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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Jake Ceresna said the club is in a valley at the moment with three weeks left in the regular season, but has confidence the Blue and Gold and \u2018get back to the peak.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Als had more first downs (36) than the Bombers had plays (30).<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go into the film room the next day after a game and you\u2019re looking forward to highlights and I think we only had one or two,\u201d said receiver Nic Demski, who didn\u2019t record a single catch for just the third time in the past six seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, our No. 1 goal is to stay on the field and extend drives and we didn\u2019t do that. When you don\u2019t do that, you don\u2019t have many plays that are played. We\u2019ve got to do a better job, it\u2019s no secret, everybody knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loss dropped the Blue and Gold to 7-8 and thrust them into must-win territory this week. They host the Calgary Stampeders (8-8) on Saturday (6 p.m. kickoff) in what will be one of the most important regular-season games played around these parts in recent memory.<\/p>\n
If the Bombers lose, the only team remaining in the West Division that they can leapfrog into the playoffs is the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-7) since they own the tiebreaker over them. But if the Bombers win, they\u2019ll also own the tiebreaker over Calgary heading into the final two weeks.<\/p>\n
As discouraging as their most recent outing was, they still believe, and they still control their own destiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get stuck in the past, you\u2019re going to get stomped over the next week,\u201d said Demski.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily enough, we still got a chance to go out there and earn our spot. So, one week at a time and this week is definitely the biggest week come to date. We\u2019ve got to go out there, handle business and go 1-0. We\u2019ve got to go back to our standard of going 1-0 at the end of each week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Nic Demski said Wednesday the team has a bad taste in their mouth after dropping the game against Montreal last Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The shellacking might even serve as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you hold onto it too long and have too much anger, you\u2019re probably not going to do your assignment the right way. But if you do have that in the back of your mind and kind of have a bad taste and use that for fuel in the right way, then I think it can be a positive,\u201d said Demski.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody was happy with how last week unfolded. I think it would be in the best interest of everybody to have a sour taste and come out swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bombers haven\u2019t been on the ropes like this in quite some time. They have the longest playoff streak in the league, dating back to 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not all doom and gloom. The West is extremely tight; we\u2019ve lost games that are close, we\u2019ve lost games where we felt like if we had another play here or there, we would\u2019ve won. So it could\u2019ve been a different story, but that\u2019s not the case,\u201d said right guard Patrick Neufeld.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not looking at it like it\u2019s the end of the world, the sky\u2019s falling; we\u2019re looking at it like, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s control what we can control and take this one play at a time, one game at a time, and do the best we can preparing for Calgary and play a great game in front of our home fans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n And they might \u2014 just might \u2014 be getting a boost at the game\u2019s most important position.<\/p>\n Starting quarterback Zach Collaros (head) was listed on Wednesday\u2019s injury report as a limited participant. It was his first time participating in any capacity since suffering the setback in the Banjo Bowl.<\/p>\n Backup quarterback Dru Brown has gone 2-4 in six starts this season.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you know me. I\u2019ll never call it. Always give him an opportunity,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea on Collaros potentially playing this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say he\u2019s improving.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t They could certainly use him. The Stamps have won three straight, although two of those victories came against winless Ottawa, and they smacked the Bombers 52-30 on their last visit to Winnipeg in Week 8.<\/p>\n Calgary leads the league in scoring (35.9 points per game), and quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is peaking at the right time as he threw four touchdowns last week in Regina in a 37-31 win over the Riders.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s Collaros or Brown, the Bombers have their work cut out for them if they want to keep up with that attack.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to play our brand of football. It\u2019s no lie we didn\u2019t do that last week,\u201d said Demski.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if we do that, everybody\u2019s seen it, when we can really get together and start meshing together and play good football together, it\u2019s a scary thing on the offensive side of the ball. We\u2019ve just got to hunker down and do the damn thing.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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