Published Aug 29, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n He knows the drill, knows it\u2019s pretty much a mandated mantra around the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to not look past the next game.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. 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Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n But running back Brady Oliveira is human, after all, as human as they come. A man with a big, open heart and as open a mind.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n So when he was chatting with a couple of scribes after practice the other day, Oliveira allowed that mind to wander ahead, just a little.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know who we have after the Banjo Bowl,\u201d he began. \u201cBut I do know right now we have back-to-back with Sask and I understand the importance of that\u2026 we take care of business and we\u2019re right back in this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n In the next breath, as if breaking a tackle, the 28-year-old bounced even further outside.<\/p>\n \u201cThen it\u2019s anyone\u2019s, when it comes to the top of the West Division,\u201d he said. \u201cWe understand the importance of that, the last number of years hosting the West Final here. It makes the path to a Grey Cup a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n At that point, he\u2019d squeezed all the yardage he could from this run. It was back to the huddle.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s way in the distance,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cBut we understand, at least I understand, the importance of it.\u201d<\/p>\n And so we come to another Labour Day Classic bursting with implications.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be honest, if the 6-4 Bombers fall to 8-2 Saskatchewan on Sunday, their pathway to the top of the CFL West becomes, not impassable, but steep and narrow.<\/p>\n The one redeeming factor: they have two more games against the Riders.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s 7-3 Calgary, too, a Labour Day win over Edmonton away from littering the climb with another obstacle. An obstacle the Bombers have to step fully over, because they\u2019ve already lost the season series to the Stamps.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n As unpredictable as this weekend can be, there is a trend Oliveira would love to reverse.<\/p>\n In the last three Labour Day Classics, the three-time 1,000-yard runner and league rushing champ the last two years has averaged just 56 yards.<\/p>\n The sorry story by the numbers: 12 carries for 42 yards with a long of seven last season, 17 for 88 (long, 18) the year before and 12 for 38 in 2022, with a long of five.<\/p>\n Winnipeg has two of those, barely. But the Riders defence knows this team\u2019s bread and butter and has done a better-than-average job of putting it on ice.<\/p>\n There have been exceptions, most notably an 18-carry, 154-yard feast in the Banjo Bowl two years ago. That game saw Oliveira produce a career-high 211 combined yards.<\/p>\n The reigning Most Outstanding Player Award winner just so happens to be coming off a game one yard shy of that combination in Montreal.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That makes Sunday\u2019s tilt a collision of confidence wearing blue and gold and of heightened awareness in green and white.<\/p>\n \u201cI notice that, for sure. Especially after big outings,\u201d Oliveira said. \u201cThey already know what they want to do when they play the Bombers. But I do notice that after a really good performance they\u2019re really keying on the run. Which is fine, because then how do you stop the deep threat?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the game of cat and mouse that football coaches play every week.<\/p>\n If the Saskatchewan defence is the cat, they\u2019re dealing with a rodent that continues to grow.<\/p>\n Over the last three games, Oliveira has got his claws on 23 passes for 202 yards, by far the most productive stretch he\u2019s enjoyed on that side of the ledger.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n On pace to shatter his career-best receiving total, he\u2019s added a dimension to his game that was apparently always there, waiting to be developed.<\/p>\n \u201cPretty quickly into it, his hands were comparable to any receiver we have,\u201d head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said. \u201cHe\u2019s got excellent, excellent hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Combined with that bullish running style\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t had to, but I\u2019m sure he\u2019s a tough guy to tackle,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cOut in the open field, on the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliveira says it\u2019s been all about building trust with quarterback Zach Collaros.<\/p>\n \u201cEarly in my career, yeah, when I go outside, slim chance that I\u2019m going to get the ball,\u201d he said. \u201cNow\u2026 I\u2019m a very viable option. I\u2019m not a receiver, but he can trust me out there. I\u2019m going to be Mr. Reliable for you.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cYou can check the ball down to me and I\u2019ll put our team in a positive situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliveira is positive about another thing: he peaks in the second half of seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cI just start rolling, start feeling really good,\u201d is how he put it. \u201cEverything becomes second nature when it comes to my eyes, my reads, my cuts, catching the football. Everything just becomes easy.\u201d<\/p>\n Easy, but only because of the hard work that he\u2019s put in.<\/p>\n That work hadn\u2019t paid off in a 100-yard effort through his first seven games.<\/p>\n Last week came the windfall.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat confidence booster last week in Montreal against an incredible defence,\u201d Oliveira said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to go up against another really good Riders defence. But understand that we put a beating on those boys in Montreal. Now we can go into Sask and carry that confidence and let this thing roll.\u201d<\/p>\n But not let it roll too far or out of sight.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-106278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Oliveira](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OliveiraOnline.jpg\")
Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira, pictured in action earlier this season. File photo Photo by Kevin King \/Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.4.3\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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