Kickoff: Saturday, September 6th, 3 p.m. CDT; Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg
TV/Streaming: TSN 1; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB (pre-game begins at noon, CDT); Play-by-play: Derek Taylor/analyst: Doug Brown; Sirius XM (ch. 167)
Scene Setter
Years from now — heck, even in just a few weeks — history will simply record the Labour Day Classic as a four-point loss by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
It’s black and white — a loss is a loss is a loss. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yet, while the wounds are still fresh and the anger still simmering in Bomberland, those emotions are something the squad has been attempting to really lean into heading into Saturday’s rematch with the Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl as this group attempts to rally around their own rally late in the Labour Day loss.
Be angry and frustrated, yes, but use it as fuel in the right here and right now.
“Any time you win or lose a game you take the negatives and the positives out,” said veteran receiver Nic Demski. “The negatives, you’ve got to take them out and learn and grow from them. And you’ve always got to take the positives and say, ‘We still did a lot of good things in this game. We still gave ourselves a chance and played until the end of the fourth quarter.’ The fight and tenacity in this team speaks volumes. Did it our go our way? No. But now we’ve got an opportunity to make things right and get back in the win column.
“We’ve definitely got to do a better job of taking care of the football. That’s first and foremost. And then the penalties. We’ve just got to play smarter. If we get those things ironed out and execute at a higher level, I really do think we’re going to be where we want to be.”
Right now where the Blue Bombers are is third place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division, with the Riders a full six points ahead at 9-2, with the Calgary Stampeders looking dominant at 8-3 and having already secured the season series with Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. The B.C. Lions are still very much in the mix, too, at 5-6 — although the Blue own that season series after a pair of victories to open the year back in June.
Remaining games:
Blue Bombers:Home (4): vs Sask, Sept. 6; vs Ham, Sept. 27; vs. Sask, Oct. 17; vs. Mtl, Oct. 25
Away (3): @Hamilton, Sept. 12; @Ottawa, Sept. 20; @Edmonton, Oct. 11
Funny thing about all that… ask around in the Blue Bombers clubhouse and the standings don’t seem to be a talking point. Maybe that’s partly the reality of their current situation, but it also comes from a room still stacked with veterans that have helped take the team to five straight Grey Cups and their ability to objectively see the bigger picture.
“We don’t even think about that — the standings and where we’re at right now,” said Demski. “Some of us were talking the other day that we had a great opportunity last week and it didn’t go our way. Still, we play Sask two more times and anything can happen — you know how the CFL is. The last half of the season, the last quarter of the season can be nuts. The West Division is still tight and still up for grabs. You just never know.
“We just live week by week. We just want to be playing good ball at the end of the season and if you don’t focus on that then things aren’t going to go your way. We’ve just got to be good leaders in here and make sure everyone is just focussed on going 1-0 each week. That’s what the mindset has to be, especially at this time of the year.”
Added defensive back Evan Holm:
“I’m just thinking about this game and can we do that eight-nine more times. That’s it. We can’t get caught up in, ‘Where are we going to sit in the standings? Where are we going to be?’ because then you lose sight of this week.”
A couple Blue Bomber-related storylines as we get ready for another sold out Banjo Bowl:
-The offence gets Pokey Wilson back after his stint with the New York Jets and just a few days after he signed a contract extension that will take him through 2026. The bad news for the attack is Dalton Schoen is down again with a knee injury and will miss Saturday’s game as he has been placed on the six- game injured list.
Wilson, if you recall, was the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Rookie last season after pulling in 71 passes for 1,026 yards and three touchdowns.
“It takes a while to learn the CFL game but with the flashes he showed last year in training camp everyone knew there was a spark there,” said Demski of Wilson. “Now with him coming in here off an NFL camp, it’s almost like he never left. He just walked in and started from where he left off last year. That’s such a comfortable feeling, knowing you’ve got a receiver like that who treats practice like games.
“I’m a Pokey Wilson from last year, I still am this year and it’s going to be really exciting to play with him again.”
-Dime back Redha Kramdi, meanwhile, returns after a one-game absence and his return is massive on both the performance and communication front for the defence as an excellent defender and a veteran voice in a secondary that is still settling on a starting six.
“Any game you miss and you watch is hard. I’m not going to complain too much because it was one game and lots of people have had longer waits and gone through harder injuries. I’m just happy to be back,” Kramdi said. “I watched (the Labour Day Classic) with the P-squad guys and the guys on the injured list. We all watched it together. High emotion game and even higher for me as a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve. I was screaming a little bit.”
The Blue Bombers defence limited the damage done by Roughriders veteran pivot Trevor Harris last week, as he was 17-of-27 for 219 with one TD — a 69-yard bomb to Tommy Nield that came on another explosion play.
“I’ve said it more than once: (defensive coordinator) Jordan Younger and the staff are doing an amazing job dealing with the personnel changes,” added Kramdi. ” Trevor Harris finished with 219 so, if we take out that big play of 60-plus yards that’s limiting an MOP candidate. We want to do better against the run — 133 against is high — but we’ve got to be better at first contact and do our best to rally and bring him down.
“Overall, it has to be a day at a time for us. A practice at a time. Whatever unfolds in the future will unfold,” Kramdi added. “For us, it has to just be about today. You make corrections and move forward to the next day. To me, that’s life in general, not just football. You need to be present in the moment. You can’t go back and change the past; you can’t control the future so live in the present. We can’t allow ourselves to be thinking about games later on or the standings. We just can’t right now.”
THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers depth chart features five changes from last week’s loss in the Labour Day Classic. On are Wilson and Kramdi, RB Matthew Peterson, OL Micah Vanterpool and DT Collin Kornelson. Off are Schoen, RB/KR Peyton Logan, LB Fabian Weitz and DT Tanner Schmekel. Left guard Gabe Wallace, who pulled up in Wednesday’s practice with what is being called a hip injury, is listed as ‘GTD’ — game-time decision — with Micah Vanterpool listed behind him on the depth chart.
Of note: while Demerio Houston’s reps with the defensive starters has increased over the past couple of weeks, he remains on the practice roster. And without Logan dressing, Trey Vaval is listed as both the punt and kickoff returner and will start at corner.
The one-game injured list features WR Jerreth Sterns, DB Nick Hallett, Logan, Weitz and DB Jamal Parker, Jr. Schoen joins the six-game injured list that includes LB Lane Novak, Schmekel, OL Eric Lofton, CB Terrell Bonds, WR Kody Case and DB Enock Makonzo.
