Photo: CFL
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were defeated by the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 28-27 on Saturday night in front of 20,902 fans at McMahon Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.
Falling asleep
The Blue Bombers played like they were shot out of a cannon to start Saturday’s game, racking up 17 points on four offensive possessions and forcing three-straight punts on defence. This game seemed destined to be a blowout.
The biggest highlight was Brady Oliveira, who looked like the CFL’s reigning M.O.P. for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury earlier this year. He caught a beautiful 42-yard pass from Zach Collaros down the middle as part of 121 yards from scrimmage he racked up by the early part of the second quarter.
Zach Collaros goes DEEP!
The Bombers are on the move early in the second! #CFLGameDay
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The Winnipeg native finished the game with 12 carries for 68 yards and nine receptions for 100 yards — 168 yards total. He recorded only five touches in the second half and nobody stepped up in his place to make plays.
Zach Collaros finished the game a respectable 21-of-26 for 214 yards and one touchdown but he struggled to push the ball downfield (more on that in a moment). It’s possible that the passer’s conservative decision-making came as a result of throwing multiple interceptions in three straight starts but it may also have been due to his receivers failing to separate (more on that in a moment).
This isn’t the first time the Blue Bombers have gone away from Brady Oliveira after establishing the run and it’s truly baffling. Winnipeg controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the first half, then seemingly gave up trying to run the ball. It made no sense.
After throwing Chris Streveler under the bus last week, it’ll be interesting to hear what offensive coordinator Jason Hogan has to say about this one.
Serge protector
Sergio Castillo had another perfect game, going four-for-four on field goal attempts and two-for-two on converts. Three of the veteran’s field goals came from considerable distance as he connected from lengths of 49, 53, and 63 yards.
SERGIO YOU ARE KIDDING pic.twitter.com/NY6FmwanQH
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The 63-yarder tied the record for the longest field goal in league history, which was set by Paul McCallum of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2001. It was also special given the situation as it occurred with one minute left and his team trailing by two points. Though it didn’t turn out to be a game-winner — more on that in a moment — Castillo deserves a ton of credit for nailing such a long kick with the game on the line.
Here’s a pretty wild statistic: in CFL history, there have been five field goals made from 60 yards or more. Castillo has kicked three of them.
Secondary shuffle
Winnipeg’s secondary has been an area of focus as of late and that will continue after another suspect performance and a second serious-looking injury in as many weeks.
Boundary cornerback Terrell Bonds had to be carted off shortly before halftime on a play that saw Tevin Jones reel in an eight-yard touchdown. Jones made a slick move near the line of scrimmage and Bonds crumpled to the ground as he tried to change direction.
The second-year defender was replaced by Trey Vaval, who recorded one tackle. He was called for pass interference in the end zone early in the third quarter working against receiver Clark Barnes but the flag was later negated because Willie Jefferson tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage. After that, he looked fine.
Dexter Lawson Jr. made his first start for the Blue Bombers at field-side cornerback, replacing the injured Jamal Parker. The 25-year-old made 13 starts over two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and attended training camp with Winnipeg this year, though he was released among final cuts prior to being brought back two weeks ago.
TEVIN JONES WITH THE RESPONSE! #CFLGameDay
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The results were far from perfect.
Early in the first quarter, Lawson Jr. fell behind a streaking Tevin Jones and Vernon Adams Jr. hit the receiver perfectly in stride. Canadian defensive back Jake Kelly, who didn’t start but played routinely in second-and-long situations, was also a step behind the receiver and narrowly missed on a diving tackle, allowing Jones to score a 78-yard touchdown.
Lawson Jr. was also victimized early in the fourth quarter when he leapt backward with an arm outstretched to try to bat down a pass near the sideline but narrowly missed. Jalen Philpot made a clutch back-shoulder catch to convert on second down, getting Calgary out from the shadow of their own uprights.
It wasn’t a brilliant game from Kelly, either, as he was charged with a 40-yard pass interference penalty late in the second quarter. The Bishop’s University product appeared to panic as the ball arrived for Dominique Rhymes as he raised his left arm to the receiver’s chest, which drew flags from multiple officials. The replay gave Kelly a bit of a reprieve — Rhymes seemed to fold at first contact despite outweighing the defender by 25 pounds — but there was no sense in challenging as the call would almost surely have stood.
JALEN PHILPOT DELIVERS!
A 48-yard connection from Vernon Adams Jr! #CFLGameDay
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Kelly was also beaten by Philpot for a 48-yard gain in the third quarter. It wasn’t a bad rep — he was only one stride behind the receiver and he did a nice job of raking his hand through the receiver’s arms as the ball arrived — but it was still a completion, which led to a 31-yard field goal from Rene Paredes.
Vernon Adams Jr. finished the game with 300 passing yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions — certainly good numbers, but nothing crazy. It wasn’t an awful game from the secondary, but the unit was far from great. It will be interesting to see how the secondary responds on an upcoming short week considering it looks like Bonds won’t be available to play anytime soon.
Dill-in
Dillon Mitchell made his much-anticipated Blue Bombers debut almost seven months after he signed a $160,000 contract with the team. The former NFL draft pick was a healthy scratch for Winnipeg’s first six games and was unceremoniously demoted to the practice roster ahead of last week’s win over Toronto.
The six-foot-one, 190-pound native of Memphis, Tenn. started at slotback — a position offensive coordinator Jason Hogan previously indicated he didn’t particularly want him to play — and made three catches for 22 yards. If you include Brady Oliveira, he was the team’s fifth-most productive receiver.
At first blush, one might suspect Mitchell’s numbers were dwarfed by others but that’s not the case. Of the wideouts and slotbacks, Kevens Clercius was the most productive with three receptions for 32 yards — hardly a stat line worth raving about.
Jerreth Sterns ran a beautiful route to score Winnipeg’s only passing touchdown of the night but was otherwise quiet.
Keric Wheatfall made only one catch and at times it was tough to remember he was even on the field. Over his first three games of the season, Wheatfall had 275 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Over his last five outings, he has 120 yards. In four of those games, he failed to reach 25 receiving yards.
It’s clear that Winnipeg’s receiving corps isn’t good enough without Dalton Schoen in the lineup. Head coach Mike O’Shea spoke on 680 CJOB‘s postgame show and insisted that he likes the team’s personnel, which is exactly what he’s done throughout his career: back his players to a fault.
It’s impossible to say without watching the coaching film, but at least one of the following things is true: Jason Hogan is scheming the passing game poorly, Winnipeg’s receivers can’t separate downfield, or Zach Collaros has lost the ability to properly survey the field.
Getting stuffed, allowing sacks
Chris Streveler entered this week’s game virtually automatic in short yardage but was stuffed on third-and-short near the midway point of the second quarter, resulting in a turnover on downs. The play ended a promising drive and took points off the board for the Blue Bombers as they were at Calgary’s five-yard line.
The lack of push from the offensive line was apparent on the preceding down as Brady Oliveira was limited to a one-yard gain on second-and-two. When you get eight yards on first down, there’s no excuse for a drive stalling.
The offensive line had a pretty good game overall against a talented Calgary defensive line, though four sacks allowed looks ugly on paper.
The first sack came when Collaros tried to flee the pocket while facing three-man pressure midway through the third quarter but was unable to outrun Jaylon Hutchings, who has quickly established himself as arguably the best defensive tackle in the CFL. The second-year player is probably the only interior defender in the league who can chase down opposing quarterbacks with apparent ease.
The second sack happened late in the third quarter when the Stampeders blitzed and Collaros was slow to throw, though he made a nice move to dodge the free rusher. After that, he was gobbled up by second-year linebacker Jacob Roberts.
The third sack was a classic coverage sack, coming after Collaros surveyed the field long after the ball should have been out of his hands. The fourth sack came when Kendall Randolph was beaten around the horn by Charles Wiley, though there was still at least a brief opportunity for Collaros to get rid of the ball.
Left tackle Stanley Bryant was also called for holding in the fourth quarter after being beaten inside by defensive end Clarence Hicks. The infraction was declined as a deep shot to Nic Demski, which was the only long ball Winnipeg tried all second half, fell incomplete.
Viva la Vaval
Rookie returner Trey Vaval followed up last week’s two-touchdown game with another nice performance, notching 135 yards on seven total returns..
Midway through the first quarter, Fraser Masin shanked a punt for the Stampeders and Vaval brought it back 33 yards with key blocks from Canadian defensive backs Jake Kelly and Nick Hallett. Winnipeg’s offence was able to scrimmage deep in Calgary territory and three plays later, Chris Streveler scored a touchdown on a one-yard plunge.
Vaval made another nice play late in the second quarter, making multiple players miss on a 17-yard punt return. After a two-and-out from the offence, Sergio Castillo notched a 53-yard field goal to give Winnipeg a 20-8 lead.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Vaval recorded a clutch 38-yard return to get the ball near midfield but Tony Jones was called for an illegal block. Head coach Mike O’Shea challenged the penalty and was unsuccessful — the penalty looked legit, as Jones appeared to shove a Calgary player in the back — though it happened on the opposite side of the field. Vaval would have gone for 38 yards even had Jones not taken the penalty.
Curiously, Vaval twice allowed kickoffs to sail over his head before taking a knee in the end zone to concede a single point. The wind wasn’t much of a factor, according to 3DownNation reporter Ryan Ballantine, so this appears to simply have been a result of Rene Paredes kicking the snot out of the ball. The CFL average for kickoffs is around 66 yards but Paredes, who leads the league, had kicks of 87 and 90 yards on the two singles.
Castillo also registered a single near the end of the game, booting the ball 100 yards to go out of the back of the end zone.
Standings watch
Saturday’s loss has put Winnipeg in a tough spot in the West Division standings.
The team trails Saskatchewan by six points for first place and Calgary by four points for second place. The Blue Bombers have played one fewer game than the Stampeders, though that’s somewhat of a moot as point as they’ve also lost the season series.
Winnipeg has also squandered its lead over the fourth-placed Lions, though they have the season series and a game in hand. There’s no sense paying attention to the Elks — yet, anyway — but they’re also now only four points behind the Blue Bombers.
Having a 4-4 record in the East Division would mean being four points out of first place and two points out of a home playoff game. In the West Division, things are tougher. A loss next week could easily move the Blue Bombers to fourth place at the midway point of their season, which would be a huge disappointment considering their 3-0 start.
Sharing the load
Michael Chris-Ike got his first career carry on Saturday and though the play resulted in only two yards, it would be nice to see the second-year fullback get more touches.
The native of Hamilton, Ont. was the fastest player at last year’s CFL Combine, running a 4.51-second forty-yard dash at six-foot-one and 225 pounds. That combination of size and speed is highly rare — heck, Chris-Ike might be faster than any of the league’s starting running backs. Giving him a couple of reps per games would be a nice way to wear down defences and give Brady Oliveira a bit of a breather — assuming he needs one, anyway, which might not be the case if the team keeps voluntarily going away from him.
Chris-Ike won’t be a starter anytime soon — he’s improved vastly as a blocker and on special teams — nor was he a prolific ball-carrier during his collegiate career. Regardless, I like the idea of him getting touches.
Next up
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) will host the Ottawa Redblacks (3-6) on Thursday, August 14 with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. EDT. This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season, the second of which will take place in late September.
The Blue Bombers split their two meetings against Ottawa last season, both of which occurred in the first four weeks of the season. Winnipeg won at home 23-19 in Week 1, then the Redblacks won at home 25-16 in Week 4.
Dru Brown was incredible in a 46-42 win over the Toronto Argonauts earlier on Saturday, throwing for 373 yards and five touchdowns. Clearly, Winnipeg’s secondary has their work cut out for them on a short week.