Bombers close but not good enough

REGINA — The stage was set for the type of season-altering moment that can lift a franchise in a way that is tough to fully quantify, yet easy to identify.

A six-play, 66-yard drive during the final 39 seconds of regulation time was capped by Zach Collaros finding Dorian Singer in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown strike with no time left on the clock, momentarily silencing the largest crowd to witness a football game inside Mosaic Stadium on Sunday night in the 61st edition of the Labour Day Classic.

But the converted major had only helped the Winnipeg Blue Bombers tie the contest to force overtime.

Eight plays and a penalty for a time-clock violation later, the Blue Bombers were left to lament what might have been in what became a 32-26 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“It’s terrible,” said Oliveira. “You just kind of feel all of the emotions. I’m pretty pissed right now. We were close, we were right there. We didn’t play our best football and we still gave ourselves a chance, which could be a silver lining.

“I don’t like to look at silver linings because the fact of the matter is we play this game to get positive results. We want to win the game and we didn’t win the game. So, I’m pissed.”

Not only did the Roughriders (8-4) put some distance between themselves and the Blue Bombers (6-6) in the standings, they have a leg up in the season series going into Saturday’s Banjo Bowl rematch (and final meeting of the regular season between the two teams) at Princess Auto Stadium.

“The best part about these two amazing games — again, the best (regular season) games on the calendar is that we get them again next week,” he said.

“We didn’t play our best football and we still gave ourselves a chance, which could be a silver lining.”

Earning a split will be essential for the Blue Bombers if they want to remain in the race to host a home playoff game next month.

“Just make sure we’re better in tough situations,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “I just don’t think we were nearly polished or nearly good enough. We played physically, we played tough, guys were grinding it out.

“Guys were gritty, for sure. But we just weren’t right enough. In a tough environment, we’ve got to be correct. Keep the simple things simple.”

Here are five takeaways from another Labour Day Classic that delivered a dramatic finish:

Turning the tables

As expected, there was a festive atmosphere inside Mosaic Stadium and while Manitoba fans travelled well and had their voices heard while surrounded by the masses wearing green, the home crowd had an impact in the contest, generating the type of disruptive noise levels that helped lead to two critical penalties.

The aforementioned time-count violation in overtime that turned a second and six into second and 11 and a procedure call on offensive lineman Gabe Wallace in the red zone with just over six minutes to go.

The procedure call moved second and goal from the Saskatchewan five back to the 10.

After an incompletion, the Blue Bombers were forced to settle for a short field goal.

The inability to punch the ball in on that drive proved costly, even with the late-game heroics.

Can the Blue and Gold faithful have a similar impact on the outcome this week?

“There’s going to be a procedure (call), there’s going to be a couple of those in this environment. It’s tough,” said O’Shea. “But now they get to come to our place and our fans will make it tough on them too.”

 

Running game regressed

Another area the Blue Bombers will be looking to be better at this week is winning the battle in the trenches along the line of scrimmage, as the Roughriders’ defensive line got a leg up on Sunday.

Nobody is questioning the effort of the Blue Bombers O-line — or the receivers who assist in the process — but not enough lanes were created in those one-on-one battles, at least not compared to the previous week when Oliveira ran wild against the Montreal Alouettes.

Oliveira is up to 984 yards rushing on 164 carries, which still leads the CFL, but it’s tough to envision a scenario where he is held to nine carries (his second-lowest total of the season) and 28 yards (his lowest total) and the Blue Bombers come away victorious.

Oliveira caught three passes for 38 yards and using him in the screen game could open up some other options in the running game in the return engagement.

 

Collaros did his part

Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros wasn’t quite as efficient as he was the prior week against the Alouettes (when he completed 81.3 per cent of his passes), but he did a good job protecting the football and racked up nearly 300 yards through the air even though he was under duress often and took some big hits.

Collaros finished the contest 27 of 40 for 279 yards and tossed two touchdowns, while taking several deep shots down the field.

One of those was nearly a 36-yard strike to Tim White, but the ball was not quite on target.

There’s been plenty of talk this season about the need to stretch the field and take a few more deep shots when available and plays like that could open up some other options during the final six games of the regular season.

During the past three games — all against top-notch opponents — Collaros has tossed five touchdowns and thrown only one interception.

Collaros also showed some moxie when he put his head down and rushed 11 yards for a first down with just under three minutes to go, absorbing a big hit from Roughriders defensive back James Burgess Jr. to move the chains.

To take the next step on offence, the Blue Bombers must do a better job finding a way to turn more long drives into majors.

“Us not executing again in critical situations.” said veteran offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld. “It’s kind of been the tale for us on offence so far this year. We’re not finding ways to get the ball in the end zone in the red zone.”

 

Another weapon unlocked

Singer ensured his CFL debut would be a memorable one when his late touchdown helped get the game to overtime, but he was involved in the offence throughout the contest.

After the Blue Bombers failed to record a first down in the opening quarter, Singer had a 24-yard reception early in the second and he finished the contest with five catches for 62 yards.

“He got everything he deserved,” said Blue Bombers defensive back Major Williams. “The play that he made (on the touchdown) is what I’ve seen since (training) camp. I’m guarding him in one-on-ones every day since we got here in May. It’s great to see the light shine on him, especially being in his first game and scoring his first career CFL touchdown.”

Singer looks like someone who could play a bigger role offensively down the stretch, even after Nic Demski (ankle) returns to the lineup — even if that means shuffling some things around with the ratio.

Defence needs to lock it down

The Blue Bombers fully understood the challenge of going up against Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris, but were unable to make life nearly difficult enough against him.

Harris was rarely pressured, accumulating 362 yards through the air and his longest gain of the night — a 72-yard catch-and-run to Daniel Wiebe — encapsulated an issue that has been plaguing the Blue Bombers all season long.

After Wiebe avoided the first tackle from Trey Vaval, Jaiden Woodbey appeared poised to push the Roughriders receiver out of bounds.

But Wiebe got inside leverage instead and sprinted down the sideline, turning a quick hitter into another unnecessary explosion play.

Tackling issues must be cleaned up quickly if the Blue Bombers want to be a playoff team this fall.

winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe