It’s a battle of the two most dominant teams in the West, late in this 2023 regular season, as the Bombers and our B.C. Lions play for all the spoils – the West Division crown, a playoff bye, and a home date for the Western Final.
What a climatic contest as the 2023 regular season moves towards its conclusion.
Here are my keys to the game. Looking forward to reading your 'keys to the game"
OFFENCE
This game features two of the Top 3 CFL quarterbacks. Vernon Adams leads the CFL in passing yards (4,004 yds. going into this game while Zach Collaros leads the CFL in passing touchdowns. Both are candidates for the CFL Most Outstanding Player Award. Winnipeg boasts both the CFL’s leading receiver in Dalton Shoen (1,136 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns, both tops in the CFL) and league leading rusher Brady Oliveira (1,359 yds, 6.0 yd. average).
Our Leos reply with two Top 10 receivers with over 1,000 yds receiving in Kevin Hatcher (2nd in the CFL in receiving yards with 1,103 yds and Alexander Hollins – 1,019 yds. Yyards and second in the CFL in receiving touchdowns. Nic Demski is also a versatile threat for the Bombers and Kenny Lawlor can create a major headache for pass defenses.
Our Leos have a deep and talented receiving corps with Dominique Rhmes, Jevan Cottoy, Lucky Whitehead, and Justin McInnis all bringing a deep and diverse skill set.
DEFENSE
Two middle linebackers both set the tone for the two defenses who will play key roles in this contest. Ex-Leo Adam Bighill leads the Bombers with 68 defensive tackles while Ben Hladk has 88 defensive tackles for our B.C. Lions, strongly supported by Bo Lokombo with 66 tackles, even though he will not start in this contest.
On defense, pressure is always the name of the game and our Leos have the CFL’s best pass rusher in Mathew Betts, whose 15 sacks lead the league by a wide margin. Woody Baron (7 sacks). Sione Teuhema (6 sacks) and Ben Hladk with 5 sacks can also get after an opposing quarterback.
The Bombers are led in the sack department by Wlllie Jefferson (7 sacks) along with Jackson Jeffcoat and Jake Thomas, both with 5 sacks. The Bombers have the CFL’s leading interceptor in Demerio Houston (7 interceptions) while Gary Peters of our Leos is tied for 3rd place in this category with 4 interceptions. T.J. Lee (3 interceptions) will also jump a route on occasion.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Bombers Janarion Grant and our Leos Terry Williams both have jets but Grant is the more consistent return man, based on average punt yards per return. Grant gives the Bombers decent field position after every punt with his 14 yard average. Our Leos Shawn White (93% success rate) and the Bombers Sergio Castillo (90% average) are both very experienced and very successful field goal kickers who know how to kick under pressure.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. OUR OFFENSIVE GAME PLAN
The Bombers will not view our run game as much of a threat. They will focus on shutting down our passing attack with pressure on the quarterback. The best way to nullify our talented receiving crew is to force Adams to throw quickly, while playing tight coverage on our receivers, with zone over the top.
Our Leos should be prepared for this. The answer is not just a quick passing attack. That feeds into the Bombers defensive approach to stop our offensive passing attack from being the threat it is. The key is to give Adams enough time to exploit the Bombers. We can do this by employing Cottoy often as a tight end, by using Mackie as a blocking back on passing downs and using him on an occasional screen pass, and by rolling Adams out.
Vernon Adams is a very good rollout quarterback. So is Zach Collaros for that matter. Both are probably the two best rollout throwing quarterbacks since Casey Printers 5,000 yd plus 2004 MOP season, when he rolled out quite a lot in his first year as a starter. Of course he was playing in Burratto’s multi-dimensional offence at the time and not the boring spread formation that keeps quarterbacks in the pocket far too much.
For those who believe our Leos will need to run the football, they are correct but there is no sense looking at a lot of second and 10’s with Mizzell early in this game. We will need to pass successfully to open up the run. Too many inside zone read run plays is a recipe for disaster. Some counters, a pitch toss, and the occasional fly sweep to stretch the Bombers defense horizontally.
2. DEFENSE IS THE KEY TO THE GAME
The way to lose this game is to allow the Bombers to get big yardage running the football on first down and then have the joy of second and short. The way to also lose this game is to blitz and play a lot of man pass defense. If we do that, the Bombers will keep extra bodies in, buy Collaros time and burn us deep.. Collaros on his own is excellent at avoiding the rush by rolling right, fading away from the rush, and then throwing hard.
The keys on defense are to shut down the run, blitz only one extra defender, most often to Collaros right side, and force quick reads. The key is to change up a lot on pass defense with zone, man, and combo coverages and always having a safety in the deep middle. If not, Collaros will read it and exploit it.
3. GETTING A LEAD or AT LEAST KEEPING IT CLOSE EARLY
The Bombers, if they get a good lead, are a very difficult team to beat. But if we can get the lead or stay close in the first half, it will change the complexion of the game and the strategy of the game. It will also keep the fans involved and therefore take full advantage of the home atmosphere.
Maksymic will need to have a good game plan and call a good game.. I believe he is capable of doing so as is Ryan Phillips. Strategy will be a very important aspect to this game in all likelihood and the Bombers with Richie Hall and Buck Pierce will adjust and so must we, if necessary.
At least, with this type of contest, I know the coaches we have give us a much better shot than the so called good 'ol days of Buono when it was believed that strategy or surprise was not necessary. Instead it was cut down the number of plays, here we are and all we need to do is ‘execute’ and ‘make plays’. To win with that approach, you have to have much superior talent than the opposition and even then you can lose.
No, I much prefer our present style of coaching However, they will need to be up to the task and more for this important contest and our players are going to need to play their best game of the season if we are to win the West.
The opportunity to do so is exciting.
Go Leos Go!
