Big Blue rest big names

It’s going to look like a preseason game in October.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) are resting eight key starters for Saturday afternoon’s regular season finale against the visiting Montreal Alouettes (10-7).

The Bombers sit in fourth place in the West Division and need a lot to happen to move up. The only way they can take over third and avoid being the crossover team is if the Calgary Stampeders defeat or tie against the Edmonton Elks on Friday night, the B.C. Lions lose to the Saskatchewan Roughriders late Saturday, and the Bombers take care of business against the Als.

If one of those things doesn’t happen, the Blue and Gold will cross over and play the East semifinal — most likely in Montreal.

The Als, ranked No. 2 in the East, can only claim the top spot if the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-7) lose Friday night against the lowly Ottawa Redblacks (4-13), and if they outlast the Bombers.

To summarize, this Bombers-Als showdown will likely mean diddly squat — but hey, at least it’ll be over before Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto.

“We’re going into it with whoever’s playing, and we’ll be fast, fun, and physical,” said centre Chris Kolankowski after Friday’s walkthrough. “We’re gonna come off the ball, be physical as hell, and try to set the tone heading into playoffs. You can’t just turn it off and turn it back on.”

To get you ready for kickoff, here’s the latest edition of 5 Storylines.

Rest for the wicked

Quarterback Zach Collaros, running back Brady Oliveira, receiver Ontaria Wilson, left tackle Stanley Bryant, defensive ends Willie Jefferson, James Vaughters, and Jay Person, dime back Redha Kramdi, and returner Trey Vaval will all sit this one out for Winnipeg and it’s easy to understand why.

An injury to any of those guys would severely hurt their chances of going on a run at the most important time of year.

With that said, after back-to-back dreadful showings by the offence, was there any temptation to give Collaros and Co. a chance to get rolling for playoffs?

“I’ve never believed you can really carry momentum from one game to the next,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“I think it shifts in game, and you can switch it and carry it and move it around in game. Between games, it’s a little difficult. Rolling for me would be the group practising well together and executing at a high level and being polished for this time of year.”

The Bombers are averaging fewer than 20 points per game in their previous two contests and the passing attack has been disastrous. Only time will tell if rest does them any favours.

Alexander still playing

Montreal is taking a different approach this weekend considering most of their familiar faces will suit up.

“If we take a guy out or do something differently, it will be during the game,” said head coach Jason Maas earlier this week.

“The 45 guys who are going are playing… Again, we want to keep our momentum and maintain the way we’re playing.”

That includes star quarterback Davis Alexander.

“I’ve said this before: he isn’t a five-year vet in terms of playing five straight seasons. He needs to play, and he needs to play a lot —especially against an opponent we may face in the playoffs,” said Maas.

Alexander has missed 10 games due to injury but is a perfect 7-0 when in the lineup. He’s completed 158-of-218 passes for 2,024 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions in his appearances.

The Als are on a five-game winning streak, and their last three victories featured Alexander leading the offence.

Now that he’s healthy, they’re arguably the most dangerous team in the CFL.

Terry time

Bomberland has made it loud and clear that they want to see what third-string quarterback Terry Wilson is capable of.

Sounds like their wish will come true on Saturday as O’Shea said Wilson will get some reps under centre at some point.

Chris Streveler will get the start, though, and surely, he can’t be worse than his last outing — a 26-18 win in Ottawa when he completed three of his eight passes for 54 yards and an interception.

Now with a chance to bounce back from that, does it give Streveler some additional motivation? Apparently not.

“There’s always plays you want back. I didn’t play my best game, I don’t think anyone played their best game, but we won the game,” said Streveler on Friday.

“I don’t use any of that for motivation. I work hard and all of us work really hard to be our best and you know it’s never going to be perfect, so you just want to go out there and put your best foot forward and have fun playing the game.”

Not Logan’s year

Running back/returner Peyton Logan was expected to be an importpant part of the team when the Bombers signed him to a two-year deal in February.

So much for that.

An injury kept the former Stampeder out for the first nine games and he’s been a healthy scratch in the last six — largely due to the emergence of Vaval.

He’s only appeared in two contests where he has one carry for minus two yards and eight kickoff returns for an 19.8 yard average.

Logan’s signing has been a bust, but a strong day against Montreal — when he will handle return duties and be the No. 2 tailback behind Canadian Matthew Peterson — would help change the narrative.

Future pass rushers?

The Bombers aren’t getting any younger on the defensive line.

Jefferson, 34, and Vaughters, 32, can’t chase quarterbacks forever, so, the club will eventually need to find up and coming talent at the position.

Enter rookie defensive ends Matthew Jaworski and Kydran Jenkins who have been given a chance to audition for future roles.

Jaworski and Jenkins were both signed to the practice squad on Oct. 6 and just over two weeks later will make their first career starts.

Jaworski spent four years at Fordham and earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honours in 2024 and was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award which is given to the top defensive player in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

Jenkins played five years at Purdue and joined Ryan Kerrigan — who became a four-time NFL Pro Bowler with Washington — as the only Boilermakers to finish with at least 200 tackles, 40 tackles-for-loss and 20 sacks in a career since 2005.

They both boast intriguing resumes, but that doesn’t mean anything until they show what they can do.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca