1st Half - Brady Oliveira 20 - Drew Wolitarsky 82
Confirmed and double-checked: unlike figure skating, there are no points for artistic impression in football, and the outcomes of games are not determined by a panel of judges.
We bring this up today in the wake of Friday’s 31-21 win by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the Toronto Argonauts – a result that has seemingly brought voice to so many critics and naysayers.
That criticism is not without merit, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but it’s also apparently not enough for some that the Blue Bombers have reached the 11-win mark for a fourth straight season and are tied for first place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division heading to Vancouver this week for Friday’s showdown against the B.C. Lions, with both squads at 11-4.
As stated in our game recap the Blue Bombers were not at their best on Friday, occasionally stalling in the score zone and settling for field goals, turning the ball over twice, and needing to rally after trailing 18-16 heading into the fourth quarter.
The performance also came against an Argos squad that dressed but did not play starting QB and Most Outstanding Player candidate Chad Kelly, as well as defensive regulars like Jamal Peters, Wynton McManis and Shawn Oakman and with Cameron Dukes making his first start behind centre.
There was also a moment in the fourth – and with the game still very much hanging in the balance – when the Argos, as planned, removed Dukes from the game to get a look at third string QB Bryan Scott, who promptly went 0-for-4 in his pass attempts.
That led to the narrative that the Blue Bombers didn’t win by enough, leaving the impression that the Argos lineup was stocked with players from the street who last laced ‘em up during their JV days and not with the foundation that earned them a Grey Cup championship last November.
All of this is undoubtedly also a by-product of the Blue Bombers having appeared in the last three Grey Cups, winning twice, while going 44-11 in games since the end of 2019 and the high bar that comes from all that success. The club wants more, too, obviously, and is calmly upfront about pushing for that.
Case in point, there was head coach Mike O’Shea on the win Friday saying, “I’m not sure it looked the way we wanted it to look” and then adding this when asked for his thoughts about a flat first quarter after an opening drive TD:
“Those are great questions for us to answer as we go along. That part of it doesn’t upset me or anything like that, it’s just, hey, as a football team we’ve got to find some answers and be better for certain parts of the game than we were.
“That’s the beauty of sport – a bunch of human beings playing a game that’s physical and mistakes happen. We’ve just got to keep asking ourselves why do they happen and what can we do differently?”
What shouldn’t be overlooked in the victory and as we enter October is the Blue Bombers still have another gear to get to, still have a stacked lineup and will still be playing host to a home playoff game – whether that is the West Semi-final, or the West Final is still to be determined.
And so, guard Pat Neufeld’s description of Friday’s win as ‘gritty’ is a perfect characterization. At this time of year – with a first-place showdown coming this week and the playoffs on the horizon – style points be damned.
More on the Blue Bombers come from behind win over the Argos in this week’s Upon Further Review…
THE BIG WEST DIVISION BATTLE… comes this week with the Blue Bombers in Vancouver to meet the Lions, who dominated Saskatchewan in what was a 33-26 win. We’ll be diving into this one fully in the days ahead on bluebombers.com, but some basics:
- The two teams have split the season series so far, with the Lions winning 30-6 in Winnipeg on June 22nd and the Blue Bombers responding with a 50-14 victory at IG Field on August 3rd. That result could very well determine top spot in the West, but there are two games remaining for each team after this weekend – the Blue Bombers have a bye and then host Edmonton before travelling to Calgary; the Lions are in Hamilton and then home to the Stampeders before having a bye in the final week.
- The CFL’s tie breaking rules, FYI, can be found here.
“It’s hard to win at this level so any win you get you’ve got to celebrate with your guys and enjoy these moments – these are the moments we’ll remember forever in the locker room after these wins,” said Brady Oliveira Friday night. “So, we’ll celebrate this win, come back tomorrow, get back in the lab and get ready to work. We’ve got a big one next week, we all know that and the importance of that game. We’ll be ready.”
THREE NUMBERS THAT JUMP OUT… after a second look at the stats package, available here.
1 – The Blue Bombers were on the field for an eternity on Friday, cranking out 28 first downs, 443 yards net offence while holding onto the ball for 39 minutes and 21 seconds. Toronto’s corresponding numbers: 13 first downs, 299 yards net offence and a time of possession of 20:39. Just to put that 39:21 into perspective – after checking with CFL stats guru Steve Daniel – that’s a new club record for a number that was first regularly tracked by the league in 1994.
2 – Dalton Schoen’s totals from Friday: six catches for 101 yards, pushing him into first place in the CFL in receiving yardage at 1,136 – 33 yards ahead of B.C.’s Keon Hatcher – with his 10 receiving TDs best in the CFL. Schoen has had three straight 100-yard games and now has 10 in a CFL career that spans just 33 games. He’s also up to 26 TDs in those 33 games.
3 – Zach Collaros had one TD pass on Friday – a short one to Brady Oliveira – to give him 30 this season against 14 interceptions. He’s now up to 3,738 yards passing, the second-highest total of his career to last season’s 4,183 total.
We pointed this out previously, but it’s worth repeating: Collaros now joins a select group of Blue Bombers QBs who have thrown for 30 TDs or more in consecutive seasons along with Jack Jacobs (33 in 1951, 34 in 1952), Matt Dunigan (36 in 1993 and 31 in 1994) and Khari Jones (31 in 2000, 30 in 2001 and a club record 46 in 2002).
FORCING HIS WAY INTO THE LEAGUE’S MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER CONVERSATION… is Oliveira, who added another 169 yards to his league-leading rushing total of 1,359. That total leaves him just 31 shy of the 1,390 yards Andrew Harris had in 2018 – the most by a Canadian Blue Bombers running back – and ranks as the 13th highest in club history (Robert Mimbs holds the club record with 1,769 yards, in 1991).
Oliveira also has 29 receptions for 380 yards and four rushing TDs – he has 10 total – and leads the CFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,739 yards rushing and receiving. He had 27 total touches Friday – 25 rushes and two receptions – and was asked afterward if coming off the bye helped him ‘keep his wind late in the game.’
“No, I can always get 30 touches no matter what, going seven games straight, 10 games straight, coming off a bye. I’m built for getting 20-plus touches a game and I think I’ve shown it this year when I get those touches,” he said. “My body feels great right now and I’m excited for next week and the opportunities I get next week.”
His 169 yards also represented a career high.
“I appreciate the offensive line, they did a crazy job,” he said. “They were moving the down guys all night. That’s been the whole message: move the down guys and allow me to get to the backers and I’ll do what I do best. I’m a tough runner, I run downhill, I’ll run over a backer or make him miss. But just get me past those big boys up front and they did that all night and that’s what allows us to get those big yards.”
KUDOS TO DEFENSIVE BACK JAMAL PARKER… who, in addition to handling the kick return duties, was forced to move into the cornerback spot opposite Winston Rose when Demerio Houston was injured in the first half. Parker’s punt return average was also a solid 12 yards on four returns. Parker, you may recall, did dress in 13 games last year, with seven of them starts.
“To be honest, I went through my growing pains last year getting into the lineup and playing down the stretch,” Parker said. “Starting this year was tough… I started on the six-game (injured list), I get back and I’m outside looking in. My role was on special teams. I know the fans weren’t liking me returning, but I’m just trying to do my best until JG (Janarion Grant) gets back.
“But I was always ready – the moment is not too big for me. I couldn’t wait to get back on the field, so when my time came, I was ready. I’ve been eager to make plays all year. I wanted them to come at me. I’m just grateful to get the chance to play and help the team win.”
FINALLY, WELL DONE TO EVERYONE… who played a part in making the Blue Bombers annual Orange Shirt Game another success. It’s an endeavour that only continues to grow and Friday was no different, with over 1,000 guests from various First Nations communities experiencing a Blue Bombers game for the first time.
