Big Blue are back Confident club clicking on all cylinders after early-season struggles By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 5:58 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 Last Modified: 9:43 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 Updates

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This article was published 19/08/2024 (750 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — The scene in the visitors’ locker room at BC Place following the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20-11 victory over the B.C. Lions was unlike any I’ve seen so far in this up-and-down season for the Blue and Gold.

There was a pure sense of joy among the players, all of whom were relishing in not just spoiling Nathan Rourke’s return to the league, but completely ruining a homecoming that was the buzz in every CFL market. You could see and feel just how much this victory, the Bombers second in a row, truly meant.

The bear hug between running back Brady Oliveira and head coach Mike O’Shea after a gritty 23-yard run late in the game that wrapped up near the Bombers bench. President and CEO Wade Miller greeting and embracing every player outside the locker room, with each moment involving an encouraging word or two and all of which seemed to signify a feeling of “we’re back, baby!” after starting the season 0-4.

“Whatever the record kept moving to, you never felt that way in the building. They always enjoyed coming to work and getting it done together,” said O’Shea, who is now at 100 wins with the Bombers. “As long as that kept showing up, I knew we were in a good spot. We just need to figure out how to play better, because we really just didn’t play very well in those first four or five games, like, we were not good.”

That’s about as critical as I’ve heard O’Shea talk publicly about his team.

Perhaps it was his way of tempering the excitement; or, more likely, a reminder to the guys the club is 4-6 and that there’s still plenty of work to be done. Meanwhile, the Lions are in the midst of a free fall, now losers of four in a row to fall to 5-5.

The West Division is officially up for grabs, with just five points separating first and last place. The Bombers welcome the lowly Hamilton Tiger-Cats to town Friday, before a pair of back-to-backs with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Elks. If all things go well, the Blue and Gold could be atop the West — a place that seemed impossible just a few weeks ago.

Before we think too far ahead, let’s dig deeper into the Bombers win with some notes and analysis from the victory over the Lions.

• O’Shea is the 11th head coach to hit the century mark in wins, and he and general manager Kyle Walters are also the first GM/HC combo to reach 100 victories together. When asked about the milestone, O’Shea provided exactly the response you’d expect: “Lost a lot of games, too. Those are the things you really remember, are the things you could have done better.”

O’Shea can act tough at times, always in a humble manner, but you know damn well he enjoyed every last one of those wins. He is now two away from tying Bud Grant’s all-time mark for the most victories in franchise history, meaning he could seal the record by the Banjo Bowl in three weeks.

• Safe to say the buzz on Rourke was a little premature. I don’t think the game could have been much worse for the Victoria native, who was pulled late in the fourth quarter after going eight-for-25 passing for 126 yards and two interceptions. Rourke apologized to his teammates and fans for his performance, which wasn’t entirely his fault and came on three days practice, in what was his first full game in 644 days.

• Don’t think for a second that the Bombers — no matter who or what position — didn’t take exception to all the hype around Rourke. As one notable player said off the record after the game: where’s all the excitement now? For those counting, Rourke is now 0-4 against the Bombers.

• The Lions have a horrible defence, so it wasn’t surprising to see Zach Collaros and the offence move the ball fairly consistently. They started strong with an eight-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a 22-yard pass to Nic Demski, who led all receivers with six catches for 109 yards.

The offence found the end zone again on a one-yard score from Chris Streveler and Sergio Castillo connected on a pair of field goals to round out the scoring. You’d like to see more touchdowns, as the game still felt close in the third and early fourth quarter, but the offence did a great job burning the clock down the stretch.

• Kenny Lawler looked good in his return from a broken arm, reeling in four catches for 54 yards, including a 24-yarder up the sideline that was vintage Lawler. He told me after the game he was concerned about how his arm would hold up and there was some relief from getting through that first game unharmed. I expect Lawler will be even better against the Ticats and their league-worst defence. Still, Lawler just being out there posed a challenge; Demski’s breakout performance and Lawler’s return weren’t coincidental.

• It was another solid performance by the O-line. Collaros was only sacked twice and while Oliveira ran the ball 10 times, he saw some clear lanes, finishing with 78 yards on the ground – a nice average of 7.8 yards per run — along with four catches for 24 yards. A major improvement has been a reduction in uncharacteristic penalties. That suggests the communication is getting better, even while Patrick Neufeld remains out with injury.

• With Lawler back in the mix, Lucky Whitehead was relegated to returner. He didn’t do all that well, averaging 9.3 yards on seven punt returns. When it came to the offensive side, Whitehead was completely in the mix, even more so than Josh Johnson, ending with four catches for 39 yards (Johnson had none). With Keric Wheatfall eyeing a return soon, Whitehead appears to have leap-frogged Johnson on the depth chart.

• The Bombers need to figure out what’s ailing them when it comes to short-yardage. Chris Streveler was pretty automatic through the first seven games of the season, converting all 18 of his attempts. The Bombers have failed to convert third-and-short once in each of the last three games. It’s cost them only one time, but if they continue to play with fire, they’re eventually going to get burned again.

• What else can you say about this defence other than to say they’re special? Boy, have they been on a roll. A Sean Whyte field goal in the fourth quarter snapped a shutout streak at 106 minutes, and the touchdown the Lions scored with two seconds remaining was the first allowed by the defence since the Saskatchewan Roughriders scored early in the second quarter in a Week 7 loss.

They might just be the best unit in the league right now, and no offence to the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Redblacks. To think how banged-up this group was earlier in the year and now they’re healthy. That should concern the rest of the league, particularly the West.

• There’s been a lot of chatter this year about Elks QB Tre Ford, but over here in Winnipeg, twin brother Tyrell has been quietly balling out. Soon everybody will be talking about Tyrell; he now has four interceptions, two back of Saskatchewan’s Rolan Milligan for the most in the CFL. Deatrick Nichols had Winnipeg’s other pick, and when I asked him after the game what made this defence so special, he pointed to the selflessness amongst the players, none of whom are worried about stats. That sounds a lot like what we used to hear from the offence when it was at its peak.

• Adam Bighill was sidelined with a non-contact injury early into the second quarter with what appeared to be his right hamstring. Bighill was nursing the same injury in training camp and the word is he’s likely to miss time. Should get more info when the Bombers return to practice, but I wouldn’t count on seeing No. 4 out there.

• There are a ton of plays in a game that happen in a split second but prove to be pivotal. On that note, credit to long-snapper Mike Benson, whose shoestring tackle on Terry Williams prevented what was likely going to be a return TD. Two plays later, Ford picked off Rourke and the Bombers kicked a field goal to go up 10-0 at the break.

• If you had asked me before the game what happens if a punt hits the jumbotron, I would have had no idea. But since Lions punter Stefan Flintoft did just that, I can inform you that the rule is simply a do-over.

• Another odd moment occurred following a William Stanback fumble in the third quarter. The Lions RB was ruled down by contact, but O’Shea challenged the call, feeling that the ball was out before he hit the ground. Turns out it was out, but the command centre ruled what O’Shea referred to as simultaneous recovery, meaning a player from each side recovered the ball at the exact same time.

The Lions got the ball back and the Bombers were given back their challenge because they were not informed of that before throwing the flag. I suggested to O’Shea they should have called a jump ball, like they do in basketball, to which he said he would have used Willie Jefferson.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton