It would be only natural for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to gaze ahead and dream about what might be a month from now. After all, some of them have already lived championship moments and Grey Cup victory parades before.
Naturally, repeating that remains both the goal and the prize.
But – and this has been a theme all week in Bomberland – there’s still work to be done and now so more than ever, they have to lean into to their ‘go 1-0 this week’ mantra. Anything else, after all, goes against everything this bunch holds firm as core values. Roll your eyes here if you wish, but the results speak volumes.
“Your mind does wander,” admitted Blue Bombers receiver Drew Wolitarsky after final preparations were done for Saturday’s regular season home finale against the Edmonton Elks. “We all believe we’re going to be here for the West Final, but we’ve got to make that happen.
“It’s football, man. We roll our eyes at a lot of stuff. It’s pageantry. The things we say, the things we believe… but at the end of the day we say that for a reason. We’ve got to do these things. You guys know that, we know that. We’re going to roll those eyes, but we’re going to get that ‘W.’”
Essentially, it’s like the old proverb: ‘Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.’
**Attention, attention, attention!!**
The Blue Bombers got some big-time help from the Calgary Stampeders late Friday night in Vancouver, as their 41-16 win over the B.C. Lions locked up first place in the West Division and guarantees the West Final will be held at IG Field for a third straight season on November 11th.
How that might impact playing time for some Blue Bomber starters now becomes a storyline heading into Saturday night. To that end, head coach Mike O’Shea was asked earlier in the day – before kickoff in B.C. — if the potential Calgary win in Vancouver might change how the club approaches Saturday’s matchup with the Elks and he offered this:
“It’s hard to speculate on that. I’m going to watch tonight’s game and see what happens and if anything changes, we’ll make those changes tomorrow. But right now, nothing changes.”
“Job’s not done,” said centre Chris Kolankowski. “We have a lot of pride with this team with how we do things and it’s just the standard every game because you can’t expect to be able to waver and then just turn it on for the important ones. It’s about keeping that same standard.
“It’s hard to consistently play to that standard, but it doesn’t change what you do week to week. It’s a hard job to do and we don’t look at the schedule or the standings. You just can’t in professional football because then you’ll put yourself in a bad spot. Look back to that game in B.C…. the one thing I noticed is even towards the end of that game there was no doubt, no panic. It was just a focus, just a ‘we’ve got a job to do, let’s do it.’ If you watch the overtime even when we got the touchdown there wasn’t too much celebrating because everyone was, ‘Job’s not done.’ There was a laser focus.”
The Blue Bombers will be facing a 4-13 Elks team that is already eliminated from the playoffs and has lost three straight but has some scary-good talent that belies their record. A narrative surrounding this squad all season has been its ability to find that laser focus for marquee matchups, but then occasionally lose it for others that might not be billed as Game of the Week showcases.
“That’s a test for us and it’s something we have to acknowledge,” said Wolitarsky. “There will be games in the season where you say that to yourself: ‘Well, this team’s not doing well and they’re struggling. It should be an easy win.’ And then you go in and lose. It’s happened to us before. We know that.”
“This (Elks) team is a hungry team. You don’t know what their mindset is – you can’t pretend to know what people are thinking – but at the same time this is their last chance to show out, to do great things for next year for whatever their opportunities. As professional players you’ve got to be coming here with full intent to go hard and that’s what I expect from them and knowing the coach, too. He’s going to be pushing them to go hard. They’ve got nothing to lose.
“At the end of the day, this is us going into the playoffs. We want to be crisp; we want to be making the plays, we want to be executing to the fullest. We’ve got to treat it like that.”
Earlier in the week we broached this topic with defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat asking how this team finds its edge again after the emotional win over the Lions before the bye week. And he looked back like yours truly had two heads.
“Are you kidding me?” began Jeffcoat. “We’re playing at home. This is our last home game of the regular season, and we get to play in front of our fans. That matters. I’m serious. I’m an older guy and so I understand that whenever you get the chance to set up the field it’s a privilege, it’s an honour and so you give it your all and play hard. No one needs to tell you to do that.
“We’re excited whenever we get the chance to step out there on the field. Don’t ever take it for granted because you never know if it’s your last. My parents always said that.”
More on the Blue Bombers vs. Elks in this week’s Playbook…
STEP RIGHT UP:
The Blue Bombers depth chart was made official Friday morning and confirmed what has been speculated about all week – receiver Dalton Schoen will be out of the lineup against the Elks. He’s been moved to the one-game injured list.
“On a personal level it’s tough when a teammate misses a game,” said quarterback Zach Collaros of Schoen. “I know how much Dalton puts into this and how much he cares. He shows that in his work ethic every day, he shows that with the way he plays. It’ll be different. It’s been a long time since he hasn’t been on the field, so… like I always say, I just love the guy. He’s an unbelievable player, teammate and person.”
Canadian Brendan O’Leary-Orange is listed as the starter in Schoen’s place, with Greg McCrae also being moved to the active roster.
“It’ll be different, for sure, but we have a lot of guys who’ve been waiting, preparing,” said Collaros. “I thought Brendan had a good week of practice. ‘Nighthawk’ – Greg McCrae – has done a really good job since he’s been here of being prepared for any situation that we throw him into. We have a lot of vets in that receiver room that are able to be moved around and play different positions for us.
“I think it’s been a pretty good week of practice with that respect – moving guys around and still being able to do the different things that we do with our motions and personnel sets.”
THE NIGHTHAWK RETURNS:
McCrae, as mentioned above, returns the lineup for the first time since the Labour Day Classic. A multi-dimensional option, he has 17 carries for 105 yards and 10 catches for 152 yards and TD in nine games this season.
“I’ve been missing playing out there with the guys and stepping out on the field. It’s a different kind of bond that we have, especially being out there on the field,” McCrae said. “So, being able to get back out there and be with them and hopefully make some plays makes me very happy.
“(Being patient) is pretty tough because as a competitor and a football player you always want to be out there playing. But I trust in the staff, I trust in my faith, that everything will work out and everything is happening for a reason. So, whenever my number is called, I’ll be ready.
“I come to work every day and I practice hard so that when my number does get called there is no drop-off, there is no rust to knock off. I just try to stay in the grind mode and continue to push myself each and every week in practice for moments and opportunities like these. You never know how many you’re going to get, so I want to make the best of every opportunity I get.”
