Bombers gearing up for early pre-season test in Regina

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This article was published 17/05/2024 (482 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike O’Shea has never been big on hypotheticals.

The head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prefers to deal with absolutes.

So, when the topic of Monday’s pre-season game in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders came up this week, O’Shea wasn’t ready to suggest there are benefits to some early action when it comes to the evaluation process.

“I don’t know. If you were to ask me to put down a calendar and plunk in exactly the dates that I would want to make everything perfect, I don’t know that I would be able to do that right now,” said O’Shea. “There’s the schedule, let’s work (with) it and do the best that we can.”

Winnipeg’s clash with Saskatchewan is slated for 3 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium. The game will not be televised but is available on CFL+, the league’s streaming service.

The Blue Bombers haven’t played a pre-season game this early in relation to the start of the regular season since 2016.

O’Shea said his approach to the first of two pre-season tilts was still a work in progress, though he expected roughly 80 players to make the road trip.

The ultimate goal is to make sure his team is ready for Week 1 of the regular season and having a wider span between pre-season games (the finale is set for May 31 against the Calgary Stampeders) will provide ample time to tighten some things up.

Does that mean O’Shea could go with a more veteran-laden lineup on Monday or will he give some of the inexperienced guys an opportunity to show what they can do?

“It’s probably easier for a veteran player, they know exactly what to expect,” said O’Shea.

“They’re probably, I think, they’re less fatigued in training camp, especially mentally. They know the playbook already, so they’re not fatigued mentally, trying to learn all of that. So now our job is to back it off a little bit, get their bodies back — for these young guys — and allow them to play fast in the first game. It would be easier for the vets, for sure. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to be the ones playing. I don’t know yet.”

“I want to see what their potential is, not put them in the hardest spot possible and see who comes out.”–Head coach Mike O’Shea

That seems to be the conundrum that all coaches deal with at this time of the season.

On one hand, O’Shea wants to see how quickly the newbies are adapting to the CFL game, but it’s still a bit early to see if some of them are ready to sink or swim.

“Yeah. But we still want them to have success. We don’t want to throw them in there and see which ones survive,” said O’Shea.

“We want to put them all in there with the ability to thrive, right? Because you want to see them at their best right now. I want to see what their potential is, not put them in the hardest spot possible and see who comes out. You may get one guy who answers the question right.

“Let’s give them the easy questions and see what they can do out there. Make them comfortable. I don’t think our job is to try and eliminate everybody at the beginning. Our job is to put them all in good positions and see what they can do – and then figure out where they can fit.”

Given the Blue Bombers have job openings at multiple positions, there is clearly an opportunity to shine for those jockeying for position on the depth chart.

For the veterans, it’s an opportunity to shake off some of the rust and take further steps to get back up to game speed.

“We’re earlier than everybody else, which is an advantage and kind of breaks up camp a little bit, which is nice,” said defensive back Evan Holm.

“You get to hit someone else. It’s just nice we get to see everyone (in a game) and then we get a nice little break and really get to review the film for that second pre-season game, which will make a big difference for some guys.”

“I’m always trying to push the envelope and so is (offensive co-ordinator) Buck (Pierce), so we’ll see what we have.”–Starting QB Zach Collaros

Winnipeg starting quarterback Zach Collaros hasn’t been told if he’ll suit up Monday.

“Whatever the boss says. I’ll be ready to go,” said Collaros.

“With the entire camp, you want to focus on the details of everything because you go back to Square 1 and reinstall things. It’s learning everything again. For me personally, it’s just (about) trying to clean up things that you want to improve upon from the season before and seasons before that.”

Collaros is excited about some of the wrinkles the offence will be unveiling and he’s keeping an eye on the training camp battles.

“We’re having a bunch of young guys right now vying for another spot with the receivers, so it will be interesting to see how that shakes out,” said Collaros.

“I’m always trying to push the envelope and so is (offensive co-ordinator) Buck (Pierce), so we’ll see what we have.”

Something to watch for Monday will be how many players choose to wear the Guardian Caps, the head protection that is mandatory during training camp sessions but remains optional once the games begin.

“Honestly, in the preseason, I don’t see why you wouldn’t wear it. Why would you get a concussion in a preseason game?” linebacker Shayne Gauthier asked rhetorically.

“You have a lot of young guys that try to establish themselves during preseason, and they’re going to bring it.

“I haven’t made my decision yet. Obviously during the season I think I’m going to just (use a) regular helmet. But preseason, if I can save an injury, save a concussion, I don’t see why I wouldn’t do it.”

Other players sounded like they would like a bit more information before making the commitment to wear one in a regular season game.

“If they mandated it, sure. But I probably wouldn’t,” said Collaros. “I have no opinion positively or negatively. I would imagine that in five years, it’s going to be mandated.”

Demski progressing

Nic Demski still hasn’t been in pads during training camp, but the receiver spent considerable time in the south end zone doing some running to help out with conditioning. It’s a small, yet important step in the process of getting back on the field and being a full participant.

“He’s getting closer all the time,” said O’Shea, noting he wasn’t concerned about the absences of Demski or running back Brady Oliviera. “No. They know what they’re doing. They’re both pretty good.”

Receiver Dalton Schoen missed a second consecutive day, while offensive lineman Tui Eli was out on the field but wasn’t an active participant, outside of going through the mental reps.

Defensive back Noah Hallett, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, was placed on the six-game injured list earlier this week and O’Shea provided a brief update on his status.

“We put him on the six-game, but we’ll see,” said O’Shea. “It could be shorter than that.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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