Is this as good as it gets?

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This article was published 18/06/2023 (842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Are we having fun yet?

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers sure are, racing out to a 2-0 start to the 2023 season which includes putting up a whopping 87 combined points through eight quarters of football.

Just imagine what life will be like when these guys shake off all the early rust and really start clicking on all cylinders — AND get suspended wide receiver Kenny Lawler back in the fold and up to speed.

A scary thought, indeed.

The Blue & Gold, who came two points short of a third straight Grey Cup championship last November, appear to be as deep and talented as ever. Not to mention motivated. They’ve already dispatched what many expect to be a dangerous Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 1 (42-31 at IG Field), then followed that up by squashing the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-27 last Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

Up next is a Thursday night date with the 2-0 British Columbia Lions, who are fresh off blanking the Edmonton Elks 22-0 in Week 2 after an impressive 25-15 win in Calgary to kick off the new campaign.

That should be a lot of fun, too.

Before we get to the battle of the unbeatens, let’s take a look back at what stood out in the most recent triumph in our latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

1) The human highlight reel struck again.

Janarion Grant is worth the price of admission. And he sure looked like a million bucks with a dazzling 90-yard punt return touchdown that broke a tight game open in the third quarter. It really was a run for the ages, filled with cutbacks and stiff-arms and leaps to evade tackles.

It’s still not even officially summer, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more sensational individual play this entire CFL season.

It was also sweet redemption for a Winnipeg special teams unit that had a pretty forgettable season debut, including a lost fumble by Grant that led to a late Hamilton major. And it was the type of performance that seemed to galvanize an already tight group, given how much of a post-game buzz there was in the locker room at Mosaic Stadium.

Player after player was coming up to Grant and singing his praises, while the rather humble Florida native was quick to credit all of his blockers for creating plenty of time and space.

With a game-breaker like Grant, fans should be on notice to pay close attention every time a ball comes his way. You never know what’s going to happen. For the record, when asked to rank where this run ranked on his personal list, Grant suggested the best is still yet to come.

Giddy-up.

2) About that secondary, though…

It feels a bit strange finding something to pick apart in an 18-point road victory over an arch-rival, but here we are. Trevor Harris, who was a major question mark to even play due to injury, torched Winnipeg’s secondary at times, throwing for 405 yards and three scores (all to Samuel Emilus).

Obviously there’s plenty of room for improvement, which coach Mike O’Shea was quick to point out as he spoke with the Free Press following the game. In fact, he went so far as to suggest there are players on the team who “won’t be happy” with the way the game played out.

That right there tells you a high standard of excellence has been set around here, which is exactly what you want. The Bombers have built the kind of culture most clubs can only dream of, which is why they are knocking on the door of a potential dynasty.

No doubt they’ll want to clean up their act when it comes to defending the air attack.

3) Of course, you’ll take a few miscues and missed assignments here and there when your own offence is so dynamic.

This one was fascinating to watch unfold. Zach Collaros targeted Nic Demski early and often, with five completed passes to the Winnipeg product less than 17 minutes into the game. Press box scribes were suddenly scurrying to find out what the franchise record for receptions in a game was, as Demski seemed on pace to obliterate it. (He was, as the high is 15 set by Eugene Goodlow way back in 1981).

Saskatchewan obviously saw what was happening and took great pains to put extra focus and coverage on the slick wideout.

No problem for Collaros and company. He simply started looking elsewhere. Demski actually didn’t catch another ball all night. Dalton Schoen (eight for 145 yards and a score) and Drew Wolitarsky (five for 66 yards and a score) ultimately had more productive outings.

That’s not a slight at all against Demski. In fact, it shows how Winnipeg adjusted to Saskatchewan’s adjustments and didn’t seem to miss a beat. Carlton Agudosi, Brady Oliveira and Rasheed Bailey all had catches as well.

It’s still not known exactly when Lawler will have his legal issues sorted out following an impaired driving conviction, but the hope was a return around Week 4. If and when that happens, a potent group will become that much more lethal.

Collaros, the league’s reigning two-time most outstanding player, might want to start getting another acceptance speech ready the way he’s come flying out of the gate. He’s now thrown for 642 yards and five touchdowns through the first two games, while also running one in himself.

4) Speaking of the run game…

After eclipsing the century mark in Week 1, it was a much quieter affair for Oliveira on the ground. He had 10 carries for a modest 42 yards, but appeared to get dinged up late in the game. Johnny Augustine mopped up in the fourth quarter and finished with six carries for 31 yards.

We’ll get an update on Oliveira’s status when the team returns to the practice field this week. It’s worth noting he missed most of training camp dealing with an injury and his status for the season-opener was in doubt. Whether this is related to that, or something new, remains to be seen

Winnipeg did do some damage with their feet, but from rather unlikely sources. Not only did Collaros run one in, his first since 2016, but backup QB Dru Brown had a pair of short-yard plunges into the end-zone.

Hey, whatever works, right?

5) It wasn’t a banner night for the officials.

A few things stood out in particular.

First, there was not one, but two instances where a flag was thrown on the play, only for the laundry to be picked up and “there is no penalty” announced by the referees following brief huddles.

Odd, but mistakes happen.

Then you had Willie Jefferson penalized for illegal participation as he continued in the play and tried to make a tackle while missing his helmet. Problem was, the men and woman in stripes either missed or ignored how he became unmasked — an illegal use of hands by Saskatchewan.

There was also the illegal block penalty that was called (initially announced against Demski, but the CFL stats sheet showed it was against linebacker Les Maruo) which appeared to negate Grant’s electrifying punt return. Fortunately, sanity prevailed after O’Shea threw a challenge flag, and video replay confirmed no infractions had occurred.

The foul was overturned, and what might be the play-of-the-year in the league was allowed to stand.

For the record, it wasn’t a very good night for off-field league officials either. The website that is supposed to carry statistics is a complete mess, with all kinds of mistakes and corrections happen even a day later. For example, as of Saturday evening, Agudosi is still being credited with a receiving touchdown. That simply did not occur.

Unlike the high-flying Bombers, it appears everyone else is very much still working out the kinks early in the new season.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg