It was all about the wind. And despite a week of guaranteed bluster, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ hopes for a 2008 Grey Cup appearance were blown right out of Canad Inns Stadium.
Blasting out of the north end zone at 30 kilometres per hour, accompanied by a deep grey sky and a bitter cold bite, a particularly nasty November prairie wind declared that the team with the ability to handle its gusts and subtle directional changes would get its ticket punched to the Eastern final. The Edmonton Eskimos got the job done, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers did not.
The Eskimos took full advantage of their time with the wind while Winnipeg, playing on its own frozen field, couldn’t muster enough offence with the wind at its back to win the Eastern semifinal. With 18 points in the second quarter and eight more in the third, the Eskimos put enough on the board to record a 29-21 victory. The Bombers, who had the wind in the first and fourth, put up only 14 points with the advantage. That wasn’t enough, even with a franchise-record 93-yard punt return from Jason Armstead — against the breeze.
For their efforts, the Eskimos became the CFL’s first last-place Western Conference team to win a crossover playoff and they also earned themselves a trip to Montreal for next weekend’s Eastern final.
However, while the Eskimos celebrated, the Blue Bombers sat quietly in their dressing room wondering what had happened.
“The wind was definitely a factor and if the offence can’t score with the wind at its back, there wasn’t a lot more the defence could do,” said Bombers defensive end Jerome Haywood. “You have to generate offence with the wind at your back. If you don’t, you aren’t going to win in those conditions.”
It was a bitter pill for the Bombers to swallow, especially after GM Brendan Taman had rebuilt the team at mid-season and turned a 2-8 mess into a solid 6-2 playoff contender down the stretch.
Still, on Saturday, the Bombers problems were obvious.
The running game could have carried Winnipeg, even with the wind at its back, but head coach Doug Berry and offensive co-ordinator Kit Cartwright appeared to abandon the run just when Fred Reid and Joe Smith were gearing up.
The passing game was dreadful. Quarterback Kevin Glenn went 15-for-34 for 233 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown came early in the first quarter – a 78-yard bomb to Romby Bryant. Eliminate that one play and Glenn was 14-for-33 for 155 yards and a pick.
“We just didn’t get the job done on offence,” admitted wideout Arjei Franklin. “The guys played hard, but we didn’t take advantage of the wind. We didn’t do what we had to do.”
Sitting in his usual spot in the northeast corner of the locker room, Milt Stegall – who had five catches for 56 yards – didn’t want to think about next week, let alone next season. The 38-year-old lock for the Hall of Fame, and the man who had guaranteed a Bomber win as long as there was a sellout, got neither. At the end, he had no desire to discuss his future.
“I haven’t made a decision and I won’t make a decision for awhile,” he said. “To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it.”
This off-season, the Bomber brass has to make a lot of decisions. Stegall will likely call it a career and veteran players such as Matt Sheridan, Barrin Simpson and Jamie Stoddard have likely played their final games in Winnipeg.
In the meantime, will Glenn, who did not have a particularly good season, be in coach Berry’s plans and will Cartwright return in 2009? The Bombers offence struggled mightily and, no doubt, big changes will be made.
The Bomber team that lost on Saturday will look considerably different in 2009. However, like the outcome of Saturday’s Eastern semifinal, how it will look is written on the wind.