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<\/p>\nThere\u2019s a \u201924-hour rule\u2019 in sports \u2014 especially youth, amateur sports \u2014 where parents, athletes, relatives, fans are asked to follow a guideline calling to wait a day before expressing concerns.<\/p>\n
The concept is simple. Take a deep breath or three and calm the nerves rather than launch into a fit of rage.<\/p>\n
Yeah, we did that. And just about a day later Friday\u2019s Winnipeg Blue Bombers loss to the Calgary Stampeders the crushing 41-20 setback still sits heavy as if we\u2019d swallowed a Walby Burger whole. That comes mostly from magnitude and\u00a0totality of the two beat downs by the Stamps over the Blue Bombers with the three touchdown defeats the worst back-to-back losses since losing by 22 to Ottawa and then Edmonton by 32 points back in October of 2014.<\/p>\n
The success this organization has had in the years and the club\u2019s 3-2 record likely means calling for dialling back on the vitriol a tad, but the two losses still left open some gaping wounds.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re a good team,\u201d said Blue Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler of the Stamps afterward. \u201cBut when we watch this tape, we\u2019re going to look in the mirror a lot and see missed opportunities and mistakes and things we need to clean up. That\u2019s always where our focus is \u2014 how we can be better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always expect us to play up to our level. A lot of games in the season, so it\u2019s disappointing. I want to play better; everyone wants to play better. It\u2019s a disappointing feeling. But all you can do is take this, watch the tape tomorrow, learn from it, and be better moving forward. That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added cornerback Terrell Bonds: \u201cThey just beat us in all three phases. It\u2019s on the players. Coaches had a good game plan for us; we just didn\u2019t execute it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re a resilient group and I know we\u2019ll bounce back next week and the games after. It starts during practice this week \u2014 practising harder, watching more film with each other and locking in on the little things because everything they did today they did last game on film. We just didn\u2019t execute, and they made more plays than we did. Credit them.\u201d<\/p>\n
ICYMI, here\u2019s our Game Recap story from Friday\u2019s loss:<\/p>\n
Game Recap | CAL 41 WPG 20<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n And what follows is the rest of this week\u2019s\u00a0UPON FURTHER REVIEW\u2026<\/p>\n THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT\u2026 after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found\u00a0here:<\/a><\/p>\n 1\u00a0One of the scariest numbers to come out of the two losses were the passing totals by Calgary QB Vernon Adams, Jr as he completed 29-of-42 passes for 489 yards with five touchdowns against one interception in the two Stampeder wins.<\/p>\n Diving further into that:<\/p>\n -The five touchdowns covered distances of 43, 11, 37, 42 and three yards and highlighted the danger of explosion plays and Winnipeg\u2019s coverage issues after the veteran pivot extended plays with his legs. Of his 29 completions \u2014 get this \u2014 20 were for 10 yards or more. In fact, in Friday\u2019s win his first eight completions were all over 10 yards, including a 37-yard TD to Damien Alford.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a couple that are just really goofy,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea. \u201cThere\u2019s really no explanation except guys feel terrible because they\u2019ve messed something up. You could probably find a root cause for one and then it might be a different cause for another \u2014 it\u2019s not just communication. But a couple of them were just poor plays.\u201d<\/p>\n -There\u2019s more 16 of those 29 completions came on second down for 286 yards with a TD and an interception. All told, Adams, Jr. was a sparkling 16-0f-24 on second down.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what makes him good,\u201d said Bonds. \u201cHe can make plays in the pocket; he can make plays outside of the pocket and he gives his big receivers a chance with some of those passes. Like I said, credit to them \u2014 they\u2019re on a roll right now, but we\u2019ve got them again in a few weeks. We\u2019re not going to look past Toronto at all, though. We\u2019ve got to get back to the grind.\u201d<\/p>\n 2\u00a0The turnover totals in the two games were horrid, with Winnipeg turning the ball over four times in Calgary and then a whopping six times on Friday. Over the two games the Blue Bombers finished a miserable -8 in the turnover ratio.<\/p>\n What\u2019s worse is three of the six interceptions thrown by Zach Collaros and Streveler over the two losses were returned for touchdowns. That doesn\u2019t even give the defence a chance to step on the field to defend the end zone.<\/p>\n By the way, don\u2019t expect an update on Collaros until the team returns to practice on Tuesday.<\/p>\n 3 Weird one\u2026 Brady Oliveira has had 30 carries and 11 receptions through his two-and-a bit games this season \u2014 remember, he was injured on the first drive of the season and missed a couple contests afterward \u2014 and has yet to find the end zone.<\/p>\n That stat was only exacerbated by a critical moment in Friday\u2019s loss. Trailing 17-13 early in the third quarter Streveler had driven the team to the Stampeder seven-yard line. But on first and goal from the seven Streveler ended up rolling to his left before being picked off at the goal line, with Calgary then driving the length of the field to completely turn the game around.<\/p>\n At best, Winnipeg takes a 20-17 lead there with a TD \u2014 and so many expected them to pound it from the seven until they found paydirt, even knowing how good Calgary\u2019s defence is \u2014 and at the very least they settle for a field goal to cut the Stampeder lead to 17-16.<\/p>\n Instead\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI thought Strev did a great job\u2026 first drive of the third quarter marched all the way down the field. Methodical,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cThere\u2019s probably three or four different decisions on that first-and-seven play.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could be a little more friendly to the quarterback in that situation. We could make a different decision\u2026 all those things. It adds up to a big play against.\u201d<\/p>\n QUOTABLE\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we played pretty good defence in the first half with a couple mistakes here and there. And then in the second half it just felt like we had some critical mistakes that shifted the momentum, and we struggled to get it back under control. We\u2019ve still got so much to work on as a team but it\u2019s a long season and we\u2019ve got time to get this right as a team.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it\u2019s about sticking together. Losses happen. When bad games happen or you get beat up you\u2019ve just got to come back together as a team and get back to work next week. That\u2019s all it is. There\u2019s no time to mope.\u201d \u2014 defensive tackle Cam Lawson<\/p>\n NIC DEMSKI AND KODY CASE BOTH FOUND THE END ZONE\u2026 Friday night but were obviously not in celebratory moods afterward.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to get the win,\u201d said Case, who had two catches for 10 yards including an eight-yard TD while rushing once for 19 yards in his first start and then had three kickoff returns for 63 yards after Trey Vaval left with an injury. \u201cWe\u2019ll regroup and get in the win column next week. Any time you\u2019re on the football field it\u2019s a great thing but it was a rough game this week. We\u2019ve been here before coming off a loss. Now it\u2019s about sticking to our process, trusting our gameplan and go out there and execute it.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Demski, when asked about his career night that saw him finish with 146 yards on seven catches while adding another 27 yards on one run:<\/p>\n \u201cI wish it was under better circumstances. Obviously, it\u2019s nice to get the trust from the quarterback and the OC to have the ball thrown my way.\u201d<\/p>\n TAKE A BOW, BOMBER NATION: Friday\u2019s sell out was the club\u2019s eighth consecutive, a new franchise record. They were vocal throughout and those that remained near the end also were full throat in voicing their displeasure.<\/p>\n \u201cI just noticed that they were gone early, which is not a great night for them,\u201d said O\u2019Shea afterward. \u201cObviously, we want to do better for our crowd. They do great for us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fans are going to stick with us,\u201d said Demski. \u201cThey\u2019ve done a great job of selling out and we haven\u2019t lost many games at home. We know they\u2019re going to be on our side, they know we bring good football. I guess my message to them is to just stick by us; we\u2019re going to get this thing figured out and we\u2019re sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n GIVEN THE OUTCOME, FROM A BLUE BOMBERS PERSPECTIVE\u2026 the highlight of the night may have come before kickoff when Milt Stegall received a standing ovation from fans upon his return to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n Winnipeg loves ya, @MiltStegallTSN<\/a> \ud83d\udc99 pic.twitter.com\/eJdupJci2h<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) July 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n To read more about Milt\u2019s reaction to the ovation, check out this piece:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gallery-23427.jpg\")
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