Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to snap losing streak

Winnipeg Free Press

3 days ago

They've lost three straight games by double digits for the first time in over a decade, their starting quarterback can't stay healthy, their star receiver is injured, their always reliable left tackle is injured, and the defence can't stop a nosebleed.
So, how are things going in Bomberland? Not good — not good at all.
'On paper, it looks rough,' admitted Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira after Wednesday's closed practice. 'Obviously, it's hard to fill those roles, but unfortunately in this business, it's cliché, you hear it all the time, but it's next man up, right? I don't know, there's not really been any concern yet in this locker room that I'm feeling.'
Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (left) said Wednesday the club's locker room still has a 'next man up' mentality despite the season's setbacks.
Quarterback Zach Collaros, who threw for 79 yards and two interceptions in the first half of last Saturday's 31-17 loss in Toronto, didn't return for the final two quarters.
Head coach Mike O'Shea confirmed Wednesday that the veteran quarterback will also miss Friday's rematch at home with the Argonauts (7:30 p.m. kickoff) as he is on the injury report with a neck issue and is expected to be replaced by Chris Streveler. This isn't the first time his neck has bothered him as it also caused him to leave a game two weeks ago, a 41-20 beating courtesy of Calgary.
O'Shea said he doesn't expect Collaros to be out for long and defended his recent play.
Collaros, a 36-year-old who the Bombers signed to a one-year extension through 2026 back in March, has tossed just two touchdowns and six interceptions in his last seven quarters of action.
Left tackle Stanley Bryant (knee) has also been ruled out for a third straight game and standout receiver Dalton Schoen (knee) is currently on the six-game injured list.
'I see an entire team that is taking turns making mistakes,' said O'Shea. 'The quarterback is, as they would say, given too much credit for losses and wins. There's a lot that goes into any football play, and the best part of our game is that 12 guys need to be doing the right thing all the time.'
Those are a lot of interceptions, though.
'If you had an understanding of how the play is supposed to work, you would have a different opinion on every single turnover. You have to look at each one based on the merits of that particular play and all the things that go into it,' said O'Shea.
The Bombers, now 3-3 after starting 3-0, have earned patience. After all, they did start last year 0-4 before figuring it out and making it all the way to the Grey Cup.
'It's a different team, a different season, so we just can't think that's going to be the case for this year,' said Oliveira.
''Yeah, we started slow last year, we can start slow this year and we're gonna make the big game.' That's not the case. We still need to show up every single day and handle our business.'
This adversity does feel different. They're getting shellacked, meanwhile three of their four opening losses last year were by four points or less.
John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea said Wednesday the entire team is making mistakes, not just key players.
'I like to say every week is a different week. I like to learn from the past, win or lose, and move forward, but obviously, it's bulls–t,' said Bombers dime back Redha Kramdi. 'I just hate to lose the way we've been losing. It's unfamiliar with the way we've been playing. But what we did in past years doesn't matter. We just gotta correct what we need to correct, learn what we need to learn, and execute when we're on the field and win games.'
It's not just Collaros and the offence, the defence deserves a ton of blame as well. Journeyman quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who was 1-5 this season before knocking off the Bombers on the weekend, had 316 passing yards and two touchdowns. Last year, the Bombers held their opponents to 234.8 air yards per game which was the best in the CFL. This year, that number has ballooned to 285.3 which has them in sixth. But what's keeping Kramdi awake at night is how they're faring on second down. The Boatmen converted on second and long (10 or more yards) on four occasions and moved the chains on second down 14 times in total.
The Bombers lost all-star Canadian corner Tyrell Ford in the off-season to Edmonton, but Kramdi said that's no excuse for the dropoff.
'I'm obviously not going to diminish losing Ford, who had eight interceptions and is an all-star corner, but at the end of the day, there's a scheme, there's roles, there's rules, and you need to go in and execute, and we haven't,' said Kramdi.
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'It's a lack of execution, and it's on the whole unit.'
Not happy with what he saw, defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger yanked struggling field-side corner Marquise Bridges — a second-year player tasked with taking over Ford's old spot — and replaced him with rookie Trey Vaval, the team's return specialist. Vaval left the game late with an injury but is expected to play Friday. O'Shea declined to comment on if Vaval is getting the start over Bridges this week.
'We're still locked in, man. We still got faith in each other. We all wholeheartedly believe that we're the best team here,' said Vaval.
'We all believe each other, we all love each other, we're all brothers and we're all working our asses off. It ain't really fazing us, every day is a new day.'
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Taylor AllenReporter
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.
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