{"id":223146,"date":"2025-10-18T21:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T21:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/223146\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T21:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T21:48:10","slug":"upon-further-review-wpg-17-sask-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/223146\/","title":{"rendered":"Upon Further Review | Wpg 17 Sask 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s rewind a tad here and venture inside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room late Friday night for a snapshot of a scene that says absolutely everything about this club right now\u2026<\/p>\n

The doors to the place swing open and the first steps bring us immediately into the defensive end of the room. The music is blaring with the volume cranked to 11 and there is the laughing and jocularity that comes after every win.<\/p>\n

The Ws are hard to come by in this league, remember, and the defence had its fingerprints all over the 17-16 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders \u2014 regardless of whom the opposition decided to leave home.<\/p>\n

Then take a few more steps further into the clubhouse toward the offensive end of the room and it was walking from a frat party into a funeral home.<\/p>\n

There was no laughing. No jocularity.<\/p>\n

Yes, while the Blue Bombers locked down a playoff spot with the results Friday night \u2014 the win over Saskatchewan, coupled with Edmonton\u2019s loss to B.C. \u2014 there was a lot to be desired with the offensive output.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s being kind.<\/p>\n

As TSN\u2019s Milt Stegall \u2014 Blue Bomber royalty \u2014 said Friday night:\u00a0\u201cThis win was so ugly the scoreboard tried to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot to fix. A LOT to fix on offence,\u201d said veteran centre Chris Kolankowski. \u201cShout out to the defence \u2014 they had them punting all the fourth quarter and most of the second half. The offence, we just have to do better. We have to find ways to improve, find ways to play a cleaner game. I don\u2019t think the issue was physicality or will, it just wasn\u2019t clean enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s everyone taking turns making mistakes. It felt like on the field 11 people are doing well and one person was messing up. We took turns doing that and that\u2019s not winning football. We got out of it with a win, so that\u2019s good. But there\u2019s a lot to work on and we\u2019ve got a lot of work to do this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where things are so perplexing with the offence \u2014 frustrating is the better word, perhaps, especially for those in the huddle and those watching:<\/p>\n

Winnipeg averaged 385.8 yards in its 3-0 start and then just two games ago threw up 514 net yards of offence in the 40-3 win over Hamilton. Since then \u2014 the loss in Edmonton and Friday\u2019s win over the Roughriders \u2014 everything just feels so, well, difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s flashes,\u201d said Kolankowski. \u201cEvery play there\u2019s someone doing something really good. It\u2019s just cleaning up. It\u2019s not simple. It\u2019s not easy. But it\u2019s fixable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just all have to focus, take a collective deep breath and focus on one play at a time. We can\u2019t let things compound and turn into a snowball mistake effect of mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

All that said, the level of frustration in the offensive end of the room \u2014 remember, this came after a win \u2014 was palpable. Zach Collaros said there was nothing to like about the offensive performance, a notion echoed by Brady Oliveira.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Asked to weigh in on all that frustration, head coach Mike O\u2019Shea offered this in his post-game media session:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that is a bad thing. I don\u2019t want to see them hold on to that frustration, I want to see how they come in (Saturday). I want to make sure they\u2019re in the right mindset to learn, because there\u2019s a lot to learn tomorrow. Tonight\u2026 enjoy it. We got two points, we handled our business \u2014 whatever it looked like, we handled it, had the outcome we needed and so enjoy it. Enjoy your teammates. That\u2019s a part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, trust me, they\u2019ll talk about the plays they want to have back, they\u2019ll rehash all that stuff. Some guys are going to go home and at three in the morning and watch it. Some guys might go home right now and watch it \u2014 they won\u2019t be able to sleep until they have the answers as to what went on.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo me it\u2019s a tough question to answer. To me, it\u2019s what do they look like tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICYMI, our Game Recap is here:<\/p>\n

Game Recap | Sask 16 Wpg 17<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And what follows is the rest of this week\u2019s Upon Further Review\u2026<\/p>\n

LET\u2019S NOT PAINT THE PICTURE THAT EVERYONE ON \u2018D\u2019 WAS CELEBRATING, EITHER\u2026 because as we visited dime back Redha Kramdi after the game his frustration was high, too.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Blue Bombers defence limited Saskatchewan to just 169 yards offence \u2014 and, yes, the Riders left a bunch of offensive regulars in Regina \u2014 but not everyone was feeling the good vibes afterward.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was expected out of us,\u201d said Kramdi. \u201cWe gave up stuff we shouldn\u2019t have and that\u2019s unacceptable. Also, coming onto the field for that first series, JY (defensive coordinator Jordan Younger) always tries to give us his thoughts on what they\u2019re going to try to do. He told us, \u2018Don\u2019t be surprised if they throw it deep with a shot play\u2019 and so to allow that to happen, it\u2019s pissing me off, to be honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left a couple plays there that should have been there, myself included. In these type of games you need to be at your best, especially with the situation we are in and knowing that they\u2019re playing with their back up (QB) and then their third stringer on the field. We could have played better and given our offence better field position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe preach throughout the season that, \u2018We\u2019re going to be all right and we need to keep working\u2019. At some point we need to stop saying, \u2018We\u2019re going to be all right\u2019 because suddenly the season will be over, and we\u2019ll be home watching the playoffs on our couches. Honestly, as a group \u2014 and pardon my language \u2014 but we need to get our s\u2013t together. This is unacceptable. We shouldn\u2019t be struggling as we did as a team. We need to play way cleaner football.\u201d \u2014 Redha Kramdi<\/p>\n

A GOOD SIDEBAR STORY \u2014 EVEN FOR THE OFFENCE \u2014 WAS THE WORK OF GAVIN COBB\u2026 who was filling in for injured receiver Nic Demski.<\/p>\n

Cobb caught all four of his targets \u2014 including the club\u2019s first offensive snap of the game \u2014 for 44 yards. Not Demski numbers, but a solid effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just excited and happy I got to contribute this week,\u201d said Cobb. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot more fun playing than it is watching. Our offence has a lot to clean up, but as far as the team goes, it wasn\u2019t pretty, but we got it done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to touch the football again and then it became, \u2018All right, we\u2019re back. I\u2019m here. I\u2019m in the flow of things and now we\u2019re playing football.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The status of Demski for Saturday\u2019s regular season finale against the Montreal Alouettes is still to be determined, and we\u2019ll get a better picture when the club returns to practice on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Nic plays a huge role in our offence, but they wouldn\u2019t put me in a position like that if they didn\u2019t think I could get the job done,\u201d Cobb said. \u201cI believe in myself. People might want me to be Nic Demski, but I\u2019m Gavin Cobb. I can give you my best Nic Demski impersonation but at the end of the day I have to be myself and play football the way I do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

ONE MORE FROM O\u2019SHEA WHEN ASKED IF HE WAS\u2026 discouraged with the offensive performance \u2014 he called it \u2018sloppy\u2019 \u2014 at this stage of the season:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get discouraged easily. I\u2019m here when they come into the building. I\u2019m here when they leave the building. I witness all the great work they put in together, the extra work. I witness the camaraderie\u2026 all that stuff. I won\u2019t every be disappointed in these guys \u2014 I\u2019m disappointed for them at times, but I\u2019ll never be disappointed in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put in so much damn work you just want more for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT\u2026 after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

1 Over the first half of the season \u2014 a stretch where there were a ton of changes in the Blue Bombers secondary \u2014 Winnipeg\u2019s defence was surrendering 292.2 yards passing per game.<\/p>\n

Over the last eight games, that number has dropped significantly to 236.6. Some critics will push back at that number pointing to the Roughriders resting Trevor Harris and using both Jake Maier and Jack Doan Friday night. But in that recent number there\u2019s also a 406-yard passing effort by Ottawa\u2019s Dru Brown a few weeks back that was ballooned with some garbage time yards late as the Blue Bombers backed off on the last drive.<\/p>\n

2 A number to add to the offensive frustration\u2026 Oliveira finished with 16 rushes for 75 yards and added three catches for 29 yards. Decent numbers. But 10 of those carries came in the first half and then on the first two possessions of the second half.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yet, after that \u2014 from the 8:48 mark of the third quarter \u2014 he didn\u2019t have another touch until inside the final three minutes, with 2:54 remaining as he got busy to help move the offence into position for Sergio Castillo\u2019s walk-off game-winning field goal.<\/p>\n

Over that stretch, FYI, the Blue Bombers had five possessions where he didn\u2019t get his mitts on the ball.<\/p>\n

3 A salute to Jake Thomas, who played in his 222 career regular season game as a Blue Bomber on Friday, moving him past Stan Mikawos into fourth place in franchise history in that department. Only punter Bob Cameron (394 from 1980-2002), placekicker Troy Westwood (293 from 1991-2007) and right tackle Chris Walby (249 from 1981-96) played more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One more note: Linebacker Tony Jones finished with six tackles to give him an even 100 with one game to play. He becomes just the seventh Blue Bomber in franchise history to hit the century mark after Greg Battle and Barrin Simpson (both of whom did it twice), along with Adam Bighill, Khalil Bass, Henoc Muamba and K.D. Williams.<\/p>\n

The club record for most tackles in a season is held by Simpson, who had 112 in 2007.<\/p>\n

AND FINALLY\u2026 thanks for reading this far and for those who have made it to the bottom and want to see the video evidence of the win over the Riders, we have it here with the condensed game:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s rewind a tad here and venture inside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room late Friday night for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-223146","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\/223146","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=223146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}