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News July 22, 2023

Upon Further Review | EDM 14 WPG 28

2nd Half - Kenny Lawler 89 - Rasheed Bailey 88 touchdown celebration

@EdTaitWFC

It was the usual post-game scene in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room late Thursday night – music pumping, fist bumps and bro hugs galore all amid the celebration of another victory.

And as we approached Jermarcus Hardrick to seek out his thoughts on a 28-14 win over the Edmonton Elks – particularly on how the offensive line imposed its will, especially in the fourth quarter – the veteran right tackle quickly got the first word in…

“You’re not going to ask me,” he began with a grin, “about how old I am or talk about how old our O-line is, are you?”

No, we most certainly will not, especially given the numbers on our own birth certificate.

It’s an interesting starting point, though, seeing as the Blue Bombers have pulled in for a pit stop and their first bye week of the Canadian Football League season. As we stated in our recap after the game, the victory wasn’t without its flaws and it did come against an Elks squad that is 0-7 and seemingly hasn’t won since the days of leather helmets.

Here’s the thing about that, though: it’s hard to win in this league – any league – and it might be time to pull back for another big-picture take before we proceed. Consider that since trading for Zach Collaros in October of 2019, the Blue Bombers have won 38 of 47 games, including three Grey Cup appearances and two victories.

And with all that winning comes a certain standard and expectations, both from within and outside the locker room. So, when the Blue Bombers turn the ball over three times in the first half and are tied with a winless squad at halftime – and especially in the wake of the collapse against the Ottawa RedBlacks last Saturday – well, the ‘I told you so’ crowd gets its knives out and becomes even more vocal.

‘Team is too old’, ‘O-line getting pushed around’, ‘secondary has some holes’, ‘can’t stop a running QB’ and so on and so on and so on…

Yet… here they are now 5-2 this year and with two titles and a 38-9 record since October of 2019.

The reality here is this Blue Bombers team isn’t just being evaluated on its work against the rest of the league – and a hat tip to the B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts, in particular – but against their own lofty track record over the past few seasons.

Whether that’s fair or not, frankly, is irrelevant. The Blue Bombers must deal with hearing it any time they’re slogging through a tough stretch in a game. They are the CFL’s oldest team but, as we said when the season opened, the numbers separating them from the rest of the league are miniscule.

Fact is, the wins aren’t always going to look like they did out of the starting block this season when the club’s offence was rolling. And the defence isn’t going to be near flawless, as it was so often with the emergence of the ‘Dark Side’ in the 2021 run to the Grey Cup.

That’s why it’s healthy for this bunch to live in the moment and not focus on what’s in the rearview mirror and only on what’s ahead. Head coach Mike O’Shea reinforced that, indirectly, in his post-game address when asked if the win over the Elks represented a response after what happened in Ottawa.

“I thought we played a football game tonight,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t know that we were worried about responding, I think we were worried about playing Edmonton, which plays hard-nosed football and is a team full of good athletes that run around and want to play a physical brand of football. That’s what we were talking about.”

“You need any win in the CFL, especially against a West team,” added Nic Demski. “But for us to build off what happened last week… it’s all about turning negatives into positives and we found a way to win. That’s all that matters.”

More post-game notes and quotes from the Blue Bombers latest win in this week’s edition of UPON FURTHER REVIEW…

NUMBERS THAT JUMP OUT AFTER A DEEPER DIVE… into the stats package:

The Blue Bombers rushed for 129 yards in the win, with 80 of that – all from Brady Oliveira – coming in the fourth quarter. In fact, Oliveira averaged a tidy eight yards per carry over that stretch, with the 80 total coming on 10 touches.

“I wish I knew how it happens, but it feels good when we are doing it and doesn’t feel so good when we can’t,” said Hardrick on the run game turnaround. “We’ll take the positive with it, but also need to look in the mirror. But when you can do it, it’s that pride that comes when you’re in the huddle and you’re breathing hard, and you look across and get a head nod from the guys. It’s one of those things you dream about in the offseason – that when you’re tired at the end of the game you can still run the ball when it matters.

“I love Brady. I love how he plays the game. He’s hard-nosed and you guys are going to continue to see it. He’s a good one, man.”

“Running behind those guys – the best offensive line in the league and a group that is full of vets, smart guys, physical guys who move people up front – is awesome,” said Oliveira. “I just need to trust them, and I have been this year and know that with more carries, whether that’s me or Greg (McCrae) or (Nic) Demski or Sheed (Rasheed Bailey) – whoever it is – that trust grows further and we seem to get momentum.

“People know this is part of our identity. We want to be able to run the ball, we want to be physical if we can. We’ve got lots of people who can touch the ball and do good things with it. But as Osh said it’s not always going to look like that.

“We did see that offensive line dominate in the second half and we need to take all the positives out of that, study the negatives, and come back even better after the bye.”

Elks QB Taylor Cornelius was causing problems early with his legs, as his first three rushes added up to 55 yards early into the second quarter. The Bombers corralled him from then on out, though, as he finished with 57 yards on four carries while completing 17 of 29 passes for 220 yards with one TD and two picks.

One of those picks was grabbed by Demerio Houston late in the game, moving his league-leading total to five and the other was a critical turnover by defensive tackle Cam Lawson with the Blue Bombers backed up deep into their own end.

“As soon as he threw it Biggie (Adam Bighill) and Jesse (Briggs)… they blew him up, up the ball popped and I was like, ‘Oh, sweet’ and grabbed it,” said Lawson. “I turned and – of course, I tripped. That’s my first ever pick in football. I’m keeping that one.”

The discrepancy between the two QBs as the game progressed was enormous. Cornelius did have the 57 yards along the ground but completed 17 of 29 for 220 with one TD against the two interceptions. Zach Collaros had a throw intercepted early as he was hit as he delivered but finished 20 of 24 for 308 yards with TD strikes to Rasheed Bailey and Nic Demski. Collaros’ QB efficiency rating was a sparkling 129.2 while Cornelius was 65.3. Also worth noting: in the last two games Collaros has thrown for four TDs against two picks and 677 yards.

ONE MORE FROM COLLAROS… who spoke of the six-yard TD toss to Rasheed Bailey in the fourth quarter that put the Blue Bombers up 28-14.

“Rasheed has just got a good feel for those plays,” he said. “We ask him to do so much in the box in the run game. Obviously, he’s got a really good feel for understanding windows and as I’m moving to my right or to my left to drift back in or drift back out. Nic does a great job with that, too, and so does Woli (Drew Wolitarsky).

FYI: Sergio Castillo had his string of 23 consecutive field goals dating to last year snapped on the final play of the first half when a 45-yard attempt was wide. He also missed a convert on the game’s first TD but rebounded to hit two field goals and two converts in the second half… Willie Jefferson was again a force with a sack, two tackles and two more pass knockdowns. Also picking up sacks were Jackson Jeffcoat and Ricky Walker, the latter of whom also forced a safety with pressure on Cornelius in the end zone.

“I feel more comfortable,” said Walker. “Sometimes it takes a couple of games to get that, to feel comfortable playing next to guys and develop a chemistry, to feel comfortable with the play calls and the workload. I’m excited about how it’s coming. I’m grateful. We’re not done yet.”

AND FINALLY… This accomplishment shouldn’t be understated, even if Mike O’Shea would prefer to be anywhere near the spotlight: the win Thursday was the 87th for him as the Blue Bombers head coach, pushing him past Cal Murphy into second place on the franchise’s all-time list. Only Bud Grant, who guided his clubs to 102 wins and four championships, has won more.