Courtesy Winnipeg Free Press:

His mood changed. His voice took on a harsh edge. And, for the most part, Winnipeg Blue Bomber head coach Doug Berry looked like a man who had just sniffed a fart in a perfume factory.

The Bomber boss was positively gushing about the work of his recruits in last night’s 12-10 pre-season loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He raved about his quarterbacks Ryan Dinwiddie and Bryan Randall. He loved the work of his receivers. He praised his running backs and his defensive backs.

And then came his thoughts on the ongoing soap opera that just won’t go away with his football club — the kicking game.

“I’m not happy at all with our special teams again… the kicking,” said Berry, minutes into a post-game commentary in which he praised the work of almost every other position. “We’ve still got some issues there that we certainly need to evaluate and address.”

Troy Westwood missed his only field-goal attempt, a 42-yarder in which it looked like there was an iffy snap and hold. But he also had two long punts carry into the end zone when the club hoped to pin the Tabbies deep in their own end. All told, he punted four times for a 51-yard average but the singles had the coaching staff cursing. And Oregon State rookie Alexis Serna punted three times, but finished with a weak 28-yard average.

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