Kickoff: Friday, September 12th, 6 p.m. CDT; Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton
TV/Streaming: TSN 1, RDS, CBS Sportsnetwork; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB (pre-game begins at 4 p.m., CDT); Play-by-play: Derek Taylor/analyst: Doug Brown; Sirius XM (ch. 167)
Scene Setter
They’ve taken on water over the last couple of weeks and will be without their skipper for at least one game. Yet, nobody on the good ship Blue Bomber is fretting about the recent stormy waters.
Truth be told, it’s exactly the opposite even as those outside the building seem so eager to begin penning the obituary on their 2025 Canadian Football League season. Fact is, there’s a belief among this bunch it can still very much write a happy ending through the final third of the schedule.
“There’s a lot of belief. Everyone in this locker room still believes,” said veteran left tackle Stanley Bryant. “That belief is not going anywhere. We were in the same position last year at 6-6, even though the West standings may have been different then. The guys in here still believe. We want to want to keep building and building and that can start this week.
“Things haven’t gone our way in the last two. We’ve just got to find a way to close things out.”
Keric Wheatfall
There’s significant evidence to that. Consider that in each of Winnipeg’s last three losses — a pair to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and, prior to that, to the Calgary Stampeders — the Blue Bombers held double-digit leads in the first half but couldn’t finish.
“We have these chunks where we’re just a little off and we’re not all on the same page,” said guard Pat Neufeld. “And then that’s affecting us in critical situations. It’s about making sure we’re all on the same page as much as we can be and then getting the ball in the end zone in the third quarter would be big. We’re not having great third quarters, so finding ways to get into the end zone in that quarter would be big for us.
“We were in this spot last year at 6-6. Obviously, the standings were different last year, but we’re still in the same spot, we’re still extremely confident in ourselves. There’s some games where we didn’t earn the wins, but they were there for us to take.
“We’ve got to go out and take it, starting with this one.”
With that in mind here are five areas of concern the club needs to fix beginning Friday in Hamilton and in the weeks ahead…
THE UGLY, UGLY, UGLY TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL
Fact: the Blue Bombers have a -11 turnover differential — takeaways vs. giveaways — which ranks second-worst in the CFL, with only the B.C. Lions worse at -12.
Consider this: The Blue Bombers turnover differential in their six losses this season is -18 and +7 in their six wins. So, it’s not complicated. Over the last three years and 46 games, including playoffs, Winnipeg has won just three games where they were a minus in the turnover differential. The margin for error in this league is so thin, and this team can’t simply continue to spit up the football.
THE DREADED ‘EXPLOSION’ PLAYS
Fact: The CFL designates big plays as rushes of 20-plus yards, passes, punt or missed field goal returns of 30-plus yards and kickoff returns of 40-plus yards. Winnipeg has allowed 36 big plays against, tied with B.C. for second-most in the CFL (Toronto is last with 44).
Consider this: that number is shrinking of late for the Blue Bombers, who held Most Outstanding Player candidate Trevor Harris, the Riders QB, to just 458 yards passing and one TD in the Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl losses. That said, Saskatchewan’s biggest offensive play — a Harris to Joe Robustelli completion that covered 48 yards — came in the fourth quarter with the Riders scrimmaging from their own one-yard line and holding on to a 15-13 lead. Four plays after that completion the Riders kicked another field goal to push their lead to 18-13.
Now with Collaros out for at least one game, those plays against can become even more magnified.
SPEAKING OF…
Fact: Friday’s game will be the third start Collaros misses this season, two due to injury. He’s also not finished three other games now, two due to a neck injury and now the latest with what has been designated as a head injury.
Consider this: No CFL QB has started more games over the last five years than Collaros, with him taking the first snap from centre in 73 of the Blue Bombers last 79 contests. There’s also this: Dru Brown (2-1) and Chris Streveler (3-0) are a combined 5-1 in the six games Collaros did not start.
Clearly, though, this team is best able to make a fall run to glory with Collaros at the helm. He is 53-21 in his Blue Bombers career as a starter.
A CLIMBING PENALTY TOTAL
Fact: the Blue Bombers have been the least-penalized team in the CFL for seven straight years. Winnipeg took the fewest penalties last year with 96 — 42 on offence, 33 on defence and 21 on special teams.
Consider this: Winnipeg has already been nailed for 77 penalties through 12 games, tied for the second fewest, so there is that. So far this season the offence has been hit with 31 penalties, the defence with 30 and 14 on special teams.
Again, with the margin of error so thin this team must play cleaner. Only once this season — the win over Edmonton back in late June — has the club had fewer than five penalties in a game.
CALL IT THE ‘GREEN ZONE’, PLEASE
Fact: Winnipeg has run just 55 red zone plays (inside opponent 20) all year — tied for lowest in the CFL with Montreal.
Consider this: Toronto, by comparison, is first with 90- top five teams all have 76 or better — not complicated way more opportunities = potential for way more points.
A couple more offensive numbers:
Winnipeg has a +38 points differential in the first quarter, representing excellent starts this season. Yet, the third quarter differential is a whopping -42 as the team has let several leads this year slip away.
“We need to play more consistently throughout a whole game. In the first Saskatchewan game there were a chunk of plays where we made too many mistakes in a row, play after play after play,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea earlier this week. “And there was another one of those in (the Banjo Bowl), too. The effort is really good; the physicality is good. Mistakes are going to happen; you just don’t want three or four plays in a row with mistakes. You want to limit them. You can’t keep taking turns making them.
“We’re close. The guys, they put in so much work every single day. The care, the concern is there. The desire to do well for their teammates is there. If they keep playing hard, it’ll come.”
THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers depth chart features three changes from last week’s loss in the Banjo Bowl. On are QB Chase Artopoeus, CB Demerio Houston and DB Nick Hallett. Off are Collaros, OL Micah Vanterpool and DB Jake Kelly.
Of note: Collaros and Vanterpool were placed on just the one-game injured list, joining RB/KR Peyton, DB Jamal Parker, Jr. and WR Jerreth Sterns. The six-game injured list includes WR Dalton Schoen, LB Lane Novak, DT Tanner Schmekel, OL Eric Lofton, CB Terrell Bonds, WR Kody Case and DB Enock Makonzo.
