Talented, tenacious, entertaining, elite

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This article was published 26/08/2022 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This team.

Really, what more can be said about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who are morphing into a modern-day dynasty before our very eyes. From Wade Miller, Kyle Walters, Mike O’Shea and his staff to Zach Collaros, Adam Bighill, Willie Jefferson and the rest of the roster, it’s hard not to sound repetitive when coming up with words to describe the two-time defending Grey Cup champions.

Talented. Tenacious. Entertaining. Elite. This is a truly special group, one with a next-man-up mentality that was on full display during Thursday’s thrilling 31-29 victory over Calgary at IG Field, in front of more than 30,000 very satisfied customers. Fittingly, it was the 400th home victory for Winnipeg — the first team in CFL history to hit that milestone. (Calgary has 399). And no, they all haven’t come in the last three spectacular seasons, even if it might feel that way.

Of all the stats I could toss your way today, consider this eye-popping one: British Columbia (8-1) and Calgary (6-4) are the second- and third-best clubs in the CFL this season based on current standings. Combined, they have gone 0-4 against the mighty Blue & Gold. And 14-1 against everyone else. (13-0, technically, since Calgary’s other loss this year was to B.C.)

In other words, Winnipeg’s 10-1 record is no fluke, with the only blemish coming two weeks ago against Montreal in fluky fashion as the Bombers were running on fumes thanks to a hellish schedule. Any thoughts on whether that little slip-up could be the start of something bigger was quickly put to rest on the opening drive against the Stampeders. Five plays. 59 yards. Seven points.

It was clinical. It was surgical. It was sensational. And it set the tone for what was to come, a terrific all-around performance coming out of the bye week. They are the standard bearers in the CFL, both on and off the field. And they are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Barring an extremely unlikely collapse down the stretch, you can mark Nov. 13 down as the date the Bombers will host the West Division Final, vying for a third consecutive trip to the biggest stage in three-down football.

B.C., with two remaining regular-season games against Winnipeg, are still in the picture, but the Lions lost plenty of roar when dynamic Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke went down last week with what appears to be a season-ending foot injury that requires surgery. Calgary, with three head-to-head losses to the Bombers, and Saskatchewan, with five overall setbacks already, are now eating Winnipeg’s dust.

At this point, it’s starting to look like the only thing that can stop the Bombers might be boredom and/or bad luck.

If there’s a negative to pulling away from the pack so early, it’s having to find ways to keep the competitive juices flowing even when the stakes of games down the stretch might not really be so high. But given everything we’ve learned about this tight-knit group, which has seen much of the core remain intact since snapping the Grey Cup drought in 2019, I don’t expect complacency to become an issue. They’re simply not wired to take the foot off the gas. That’s just not the “O’Shea Way”, especially with quality, veteran leaders holding themselves and everyone around them accountable.

Unfortunately, there isn’t nearly as much control over injuries, which reared their ugly head on Thursday. It was a costly victory with several players knocked out of the game. At the top of the list is running back Brady Oliveira, who had 60 yards on the ground and 16 more in the air in the first half, but was a sideline spectator the rest of the way.

Nic Demski, Johnny Augustine, Dakota Prukop and Greg McCrae more than covered for the loss, combining for 111 rushing yards on 17 carries. Impressive, to say the least.

Same goes for the receiving corps, which are bruised and battered right now and without the services of several key targets including Greg Ellingson and Janarion Grant. Despite that, Collaros still tossed for 294 yards and a pair of strikes, with Demski (eight catches, 117 yards, TD) and McCrae (five catches, 95 yards, TD) stepping up.

Kudos to offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce, who clearly used the week off to dig deep into his bag of tricks and come up with some truly creative play-calling. Prukop’s 10-yard touchdown strike to Rasheed Bailey is at the top of the list, along with McCrae’s emergence. Nobody saw that coming, which is why it was so darn effective.

The defence bent a little, which is to be expected against a quality opponent such as Calgary, but didn’t break. And the unit came up biggest with the game on the line in the waning minutes, with Shayne Gauthier of all people registering an important sack that killed a Stampeders drive. It was another example of teamwork making the dream work.

Most importantly, the offensive line managed to keep Collaros upright most of the night. He was under siege against the Alouettes, getting sacked five times, and that was a worrisome development given his overall importance to Winnipeg’s success. As we just saw on the west coast last week, things can change in a hurry when your pivot is under attack.

Collaros went down just once against Calgary. No doubt he’d like two of his throws back, a pair of end-zone picks that cost his club points, but honestly, that’s just being rather nit-picky given the final result. As the old saying goes, perfect is the enemy of good.

Fortunately, the Bombers have more rest and recovery time built into the remaining schedule than any other opponent, with two more bye weeks upcoming, followed by what is likely going to be another week off when the West and East semi-finals are held. That should allow at least some minor aches and pains to heal up.

Any concerns about rust seeping into the game should be put to rest with Thursday’s clutch performance, one that reminded every other CFL squad the road to glory runs through Winnipeg. And served up another instant classic for the local football faithful, who are truly living their best lives these days.

This team.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg