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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had their top four receivers in the lineup \u2014 including Tim White (left) and Ontaria Wilson (right) \u2014 in the lineup for the second time this season on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Given what they\u2019ve put on film all season, the Bombers\u2019 approach against Calgary was a little odd, too.<\/p>\n
Rather than relying on their traditional ground-and-pound attack, they found success through the deep ball, with quarterback Zach Collaros turning back the clock by completing four passes of at least 39 yards.<\/p>\n
Star running back Brady Oliveira had just three carries for 22 yards heading into the fourth quarter. That would have fans in an uproar in a typical game, but against the Stampeders, the tailback was arguably more valuable as a decoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know running the football up here solves world peace and terrorists,\u201d said offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell. \u201cBut what we need to be able to do is we gotta be a physically violent football team, and that\u2019s with the run or pass, but we have to throw to score points.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers did just that, thanks in large part to Collaros, who delivered his finest performance of the season. He had missed the previous two games with a head injury and faced questions from outside the organization about whether he should return at all considering a well-documented history of injuries above the shoulders.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPeople saying \u2018He\u2019s old, he should hang it up\u2019 and stuff like that, I feel like him seeing that type of stuff during the couple weeks that he was out gave him a lot of motivation to go out there and do a little bit better than he has been,\u201d said defensive end Willie Jefferson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Zach is out there on the field and he\u2019s moving at a good pace, throwing the ball at a good clip, and just moving the ball consistently, it gives the whole team energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday marked the second time this season that Winnipeg had its top four receivers \u2014 Ontaria Wilson, Tim White, Nic Demski and rookie sensation Dorian Singer \u2014 available and in the lineup at the same time.<\/p>\n
Singer, who missed Tuesday\u2019s practice with an illness, broke out with five catches for 166 yards.<\/p>\n
Collaros hinted that the rookie reminded him of one of his former favourite targets in Kenny Lawler.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Dorian Singer is beginning to remind quarterback Zach Collaros of former favourite target Kenny Lawler.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a really big catch radius \u2026 I don\u2019t want to (compare him to Lawler just yet), but there\u2019s some catches he makes and I\u2019m like \u2018Yeah, he looks like that guy,\u2019\u201d said Collaros.<\/p>\n It was an encouraging performance across all three phases, but the question now is whether the Bombers can sustain that level of play this late in the season.<\/p>\n They haven\u2019t won consecutive games since a three-game win streak in July. Two of those victories came against the league\u2019s bottom two teams in Hamilton and Ottawa.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a roller-coaster ride this season,\u201d said linebacker Tony Jones. \u201cWe\u2019re just focused on putting whatever wasn\u2019t clicking in the past and worrying about how we can go out this week and go 1-0 against a good Edmonton team. With everything still right in front of us, we\u2019re fired up about that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bombers sit third in the West Division at 8-8. They hold the tiebreaker over Saskatchewan (8-8) and Calgary (8-9), having won both season series. Winnipeg also owns the best head-to-head winning percentage among the three teams, which would give them the edge if they all end the season with the same record.<\/p>\n With two weeks left, the Bombers could still finish anywhere from second to last in the division. But they are, at the very least, guaranteed a playoff berth if they can avoid going 0-2 down the stretch.<\/p>\n Edmonton, which has beaten Winnipeg in both meetings this season, can clinch the West Division with a victory Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a really good division, it\u2019s been a great league all year, really,\u201d said Collaros. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of parity, it\u2019s going to come down to the wire. The fans should be really happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n SMITH UPDATE<\/p>\n Second-year linebacker Jaylen Smith is listed on the injury report with a hip injury after suffering a setback on a non-contact play in the third quarter Saturday.<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea did not provide an update on the severity of the injury.<\/p>\n Smith made his presence felt earlier in the game by delivering one of the biggest hits of the season in the second quarter when he came out of nowhere to drill Stampeders running back Deonta McMahon.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even see Jaylen coming until he hit him and then it was like \u2018Oh my God,\u2019\u201d said Jefferson.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat hit. That\u2019s one of the ones you wait all season for.\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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