Winnipeg Blue Bombers try to explain struggles of once-great pass defence

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are struggling to stop the pass, which is a surprise considering how good their secondary was last season.

The unit was miserable in a 31-17 loss to the Toronto Argonauts last week as Nick Arbuckle threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns, improving on the numbers he posted in last year’s Grey Cup when he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

The defeat at BMO Field marked Winnipeg’s third straight loss and was the latest entry in a troubling streak of defensive performances.

Over their last four games, the Blue Bombers have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 67.6 percent of their pass attempts for 1,057 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception. These numbers would be even higher if Calgary and Toronto hadn’t adjusted to more conservative play-calling late in blowout wins.

In speaking with four key members of Winnipeg’s secondary immediately following the loss in Toronto, it seems there are no easy answers for their regression.

“For the most part, we’re just not winning. At some point the coach can call whatever he wants and the players have gotta execute. It’s a 12-on-12 game but it comes down to one-on-one, and sometimes we lost when we had two-on-one,” said strong-side linebacker Redha Kramdi. “We’ve gotta look at us in the mirror. There’s nothing we can do about what happened this game. All we can do is work on what we’re facing next week.”

“I honestly don’t know (what the problem is) right now, but of course we’ve gotta do better,” said two-time All-CFL boundary halfback Deatrick Nichols. “That’s what tomorrow is for. The sun is going to rise and we’re going to figure it out tomorrow. After that, then whatever the problems are and mistakes are, we’ll try to handle them and fix that.”

The Argonauts converted a whopping 14 second-down conversions against Winnipeg, allowing them to chew up the clock and extend drives. On one possession early in the second quarter, Toronto converted four second downs of 10 or more yards, including twice from beyond 15. The drive ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass to DaVaris Daniels.

“We had a lot of opportunities to stop them on second down, we just missed a lot of tackles,” said field-side halfback Evan Holm, who is a former All-West Division selection. “If you’re not in position, you might over-pursue, then (the ball-carrier) makes a cut and goes. There’s also footing — if you’re not in a good position, you’re trying to overcompensate for that. You can’t have loose footing, you’ve gotta have a square base. I felt like I missed more tackles than I’ve ever missed.”

“On second and long for us, we (as defensive backs) have gotta take more pride,” added Kramdi. “It hurts for me, personally, being in that room. We work hard. The work is not the problem, it’s applying what we see during the week, applying the keys we talk about during the week and executing when we go out on the field. The coaches we have here are top tier, and they’ve been proving it year in and year out. We’ve gotta do a better job.”

Most of Winnipeg’s secondary has gone unchanged from last season, which is why it’s so surprising to see them struggle. Marquise Bridges replaced free-agent defector Tyrell Ford at field-side cornerback, while Jamal Parker is at safety for Brandon Alexander, who went unsigned in free agency. Bridges and Parker were both with the Blue Bombers last season, meaning there are no true newcomers to the secondary. Everyone is a veteran.

Winnipeg’s pass defence was excellent in 2024, allowing only 234.8 yards per game — 30 yards fewer than any other team. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 60.9 percent of their passes, almost eight percent better than the league average, and ranked second league-wide with 67 pass knockdowns. The Blue Bombers were consistently able to close windows and contest catches. The numbers prove it.

This success wasn’t a byproduct of an elite pass rush, either, as the Blue Bombers finished ninth in the league — dead last — with 26 sacks. The team often rushed only three defenders on passing downs, dropping nine players into coverage to blanket receivers.

This season has been a much different story thus far. Winnipeg is allowing 285.3 passing yards per game, which ranks sixth league-wide. The completion percentage of opposing quarterbacks remains low at 62.0, though the team has a tendency to give up deeper throws as they’re allowing 2.2 completions per game of 30 yards or more.

“Last year was last year, and now we’re giving up all these explosion plays, so that’s the defence we are this year, and we need to change that,” said Kramdi. “Whatever we did last year doesn’t matter to the season that we’re playing right now. I like to think every game is different and you come out with a clean slate — you try to to execute a game plan, read your keys and everything — but when stuff happens week to week, you really need to address it.”

“I don’t know if I can pinpoint something specific, but I just think that we’ve all gotta play better in general,” said Michael Griffin II, who often checks in as the extra defensive back on passing downs. “As a unit, if we play better, we communicate and all that stuff, it takes care of itself. The execution is probably the issue right now, just not making the plays that we need to make.”

Winnipeg made a personnel change partway through last week’s game, replacing Bridges at field-side cornerback with rookie Trey Vaval. It didn’t appear as though Bridges was injured, meaning this was likely a performance-driven move. After the game, head coach Mike O’Shea indicated that defensive coordinator Jordan Younger has the autonomy to make these type of in-game changes if he so chooses.

The Blue Bombers have also brought back Dexter Lawson Jr., who was released at the conclusion of training camp. The 25-year-old made 13 regular-season starts over two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, primarily at field-side cornerback. The move could be a sign that further changes are on the horizon.

If the unit doesn’t improve, it seems fair to suggest changes are more likely than not.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-3) will host the Toronto Argonauts (2-5) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, August 1 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at BMO Field this past week where Nick Arbuckle carved up Winnipeg’s secondary for 316 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 31-17 win.

The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 29 degrees and sunny conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1050 in Toronto and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.