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News August 12, 2023

Upon Further Review | WPG 38 EDM 29

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Rasheed Bailey (88) makes the catch against the Edmonton Elks during second half CFL action in Edmonton, Alta., on Thursday August 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.

@EdTaitWFC

It was late Thursday night just outside a thumping Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and Kenny Lawler was understandably fully engrossed in the euphoria of the moment.

A few feet away his Blue Bombers teammates were still in full celebration mode after their wacky 38-29 comeback win over the Elks, a victory that saw them rally from a 22-zilch hole behind Dru Brown – who replaced an injured Zach Collaros at quarterback – with the result sending the club to a 7-2 mark at the halfway point of the Canadian Football League season.

We talked about Lawler’s ridiculous fourth-quarter game-winning touchdown catch from Brown, the squad’s resilience and how the result can further galvanize an already hardened side. And then as the topic of conversation turned to Brown – the central figure in the comeback after throwing for four touchdowns and 307 yards – Lawler dropped one of the highest compliments one teammate can bestow upon another.

“He’s a dawg, man,” Lawler said of Brown. “Comes in… ‘No pressure, no sweat, let’s get it done.’”

As we stated in our Game Recap, the result might have been predictable but how the Blue Bombers and Elks got there was so very improbable when based on the first few chapters of this 2023 season. While fans across the CFL had their eyes opened on Brown, his handiwork hardly surprised anyone who has shared a huddle with him, including Lawler.

“That’s what we expect of him and that’s what he expects from himself as well,” Lawler added. “When he came into the huddle, he was confident. That’s what we saw: confidence. He came in, commanded the huddle, and let us know what the situation was, what the cadence was. He was just confient.

“Man, that brother’s got it. That was one for the books, right there.”

Further to that, the 22-point rally was the second largest in club history behind only a 27-point comeback in a game against Hamilton in 1994 in which the club trailed 41-14 before winning 46-44. That comeback, FYI, remains tied as the league record.

And as our friend Chris Sinclair points out, Brown became just the fourth Blue Bombers QB to throw for over 300 yards in a relief effort, joining a group that includes Joe Zaleski, Dieter Brock and Keithen McCant.

“There’s different ways to do it, but I typically don’t mention the score too much,” said a calm and collected Brown after the game. “I’m kind of just so lost in the assignment and what I’m supposed to look at and my responsibility in communicating with the guys.

“It kind of just is what it is. It’s the hand you’re dealt and you just chip away like we did. Luckily, these guys have been in worse situations before and have come back in something like this. I could lean on them, and guys were making plays all over the place tonight.”

Thursday night’s performance was the most work Brown has had this year and, just for the record, he has now completed 23 of 33 passes for 408 yards and five TDs against 0 interceptions while rushing for two more TDs. That equates to a 151.3 QB efficiency rating, a number which is completely off the charts.

Brown gave this answer when asked by Taylor Allen of The Free Press after the game, ‘You don’t feel like a back-up quarterback, do you?’:

“I mean, you should never… at least, in my opinion,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you think very highly of yourself in the most humble way. I wouldn’t sit here and say, ‘Yeah, I want to be a back-up.’ But being around Zach and Buck (Pierce, offensive coordinator) and Dakota (Prukop) and this team has made me be able to take a step back and understand that despite where I stand on maybe the depth chart, the team is more important, and I can still contribute from that role.

“And then when something like this happens, now your role is a little bit different, and you’ve got to step up and you’ve got to make plays. That’s where the self-belief and confidence comes from.”

More from the Blue Bombers seventh win of the season in this week’s UPON FURTHER REVIEW…

BROWN ENTERED THE GAME… with just one career start and it seemed like a few fans have been drawing conclusions about his skillset solely on that one outing. But here’s why context is important.

In that start, a 40-32 loss in Vancouver against the Lions, Brown threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions – both of which were returned for touchdowns. But because the Blue Bombers were resting starters after locking up top spot in the West, Brown was working behind an O-line without Stanley Bryant, Jermarcus Hardrick and Paddy Neufeld and a receiving corps without Greg Ellingson.

So, in that sense, what Brown did against the Elks – yes, yes, a winless team – is still a better read on his skillset. He moved around the pocket effectively and kept his eyes downfield and then delivered some darts, particularly on the TD strikes to Lawler and Nic Demski.

“He’s been with us long enough to know what he needs to do,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He executed the offence very well. The gameplan is such that Buck is always going to put guys in good positions to do well. The offensive line played hard, Brady was running hard, Nic ran hard inside, a couple guys stepped up and made big catches… Nic’s catch and, obviously, Kenny’s catch at the back of the end zone, real nice play call on the one to Brady to get him outside and score.

“So, just well done. But that would be Dru’s expectation and nothing less. And so, it’s our expectation of him, too.”

“Dru came in and played an amazing game,” added defensive end Willie Jefferson. “Hat’s off to him. He was ready and we really needed him.”

ONE MORE BROWN-RELATED ITEM… as impressive as his numbers were at the end of the night, it was his first TD – to Dalton Schoen – that was critical in beginning the rally. The Blue Bombers cut the Elks’ lead from 22-0 to 22-10 at halftime, only further fuelling the belief on the sideline.

“Being totally real right now, we had no doubt on our sideline that we were going to go out and win that football game,” said running back Brady Oliveira, who bulldozed for over 10 yards and had 20 more yards and a TD through the air. “There was so much time left. Yeah, they were up early, but in the CFL so much can happen. The biggest thing on the sideline is that we have so much belief. We knew if we went out there and executed the gameplan and did our job we would be OK.

“It was great seeing everyone with their heads up. There was never a doubt with us.”

THE DEFENCE TOOK IT ON THE CHIN EARLY… giving up a 65-yard TD run by Kevin Brown on the first drive and then a Tre Ford TD run on the Elks third possession.

There would be a third big play against in the third quarter as Ford hit Kyran Moore for a quick toss across the line of scrimmage that he then took 70 yards for a score, but not to be forgotten in the Blue Bombers outscoring the Elks 38-7 was how the defence did settle in after the horrific start.

Of the Elks’ nine possessions after their big lead, there was the Moore score, but five drives ended in punts, one was a critical forced fumble and recovery by Jackson Jeffcoat and another was an Evan Holm interception.

“That’s obviously not the way we wanted to come out,” said Holm, who registered his first interception of the year. “From there we had to dig deep and come together as a team.

“They were more physical than us at the start. We made some adjustments after the first quarter, got more physical. We focused on taking it one snap at a time because we knew it was still going to be a long game. This is a team that always believes, no matter what the score is.”

“They came out swinging from the beginning,” Jefferson added. “But once we got composed and started playing our football, we got off the field and got our offence out there and we started playing ball.

“We just had to flip that switch after the start. It was a dogfight, and we scratched our way back to make it a close game. Then when we did that, it was time to play Winnipeg football.”