Brown proves he belongs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2023 (839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were expected to leave Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday night with a win.

The way they did it, however, was unexpected to say the least.

Down 22-0 to the winless Edmonton Elks, the Bombers, led by backup quarterback Dru Brown, clawed back to prevail 38-29 to improve to 7-2 on the year.

The Elks, who continue to find new ways to lose, sink even further and now sit at 0-9.

The Bombers return to Alberta next week to take on the Calgary Stampeders (3-5) on Friday.

Before we talk about the Stamps, there’s a lot to unpack from this trip to Edmonton. Let’s revisit the night with the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

Dru Brown has arrived

Bomberland’s worst nightmare came true early in the second quarter when star quarterback Zach Collaros left the game with an upper-body injury after defensive lineman Kony Ealy landed on the back of his head area on a pick-six.

Not only did backup Dru Brown have Andre the Giant-sized shoes to fill, but he also had the tall task of overcoming a 22-0 deficit.

Most teams, and second-string passers, would crumble in a situation like that, especially on the road, but Brown stepped up in a big way and showed why he’s better than half the starters in the CFL.

He put 10 points on the scoreboard before halftime to cut Edmonton’s lead to 22-10. Then, in the second half, Brown orchestrated four straight touchdown drives to complete the comeback. Brown, a 26-year-old from California in his third season, connected on 17-of-24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

Brown made just one start in 2022 — throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns, as well as two interceptions returned for scores, in 40-32 road loss to the B.C. Lions last October.

His performance showed he’s taken a leap forward and it will earn him a huge raise this offseason. He’s getting paid more than $80,000 this year, but will have no shortage of suitors in free agency with several teams being a mess at the game’s most important position. With Collaros having another two years left on his deal, you can bet on this being Brown’s final season in Winnipeg.

In training camp, Brown said he hasn’t considered the XFL or USFL. For the CFL’s sake, hopefully it stays that way and Brown remains up north as the league’s current crop of pivots is the worst it’s been in years.

No call on Collaros hit

To add insult to injury (literally), there was no flag thrown on the play where Zach Collaros got hurt.

In an attempt to avoid a sack, Collaros, while falling down, flicked a pass forward that was intercepted by Loucheiz Purifoy and taken 23 yards to the house to give the Elks a 22-0 advantage. Shortly after the ball left the hand of the reigning, two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player, Elks defensive lineman Kony Ealy landed on the back of the quarterback’s head area.

Collaros laid on the ground for several minutes while trainers attended to him. He eventually got up and jogged off the field, but that was the end of his night.

It was a scary sight as it’s well documented that Collaros battled head injuries prior to getting traded to Winnipeg in 2019.

According to the CFL rulebook, roughing the passer should be called when a late blow is delivered to a quarterback after the ball is thrown. A yellow flag is also supposed to make an appearance when a passer is struck in the neck/head area. Ealy did both, and while I don’t think it was malicious, it’s beyond ridiculous that the officials stood there and did nothing.

After the game, head coach Mike O’Shea said the explanation he was given was that Ealy tried to brace himself as he dove onto Collaros.

O’Shea is not one to complain about officiating, but his facial expression while talking about the hit did the talking for him.

CFL quarterbacks are dropping like flies and blowing calls like this won’t help the cause.

Dark days in Edmonton

With 30 minutes before kickoff, I left the press box to sit in the stands for a bit to get a taste of what the atmosphere was like. It turns out the atmosphere was non-existent as I was surrounded by a never-ending sea of empty seats. They announced an attendance of 19,221, but there’s no way Commonwealth Stadium had anything close to that.

Times are tough in Edmonton on and off the field. Fans aren’t showing up and I don’t blame them as the Elks have now lost 13 straight dating back to last season and 22 in a row at home (in case you haven’t heard, that’s a North American professional sports record). Green and gold supporters haven’t enjoyed a victory on their turf since Oct. 12, 2019.

As fun as it may be to crack jokes about their drought, a once proud franchise struggling to this extent is not good for the CFL.

Ford’s 2023 debut

Tre Ford wasn’t spectacular, but he’s an obvious upgrade over Taylor Cornelius.

As expected, new offensive co-ordinator Jarious Jackson kept things simple for the second-year Canadian quarterback, but Ford’s athleticism kept the Bombers on their toes. The 25-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., who was making his first start of the season, completed 12-of-16 passes for 189 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 50 yards on five attempts with a rushing score.

Ford went 1-2 in three starts as a rookie but looked much more comfortable on Thursday. He can’t solve all of Edmonton’s woes, but he’s an exciting talent that can at least make the Elks bearable to watch down the stretch.

It makes zero sense why head coach/general manager Chris Jones waited this long to give him a shot.

Sloppy night on defence

If you blinked, you probably missed the first score of the game.

The opening play saw Edmonton running back Kevin Brown go 65 yards untouched to hand the Elks an immediate 7-0 lead.

The Bombers knew the Elks were going to lean heavily on the run, and yet, Edmonton followed up Kevin Brown’s touchdown by running down Winnipeg’s throat again before Ford capped off the drive by scrambling eight yards to paydirt to make it a 15-0 game for the underdogs.

They would smarten up against the run after the opening quarter by holding Kevin Brown to 33 yards and nine carries the rest of the way. The Bombers did, however, make another costly mistake in the third when Ford threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Kyran Moore and defensive back Demerio Houston whiffed on the tackle. Moore bolted down the sideline for a 70-yard score.

The Elks scored more points than they should have thanks to some uncharacteristic play by the Bombers on defence. You can get away with it against the Elks, but good luck with that against a tougher foe.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31