Bombers’ pre-season loss to ‘Riders good for evaluating talent

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This article was published 21/05/2024 (497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the only time of year when losing in Regina doesn’t matter.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, featuring mostly new faces and aspiring pros, fell 25-12 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Monday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium in the first week of pre-season action.

The final score wasn’t important, it was about getting some answers on players who are in the running for one of the several job openings the Bombers have. The Blue and Gold open the regular season at home in a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes on June 6.

There will be one more chance to make an impression before then as the Bombers play their second and final exhibition game May 31 against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

Before we move on to the Stamps, let’s see what we learned on Victoria Day with the first 5 Takeaways of 2024.

Welcome back Streveler

Chris Streveler suited up for the Bombers for the first time in 1,640 days.

The Riders welcomed the former NFL journeyman back to the league by drilling him from behind for a sack on his first possession.

The 29-year-old pivot didn’t notice the extra rusher and ended up paying for it, but overall, Streveler managed to dust himself off and have a relatively productive day by completing seven-of-eight passes for 65 yards and running three times for 25 yards.

He likely should’ve scored a touchdown on the following possession as he missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone on a second and 11 to instead check down to former Minnesota Vikings receiver Myron Mitchell for seven yards.

It’s still too early to say if the dual-threat quarterback, who helped Winnipeg hoist the Grey Cup in 2019, has improved as a passer but early signs — from not only the game but also practice — indicate he’s the same guy that he was in his first CFL stint.

That’s OK, as Streveler’s skill set makes him an ideal complement to Zach Collaros.

Rookie QBs

Eric Barriere shouldn’t invest in any Winnipeg real estate.

He was the next man up after Streveler knocked off some rust and it was far from pretty.

Eastern Washington University’s all-time leading passer gave the game away by throwing two nearly identical interceptions, and the Riders scored touchdowns off of both mistakes. He showed off his athleticism by making several defenders miss in the pocket, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the bad, as he only managed 23 yards through the air on six attempts.

Terry Wilson Jr. is now the favourite for the No. 3 quarterback gig after going 10-for-15 for 115 yards and a touchdown. He had the best drive of the day as he marched the Bombers 81 yards down the field before finding top draft pick Kevens Clercius for an eight-yard score.

The 26-year-old does have some pro experience under his belt as he led the USFL’s Houston Gamblers to a 27-20 victory over the defending league champion Baltimore Stallions last May.

Bailey’s replacement

The Bombers need to find themselves a new starting receiver after letting Rasheed Bailey walk over to the Toronto Argonauts in free agency.

Monday was not very helpful in determining who that will be as the chains didn’t budge for most of the day.

Myron Mitchell and Ontaria Wilson were the two rookie pass catchers to get the start but it was Tyler Adams who made the biggest splash with a team-high four catches for 61 yards.

Adams, who also fumbled on the final drive, finished his college career at Butler after starting out at Harvard and attended training camp with the Indianapolis Colts last year. Ten receivers caught passes but no one else finished with 20-plus yards.

 

Return game

Where is Janarion Grant?

Wherever he is, it’s not in Winnipeg, as the dynamic returner remains unsigned.

His old spot is wide open for the taking and Aron Cruickshank and Chris Smith are the leading candidates as they both returned two kickoffs and a punt.

Smith, a running back out of Louisiana who spent some time with the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas, ran the opening kickoff back 27 yards which was the team’s longest of the day.

Cruickshank, who went to Rutgers a few years after Grant and tried out for the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers a year ago as an undrafted free agent, had a 17.5 yards per return average on his tries. Cruickshank also failed to return a missed field goal out of the end zone.

Receiver Kody Case got a look on a kickoff with a 24-yard return and defensive back Demetries Ford went for 12 yards with his shot at punt returner.

The Bombers are throwing everything they have at the wall to see if anything sticks. This is a battle that is far from decided.

Their coverage team wasn’t any better as Jerreth Sterns started the second half with a 60-yard return for the Riders. Not long after that, Dohnte Meyers took a punt forward for 59 yards but the play was wiped out due to a holding penalty.

The Bombers did have one bright spot on special teams, with Sergio Castillo drilling a 53-yard field goal. The 33-year-old veteran is in midseason form.

 

Line of scrimmage

There’s also a big pair of shoes to fill at defensive end with Jackson Jeffcoat’s retirement.

Celestin Haba had four sacks as a rookie and got the start on Monday. He showed he’s more than just a pass rusher as he got through a block to tackle AJ Ouellette on a third and two near the goal line early in the game.

The names Haba is trying to fight off also made noise as TyJuan Garbutt — who played one game for the Bombers last year — sacked Mason Fine in the second quarter.

Chauncey Rivers, who played four games with the Green Bay Packers in 2021, is still in the race as he had an eight-yard sack in the third quarter. The Bombers were held to two quarterback takedowns while the Riders had five.

It was a sloppy performance all around as the visitors also had nine penalties for 117 yards.

They have no excuse to not be better their next time out as they have 10 days to prepare for Calgary.

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31