Kickoff: Saturday, August 9th, 6 p.m. CDT; McMahon Stadium, Calgary
TV/Streaming: TSN 1/3; CBS Sports Network; 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 been taken to the proverbial woodshed and flogged once on the road and then a second time in front of friends and family smack dab in their own living room.
So, damn straight the two whuppings the Calgary Stampeders delivered to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers definitely left a mark — both physically and mentally.
And that’s what makes Saturday’s third meeting of the year, back at McMahon Stadium, so important for the Blue Bombers. Yes, they’ve already lost the season series and were walloped by three touchdowns in both defeats, but a result on the weekend would not only pull them even in wins with the Stamps at five, it would help lower the height on any mental hurdle that may have developed against the dudes in red and white.
“We know we can’t get that series over them,” said running back Brady Oliveira in a chat this week. “But this one is extremely important. Every game is extremely important, but there’s just something about this one.
“The fact they got us good the last two outings that we had against them… it wasn’t like it was close. They got us pretty good. So there’s just something about going into their house this weekend and we’ve got to put it on them.
“We’ve got to play all three phases and get back to our identity and get this thing going.”
Not that this is the be all and end all, but it’s worth noting how the middle third of the season over the last few years has been when the Blue Bombers have found some traction. The new faces become more comfortable, the lineup settles — depending on injuries, of course — and the club begins to develop an understanding of what works heading into the late summer and early fall.
Winnipeg won its first game of this year’s middle third of the schedule last week over Toronto and consider how that trend has unfolded in the last eight seasons — all playoff campaigns:
2024: 4-2; finished 11-7 (1st in West; lost in Grey Cup)
2023: 5-1; finished 14-4 (1st in West; lost in Grey Cup)
2022: 5-1; finished 15-3 (1st in West; lost in Grey Cup)
2021: 6-0 (14 game schedule); finished 11-3 (1st in West; won Grey Cup)
2019: 4-2; finished 11-7 (3rd; won Grey Cup)
2018: 2-4; finished 10-8 (3rd; lost in West Final)
2017: 5-1; finished 12-6 (2nd; lost in West Semi-final)
2016: 6-0: finished 11-7 (3rd; lost in West Semi-final)
“We’re starting to become more of a synergetic team, where the three phases can rely on each other and lean on each other,” said veteran right guard Pat Neufeld. “The defence really played a great game last time and got us a touchdown. Trey (Vaval) did his thing on the kick returns with two touchdowns from the special teams.
“When we’re struggling on offence those things really helped pick us up. We’ve got complimentary football happening right now. It’s not that the offence wants to be relying on those things week to week — we want to be a difference maker — but it’s building.
“We’re starting to see some things that are going to help us down the line. When we get all those cylinders firing, we’re going to be a good team.”
The cylinders do need to get firing on offence. Winnipeg ranks first in yards rushing per game (121.4) but is seventh in passing (251.7). The Blue Bombers revolving door on the left side of the offensive line has been a storyline along with the injuries to Dalton Schoen and then his replacement in Kody Case as has Zach Collaros missing two starts and not finishing two other games.
Winnipeg’s combined QB efficiency rating of 85.8, FYI, ranks last in the league.
“We’re not where we want to be yet,” said Oliveira. “We want to be an explosive offence. We want to finish in the red zone; we want to score touchdowns and right now we’re just not doing that. There’s been flashes of it but we need to finish. We need to start fast and when we get in the red zone we need to finish with six and if we have to settle for three, so be it.
“And then we just have to get back to our identity of, instead of there being flashes of us being a physical football team, doing it for an entire four quarters, an entire 60 minutes. Us moving guys, mauling guys, everyone running to the ball. It’s everyone because everyone can feed off that energy and it’s contagious.
“That was a big win last week for us but there’s still so much more we can improve on,” said Oliveira. “The sky’s the limit. We have a high standard for ourselves.”
THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers depth chart features six changes from last week’s win over Toronto. On are QB Zach Collaros, WR Dillon Mitchell, RB Matthew Peterson, DB Dexter Lawson, Jr., LT Stanley Bryant and DT Tanner Schmekel. Off are CB Jamal Parker, Jr., QB Chase Artopoeus, RB Quinton Cooley, OT Eric Lofton, WR Gavin Cobb and DT Cam Lawson.
Notable to the additions, besides the obvious in Collaros, is the return of Bryant after he missed the last three games as well as Mitchell’s Blue Bombers debut.
The one-game injured list now features Lawson and Parker, Jr. along with LS Mike Benson, RB/KR Peyton Logan and OL Micah Vanterpool. The six-game now features Case and Schoen, Lofton, DB Enock Makonzo and LB Lane Novak.
