had him pretty well bottled up early on. Smith only had four catches for 33 yards, while Dressler had three for 22 before leaving the game with an injury. Willy might have been the most disappointing, though, as he really couldn't orchestrate a consistent attack for much of the night. He was often under pressure, and was sacked five times, but that still doesn't excuse his poor play; his stats look much better thanks to a late 63-yard TD bomb to Darvin Adams (who led all receivers in this one with 105 yards on five catches). The Bombers' offence has some nice pieces now, but Willy will have to be better if he's going to keep running it. His overall line of 25 for 34 (73.5 per cent), 303 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception isn't bad, but a lot of that only came right at the end.

The Winnipeg defence also looked vulnerable for most of the night, especially through the air. Montreal's Kevin Glenn carved them up for 332 yards, completing 30 of his 42 passes (71 per cent), and while he only threw for one touchdown and had one interception, he was able to move the chains much more consistently than Willy was. Receivers Duron Carter (eight catches, 96 yards), S.J. Green (five catches for 72), and Nik Lewis (six catches for 51) all looked good, and Glenn was able to find the open man pretty consistently. This high-percentage short-pass focused scheme under new offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo (the former legendary quarterback) seems like a good fit for the Alouettes, and Glenn did a good job of running it Friday.

Moreover, the Bombers generated next to no pass rush, and weren't able to bring Glenn down at all. Montreal also got a solid rushing performance from Tyrell Sutton, who picked up 66 yards on 15 carries. The Alouettes were widely thought to be rebuilding this year and the Bombers to be on the upswing, but things looked very different in this one. It's only one game, and if the Bombers can play the way they did towards the end of this one, it may not be all that indicative. If they perform the way they did for most of this contest, though, it could be yet another long CFL season in Winnipeg.