Jason Hogan, the first-year offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, defended his play call that resulted in a late-game interception against the Toronto Argonauts.
“Based on our film work, our prep, we felt comfortable with (the play call),” Hogan answered Derek Taylor after Monday’s practice. “We understood that we’d probably get man coverage and we got the look for it. At that point in time they also were loading the box a little bit, so at times you’ve gotta make them pay if they want to play man coverage and load up the box trying to take the run away. You’ve gotta take some shots.”
On the first play after the three-minute warning, the Blue Bombers isolated receiver Jerreth Sterns to the field-side anticipating man coverage. He ran a double-move against cornerback Tarvarus McFadden and quarterback Chris Streveler used a pump-fake to try to get McFadden to jump the route, which would have helped Sterns get behind him.
The deception didn’t work. McFadden ignored the pump-fake and maintained position to blanket Sterns in coverage. The defender used his height advantage — McFadden is six-foot-two and Sterns is five-foot-seven — to leap and make the interception, giving the Argonauts possession at their 30-yard line.
The Blue Bombers led 37-31 when the turnover occurred. Critics will point out that a field goal would have been enough to go up by two scores but head coach Mike O’Shea liked the decision to throw it deep, saying he wanted to take a two-touchdown lead.
“I like the call,” said O’Shea. “We’re putting a nail in the coffin.”
“It’s a kill shot, is really all it was. Instead of going up by three, it’s putting the game away, making it hard on the opponent. A little more momentum, maybe lifting the bench a little bit more. A confidence-booster, all that good stuff,” said Hogan. “That’s the mindset behind being in the red zone — try to take shots when we need to and when they’re there.”
If the play call was good, why didn’t the play result in a touchdown? According to the young coach, it would seem Streveler didn’t throw the pass deep enough into the corner of the end zone.
“The ball was not placed in the right area,” said Hogan. “We paid for it, unfortunately.”
The interception didn’t end up hurting Winnipeg as the team’s defence rose to the occasion, knocking down passes on consecutive plays to force Toronto to punt. It took another two possessions but the Blue Bombers eventually put the game away with a 31-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo, making the final score 40-31.
The McFadden interception was the last of three for Streveler on the day, through the first two occurred as a result of tipped passes. The veteran quarterback, who is 2-0 as a starter this season, finished the game 17-of-21 for 173 yards and three picks. He also rushed four times for 25 yards and one touchdown.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-3) will visit the Calgary Stampeders (5-3) on Saturday, August 9 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Blue Bombers are coming off a close win over Toronto, while Calgary got crushed by the Redblacks 31-11.
The weather forecast in Calgary calls for a high of 21 degrees and a 60 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and 770 CHQR in Calgary.
