Bombers living in the moment

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This article was published 17/11/2023 (713 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Montreal Alouettes are set to face off in the 110th Grey Cup at Tim Hortons Field Sunday.

To get you better prepared for kickoff, here are five storylines to keep an eye on in the game.

DESTINED FOR DYNASTY?

The Bombers failed to cement themselves as a dynasty last year after falling to the Toronto Argonauts, 24-23, in last year’s Grey Cup. They can redeem themselves on Sunday with a win over the surging Alouettes, a victory giving them three league titles in the last four seasons.

Winnipeg is the third team in CFL history to reach the Grey Cup game in four consecutive years and the first since Edmonton went to six straight between 1977-82. With the future of several Bomber personnel up in the air, with some players expected to retire and a front office staff that has the potential for a major shakeup, it’s reasonable to wonder just how long the good times will keep on rolling.

The Bombers know their run won’t last forever, and every team is different, that’s why they’ve made it a priority to live in the moment and appreciate every moment together. A win Sunday would go a long way in determining just how long we’ll be talking about them in the future.

INJURY WATCH

Sunday could be a preseason game and the Bombers still wouldn’t reveal anything about injuries. You can imagine what it’s been like to deal with O’Shea during Grey Cup week as fans wonder about the status of two of their most important players in receiver Dalton Schoen and linebacker Adam Bighill.

O’Shea repeatedly says he’ll never rule a player out until 30 minutes before kickoff, but as of right now, it’s looking doubtful for both. Since injuring his ankle on Oct. 6, Schoen hasn’t suited up or done any light exercising on the sidelines for any open practice.

Canadian Brendan O’Leary-Orange – who has six catches for 111 yards and one touchdown this season — started in his place for the West final and has continued to work with the starters in Hamilton. No slight on O’Leary-Orange, but it’s a massive talent drop off, as Schoen is Collaros’ favourite target and leads the club in all receiving categories.

He’s also a pending free agent and could have all nine teams calling his agent this off-season. If Schoen accepts a huge payday from a new club, it’d be a shame to see his incredible two-year tenure with the Bombers end with him as a spectator.

Bighill went down last Saturday with a non-contact injury and has also been in street clothes all week. When the team landed in Hamilton, he was wearing a walking boot on his right leg.

Without Bighill, you can expect to see Winnipeg try to fill his shoes by using a committee approach, with Shayne Gauthier, Malik Clements and Brian Cole all getting work at middle linebacker. They all bring something to the table, but none of them can truly replace Bighill.

COLLAROS OVERDUE FOR BIG NIGHT

Zach Collaros is the best quarterback in the three-down game. Not only that, his name is mentioned with the top pivots of this era and he’s destined for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s the thing: he needs to play better at this time of year.

In 11 career playoff games, including four Grey Cups, he’s thrown seven touchdowns against eight interceptions with 2,237 passing yards and a 68.3 completion percentage. If you just look at the last two championship games, Collaros has completed 35-of-55 passes for 423 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.

He turned it on late in 2021 to help the Bombers claim the crown — a game for which he was named Grey Cup MVP – but in 2022, a night when he battled through an ankle injury, he never got on track. He is, however, a winner with an 8-3 record in the post-season.

If the Blue and Gold beat the Als, that’s all Bomberland, including Collaros, will care about. With that said, a big game by him will do wonders for his legacy.

STAYING GROUNDED

Expect there to be a heavy dose of running back Brady Oliveira on Sunday as the Bombers look to establish the run game early and often. Chewing up yards on the ground has been a blueprint to the club’s success all season and it will be particularly important against an Alouettes defence that feasts on takeaways.

The Toronto Argonauts made the mistake in East final of trying to beat the Alouettes through the air, resulting in four interceptions thrown by quarterback Chad Kelly, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Collaros knows the feeling, with Montreal’s defence accounting for 14 or the Alouettes’ combined 20 points against the Bombers in two games this season, all coming on a pair of pick-6s.

Meanwhile, Oliveira has dominated the Alouettes this season, averaging nearly 120 rushing yards a game and 6.3 yards per carry. What’s more, the Winnipeg native is on an expiring contract and plans to test the NFL next year, meaning Sunday could be the last game in a Bomber jersey for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian for some time.

GONE STREAKING

While the Alouettes are viewed as clear underdogs from the outside, with the Bombers listed as eight-point favourites as of Friday night, there’s a much different mood inside Montreal’s locker room. That’ll happen when you’ve won your last seven games, having last tasted defeat in mid-September following a narrow Week 15 loss to the Argos.

There’s something about being battled tested and Montreal certainly has built up momentum from the last two weeks of playoffs, beating the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East semi-final at home before downing the 16-2 Argos on the road a week later. Confidence is a dangerous thing and the Alouettes have plenty of that right now, with the added motivation of trying to snap a 12-year Grey Cup drought.

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It’s no secret the Alouettes best chance of winning is on the backs of the defence, but what can they expect from QB Cody Fajardo and the offence? It’s Fajardo’s first start in the Grey Cup, so it’s fair to wonder how the pressure might affect him.

Fajardo has a penchant to hold onto the ball too long and that’s not a good recipe against a Bombers defence that will be looking to build on its nine-sack performance against the B.C. Lions in the West final. Montreal gave up a whopping nine sacks last week and a combined six in the two games against Winnipeg this year.

The Alouettes are a good story this season, rising from some messy turnover in ownership over the off-season that cost them their No. 1 QB and top receiver, to being one win away from winning the Grey Cup. They’ll need to play nearly perfect football to beat the Bombers and complete the magical run.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Taylor. Allen@freepress.mb.ca

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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Taylor Allen
Reporter

Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of...

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