WINNIPEG \u2014 Brady Oliveira is looking forward to having a laser-focused Zach Collaros back on the field.<\/p>\n
Collaros missed the Blue Bombers\u2019 past two games with a head injury, but the starting quarterback will take the reins when Winnipeg (7-7) hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-5) on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just extra sharp and extra dialled in this week,\u201d Oliveira said of Collaros after the team\u2019s walk-through practice on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always is, he\u2019s a true pro, but there\u2019s something about this week in practice with him, just seeing him throw the ball down the field. It\u2019s a thing of beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was nothing about Winnipeg\u2019s offence last weekend that could be described as pretty, other than Oliveira\u2019s 20 carries for 100 yards.<\/p>\n
Backup Chris Streveler was in for Collaros and he only completed three of eight pass attempts for 54 yards in a 26-18 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.<\/p>\n
Streveler also rushed 11 times for 72 yards and one touchdown, but it was the play of the defence and special teams that sparked the win.<\/p>\n
Trey Vaval produced a franchise-record 128-yard touchdown off a missed field goal, kicker Sergio Castillo was good on all four of his field-goal tries and safety Cam Allen snagged two interceptions.<\/p>\n
Collaros said he\u2019s excited to be back on the field, although he watched the past two games from the sidelines in Ottawa and Hamilton. The Ticats downed the Bombers 32-21.<\/p>\n
A lot has been made of Streveler\u2019s performance last week, but Collaros said he\u2019s had games when he\u2019s only completed five or six passes. Different elements factor into those low numbers, from sticking with a run game that\u2019s working or playing in windy conditions, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something that\u2019s probably been a bit overblown,\u201d Collaros said of Streveler\u2019s passing numbers.<\/p>\n
Bombers leading receiver Nic Demski also welcomed Collaros\u2019s return to the huddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pumped for him to be back there, not only just for this team, but also just for his personal health as well and his personal confidence, of course,\u201d Demski said.<\/p>\n
The veteran slotback didn\u2019t record one catch against Ottawa, which ended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception at 84. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be lying to say I wasn\u2019t frustrated, but at the end of the day this sport is all about getting wins and we got our win,\u201d said Demski, who has 59 catches for 882 yards and seven TDs in 14 games. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe streak had to end at some point, that\u2019s how I look at it. It sucks, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Receiver Jerreth Sterns returns to Winnipeg\u2019s lineup after missing the past four games with a shoulder injury. He replaces injured Keric Wheatfall (head). <\/p>\n
The Tiger-Cats, led by top passer Bo Levi Mitchell, will try to keep a second win streak alive.<\/p>\n
Of their nine victories this season, six came in one run and now they\u2019ve won three in a row.<\/p>\n
If Winnipeg aims to make Oliveira a big part of the game plan, Ticats defensive ends Phlip Ossai and Julian Howsare are ready to get in his way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just bring my feet to the party,\u201d Ossai told media after a Hamilton practice this week. \u201cWe are a very good run defence as well as pass defence, so we all just got to bring our feet and wrap up, bring him down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howsare, who has 33 tackles, seven sacks, one interception and one touchdown off a loose ball this season, said they\u2019ve got to \u201cgang tackle\u201d and contain Oliveira.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a very physical football team and they\u2019ve got a good running back so you want to control him as much as possible,\u201d Howsare said.<\/p>\n
Oliveira is primed for them to bring it on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny opponent that I go against, it\u2019s going to take their best to be able to stop myself and this offensive line,\u201d Oliveira said. \u201cI look forward to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliveira could reach a personal milestone in front of Winnipeg\u2019s 12th consecutive full house at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n
The hometown running back has rushed for 100 or more yards in the past two games, but has never added a third one in a row during his career.<\/p>\n
Oliveira wasn\u2019t aware of the stat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can get that 100 yards and get a win, then that\u2019s all that matters,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we get the 100 yards and then lose, I would change those 100 yards for a win any day.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Month Date, 20XX.<\/p>\n
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINNIPEG \u2014 Brady Oliveira is looking forward to having a laser-focused Zach Collaros back on the field. Collaros…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-171635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171635","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=171635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}