Bombers on road to redemption

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This article was published 05/06/2024 (466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers embark on a brand new CFL season, their first opponent of the year provides a not-so-subtle reminder of what could have been.

The Bombers welcome the Montreal Alouettes to town Thursday night in what’s the official start to the 2024 campaign and a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup — a 28-24 heartbreaking loss for the Blue and Gold.

The slate has since been wiped clean and after three gruelling weeks of training camp, including a pair of preseason losses, the Bombers are eager to begin their road to redemption.

“It feels like we’ve never left,” Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said following walk-through on Wednesday. “The day-before nerves are starting to settle in and you don’t get that feeling anywhere else. We’re excited.”

It’s the earliest start to a CFL season in league history, and the seventh time Winnipeg and Montreal have faced off in Week 1, with the Alouettes a perfect 6-0 in those games. The Bombers hope to flip the script this time around, as they begin their bid to make a fifth consecutive Grey Cup appearance.

To get you better prepared for the game, we welcome you to the season’s first instalment of 5 Storylines.

CHAMPS IN THE HOUSE

It would be a lot more awkward if this game was being played in Montreal. It’s hard to imagine the Bombers would have had much fun watching the Alouettes unveil their Grey Cup banner.

It was the second loss in a row for the Bombers in the championship game, and on both occasions they were defeated by a late-game touchdown. Montreal scored with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter to erase Winnipeg’s three-point lead and secure the club’s first Grey Cup since 2010.

“You just can’t keep living back there. You can’t,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “That should be so far removed. I’m not saying that some players don’t feel it that way. But you can’t keep moving forward if that’s all you’re doing, is looking back with a vengeance.”

The Bombers have said all the right things this week about moving past the crushing defeat, but don’t think for a second they aren’t looking for revenge. They just prefer to let their play do the talking.

While the Alouettes have a sparkling resume when it comes to season-opening wins against the Bombers, they have struggled to find a winning regular-season recipe in recent years. Winnipeg has won three of the last four meetings versus Montreal, outscoring the Alouettes 116-60 over that stretch.

QUESTION MARKS ON DEFENCE

The Bombers spent much of their offseason efforts trying to bring back an offence that led the league last year in points, touchdowns, yards and first downs. While big money was spent on that side of the ball, a defence that was pretty solid last season — including allowing the fewest points, touchdowns and yards — took it’s fair share of hits.

There will be four new starters on defence, five if you include veteran special-teamer Shayne Gauthier playing for an injured Adam Bighill at middle linebacker.

Terrell Bonds will be making his first CFL start at boundary corner, replacing last year’s interception leader Demerio Houston, while Tyrell Ford, who is playing field-side cornerback, will be making his second career start. Safety Brandon Alexander, who missed all of training camp with an undisclosed injury, losing out on valuable reps in practice, will have his hands full ensuring communication in the secondary is on point.

The defensive line also has a new look. With the departures of Jackson Jeffcoat and Ricky Walker, the Bombers are going with a couple of unproven players in defensive end Celestin Haba and defensive tackle Miles Fox.

That’s a fair amount of moving pieces and doesn’t even take into consideration the makeover on the coaching staff. Jordan Younger is now the man in charge. He’ll be calling the plays, with Richie Hall by his side as a defensive assistant.

FIGURING OUT FAJARDO

Did Cody Fajardo exorcise his demons against Winnipeg last November or was it a one-off?

The 32-year-old quarterback is 2-8 against the Bombers all-time and has yet to win a game at Princess Auto Stadium.

Fajardo scored six points in eight regular-season quarters against the Blue and Gold last year, but when the two sides met in Hamilton for the silver mug, he was a completely different player and outduelled his former Saskatchewan teammate, Zach Collaros, by completing 21 of 26 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

He took his game to a different level in the post-season after throwing 14 touchdowns in his first 18 weeks behind centre.

The outcome of Thursday’s opener will likely depend on what version of Fajardo — the Grey Cup MVP or the guy who the Roughriders ran out of town — shows up.

CHANGES ON THE O-LINE

The Bombers gave up the second fewest sacks in the league in 2023 with 33.

That number could rise this year with standout right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick accepting a large payday to take his talents to Saskatchewan.

It’s now up to Eric Lofton to help keep Collaros upright as he held off several newcomers to win the tackle job. Lofton is not the same player Hardrick is — if he was, Saskatchewan wouldn’t have made Hardrick the highest paid American offensive lineman in the league — but he does have experience. The 31-year-old Lofton started 14 games last season for the Riders after being a backup in Winnipeg in 2022. Since breaking into the league in 2017 with Ottawa, the Philadelphia product has 21 career starts. He’s making a fraction of Hardrick’s salary, but the Bombers will need him to play well above his paygrade for this O-line to continue living up to its high standard.

There’s also a change at left guard where Winnipegger Geoff Gray was a salary-cap casualty and has seemingly moved on from pro football. Gray’s departure means a promotion for Liam Dobson, the third overall pick in the 2021 CFL Draft. The Bombers have drafted and developed no shortage of Canadian studs on the O-line in recent years and Dobson can now show if he’s their latest hit.

GRANT’S REPLACEMENT

The Bombers couldn’t pay everyone.

They had to examine their roster and decide where they could save some money in order to retain Dalton Schoen and Brady Oliveira.

One of the positions that suffered for it was returner with Janarion Grant — the franchise’s all-time leader in kickoff/punt touchdowns — walking out the door and signing with Toronto.

It looked like the Bombers found themselves a suitable replacement in running back Chris Smith who took a punt 109 yards to the house in the preseason finale. It turns out he got hurt in that game and is expected to miss some time so he was released. The responsibility now falls on the shoulders of rookie receiver Myron Mitchell.

The 25-year-old, who appeared in one game with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 and won a USFL championship last year with the Birmingham Stallions, was an all-conference returner during his days at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In the two exhibition contests, Mitchell primarily lined up at receiver and only fielded one kickoff so it’s hard to say if he’s the right guy to fill Grant’s shoes.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @JeffKHamilton