{"id":105216,"date":"2025-08-29T11:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T11:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/105216\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T11:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T11:09:09","slug":"oliveira-confidence-is-a-thing-of-beauty-and-it-allows-you-to-play-free-and-play-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/105216\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliveira: “Confidence is a thing of beauty, and it allows you to play free and play fast.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a bit of a quirky fact that will be waved away as inconsequential by some and yet held up by others as an important and telling statistic for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as they springboard into the late summer\/early fall games with mammoth consequences.<\/p>\n

So, here we go: which member of the Blue Bombers is currently second to Nic Demski in receptions for the club through the first 10 games of the season with 36?<\/p>\n

Keric Wheatfall? Nope. Jerreth Sterns? Try again. Could it be Kevens Clercius? Apologies, but no.<\/p>\n

Try Brady Oliveira, who continues to be a bulldozing back for the Blue Bombers offence, but over the last three games has also racked up a team-high 22 receptions.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s telling because it speaks of his value to an attack still working its way through the gears \u2014 that, and the injury to Dalton Schoen \u2014 but it also points to offensive coordinator Jason Hogan trying to get this club\u2019s offensive workhorse more touches.<\/p>\n

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Oliveira racked up 210 yards from scrimmage last week \u2014 the second-best total of his career \u2014 with 137 along the ground and 73 more through the air on nine receptions. Those nine catches matched a season and career high \u2014 he did the same vs. Calgary earlier this month \u2014 and are also an attempt to ensure teams don\u2019t just continue to stack bodies in and around the line of scrimmage to take away Winnipeg\u2019s vaunted ground game.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know we want to run the football. That will always be our identity,\u201d said Oliveira after Thursday\u2019s closed practice. \u201cI always say that as the offensive line goes is how we go as a unit and usually when we\u2019re playing well the result at the end of the game is a positive one. Teams know that, so we\u2019ve got to get creative and\u2013 not just myself \u2014 but find a way to scheme things up for your playmakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s multiple guys in this offence that deserve the ball, and you need to find a way to get the ball in their hands because they\u2019re dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cJay\u2019s (offensive coordinator Jason Hogan) doing a great job right now of getting creative and getting me involved in the pass game.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was especially critical in last week\u2019s win over Montreal with both Demski and Sterns exiting the game before halftime and the club dipping deep into the roster to the point that quarterback Chris Streveler was lining up at receiver in the second half.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg finished with 425 yards of net offence against one of the Canadian Football League\u2019s stingiest defences \u2014 including a tidy 263 yards through the air as Zach Collaros completed a sparkling 87 percent of his passes on 27 of 31 attempts.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll need that and then some against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Sunday\u2019s Labour Day Classic. The Riders defence ranks second best in points allowed at 21.5 and first against the run at 76.3 yards per game.<\/p>\n

That certainly doesn\u2019t mean you stop feeding Oliveira the ball out of the backfield, but his growing game as a receiver offers a tasty option.<\/p>\n

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\u201cVery early on you would say his hands are comparable to any receiver we have. He\u2019s got excellent, excellent hands,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you catch that well out of the backfield and have a great understanding of the offence and what each play calls for, he\u2019s available. You know that Zach trusts him and knows when he delivers the ball he\u2019s going to come down with the catch and he\u2019s going to get some YAC (yards after catch). I haven\u2019t had to, but I\u2019m sure he\u2019s a tough guy to tackle out on the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers will need more of what we saw in Montreal from Collaros, Oliveira & Co. in the final 10 games of the season, beginning with the first of the annual Labour Day\/Banjo Bowl doubleheader with the Riders.<\/p>\n

Momentum might not be a tangible thing for individual numbers from week to week, but confidence can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I can do that every week \u2014 obviously it\u2019s not always going to show up like that,\u201d said Oliveira. \u201cBut there is something to be said about coming off a big performance and leading that into the following week and just keep it rolling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said lots of times: I play my best football, I think, in the second half of the season. I just start rolling and just start feeling really good. Everything becomes second nature when it comes to my eyes, my reads, my cuts \u2014 everything just becomes easy. And when I say \u2018easy\u2019 it\u2019s because I\u2019ve been putting so much work throughout the season and I\u2019m so well prepared as the weeks go on that second half of the season that\u2019s when you should be in midseason form and that\u2019s exactly how I feel right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a thing to be said coming off a big performance that you can carry that \u2014 maybe momentum\u2019s not the word \u2014 but carry that confidence. Confidence is a thing of beauty, and it allows you to play free and play fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE LDC VIBE: No amount of words can properly describe the vibe at the Labour Day Classic, which will be played Sunday in front of the largest crowd in new-ish Mosaic Stadium history. (The 2013 game drew 44,910 at old Taylor Field, which had been expanded that season to host the Grey Cup).<\/p>\n

You truly have to take one in live to get a feel for the vibe.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a great environment,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cYou want to be playing in front of a packed house with fans that are into it and we get the luxury of doing that 10 times a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he takes any time the day before the game to soak up any of the atmosphere, O\u2019Shea grinned and added:<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I usually go to bed. But I do appreciate it. When I walk to the stadium I like to see the tailgate areas all going on. I like that they (security) makes it tough to get into the stadium even though you have your credentials \u2014 that\u2019s always been tough. I like the rivalry. It\u2019s awesome. It lets you know it\u2019s alive and well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t miss it when you\u2019re heading into the city, when you\u2019re just walking around going out to eat you can\u2019t help but notice it and feel the energy, which I think is excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

OUCH UPDATE: Thursday\u2019s practice was closed to the media, but today\u2019s injury report lists Demski as \u2018limited.\u2019 Ditto for veteran DB Nick Hallett.<\/p>\n

The club is not practising on Friday, so the next update will come when the depth chart is released Saturday.<\/p>\n

Injury Report: August 28, 2025#ForTheW<\/a> | @DoctorsManitoba<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4XN57g223p<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

TAKE NOTE: Fan Appreciation Day details are here:<\/p>\n

this one\u2019s for you, bomber nation!<\/p>\n

fan appreciation day is almost here! come hang with the team, enjoy giveaways, activities, and plenty more.<\/p>\n

when: September 14
where: Princess Auto Stadium#ForTheW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SNHenValPq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

ICYMI: Collaros and Darren Cameron welcomed Pat Neufeld and Stanley Bryant to the Handled Internally podcast this week. Check it out here:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n