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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bombers losing skid hits three
TORONTO — Where do you go from here? The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in a battle with themselves currently, and on Saturday, Mother Nature joined the fight. With a steady shower raining down for much of the night, the Bombers slipped and stumbled to a 31-17 defeat against the Toronto Argonauts before 13,266 in attendance at BMO Field. For the second week in a row, the Blue and Gold left the game with questions surrounding their star quarterback, Zach Collaros, who did not return to the contest after halftime. Collaros finished with five completions on 10 attempts for 79 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. After the game, head coach Mike O'Shea said he did not have an update on Collaros' status. The Bombers arrived with designs on reclaiming their mojo after suffering back-to-back three-touchdown losses, but left with many of the same questions that have been swirling around this team since the calendar flipped to July. 'People aren't going to like to hear this, but I'm very relaxed about the situation, because you see what's happening, and the answers are easy,' O'Shea said. 'There's a bunch of guys in that room that have seen it go down a pile of different ways, so I believe we have a bunch of guys that just understand, 'Let's make some corrections, let's go to work and let's be better,' So that's one of the reasons why it's easy to just stay even keeled.' The Bombers' losing streak extends to three games as they drop to 3-3, while the Argos snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-5. Winnipeg has also lost three in a row against Toronto for the first time in a decade, while its misfortune in The Six stretched to four of the last five contests. Let's look at this one further. The Bombers will leave July without eclipsing 20 points in a contest. The final numbers — 319 net yards of offence — again made the box score look prettier than it actually was for the club. Brady Oliveira, who finished with 82 yards on 13 carries, continues to make do with the underwhelming number of opportunities he gets while the score is still close, but that is where this offence maxes out. Winnipeg had six first downs and 104 yards of net offence in the first half — 46 of which came on a Collaros throw to receiver Nic Demski, his only catch of the night. Desperately searching for a spark in the second half, the visitors attempted a punt fake on their opening drive of the second half but punter Jameison Shehan was pushed out a yard short of the marker. Chris Streveler was better than his last performance in relief, completing 11 of his 18 passes for 148 yards while connecting with Jerreth Sterns on a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The touchdown capped the best drive of the night for the Bombers — 11 plays, 82 yards. Sterns led all Bombers receivers with four catches for 72 yards. 'We've lost games here before, and we know how long of a season is, but ultimately, the bottom line right now is we're just not playing good enough, and we have to get better,' said Streveler. 'And that doesn't just happen because you just trust that it's a long season, you got to put in extra and you got to do a little bit more, and you got to look in the mirror and have tough conversations with yourself and as a team and figure out why we're not winning and correct those mistakes so we can get better. 'We do understand it's a long season and there's still time to get better and put this thing right.' There was an adjustment period for the conditions. Dropped balls, shaky handling and blown tires were a theme in a busy opening quarter as players tried to find their footing. While both teams fell victim to the wet conditions, the Bombers had a tougher time adjusting. Special teams had been the one phase that hadn't let Winnipeg down during their losing streak, but that changed as rookie returner Trey Vaval fielded a punt cleanly but began to lose possession of the slick ball when he clutched it in anticipation of a hit. Brandon Calver completely dislodged the pill, which was touched by the Argos before it went out of bounds. The mishap from Vaval only cost the Bombers three points, as the defence stood strong to force a 32-yard field goal by Hajrullahu, who also connected from 22, 40, 16, 21 and 36 on this night. On the next Winnipeg drive, with Streveler in shotgun for a short second-down, the snap from center Chris Kolankowski never got off the ground, as the ball skidded right past the QB to set up another Winnipeg punt. It was one thing after another for the visitors, who also struggled to tackle throughout the game. 'I mean, we talked about it before the game, potentially wet conditions. We brought extra pairs of cleats and things. I think it's worse than we thought it was going to be for some of us, I guess, but I don't know, at the same time, they're playing in the same conditions too. We were just slipping.' The Bombers' biggest play of the game came on the Argos' ensuing drive, as Kyrie Wilson knocked the ball free from running back Kahlan Laborn, and James Vaughters scooped and scored from 29 yards out to give the visitors their only lead of the game. The kryptonite of the Bombers' defence has been big-bodied receivers. Last week, it was Calgary Stampeders rookie Damien Alford. It was Damonte Coxie on this night. The Argos' fourth-year receiver had no issues catching the wet pigskin, amassing 145 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches. The 6-3 receiver did most of his damage in the early portions of the contest to help the Argos jump out to a 25-10 lead at halftime, as he caught five passes for 127 yards before the game was 20 minutes old. Toronto's offence opened with a trick play as Nick Arbuckle lateraled to former Bombers returner Janarion Grant, who found a wide-open Coxie for a 41-yard gain. Winnipeg was fortunate the ball was underthrown, because Coxie would've scored. It didn't matter. Two plays later, Arbuckle found Coxie on a 33-yard touchdown to cap a quick strike from the Argos on a four-play, 81-yard drive that took 79 seconds off the clock. 'He's a professional,' said Deatrick Nichols. 'Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, and he's just pretty good at his strengths. He knows exactly how to win. He's not a fast or a twitchy athlete, but he wins how he wins — body position and everything like that. He's just a professional.' Coxie also accounted for gains of 27, 17 and nine in the first half, as he repeatedly found space in the Winnipeg defence to the point defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger benched field corner Marquise Bridges. Bridges finished the game; however, after his replacement, Trey Vaval, exited the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. Credit to Arbuckle, who delivered an admirable performance despite taking a beating in the pocket. The Argos' pivot completed 22 of 31 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked five times. Turnovers. Penalties. Explosive plays. Collectively, they've been the story of the Bombers' losing streak, and this one was no different. Winnipeg left the field with seven turnovers to the Argos' one, and the club's turnover margin has plummeted to a dreadful minus-14 in its last three games. Collaros' first interception led to a field goal for the Boatmen, and his second came inside the red zone, effectively wiping away at least three points for the Blue and Gold. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Meanwhile, Winnipeg finished with six penalties for 55 yards. Some continued to be inexcusable, such as a roughing-the-passer called on Jay Person that extended the Argos' first-quarter drive, which ended with an 18-yard strike from Arbuckle to DaVaris Daniels. The Bombers' defence conceded four big plays, which all came in the first half. That continues to be an area of concern for this club. 'Definitely saw some improvement, but in a game where there's already some conditions that are interesting, you fundamentally have to be really, really sound, and we weren't necessarily fundamentally sound,' said O'Shea. 'You needed to add that on top of it this game, and I don't know that we were ready to add that back on top of some of the other things we were trying to fix.' X: @jfreysam Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Canada News.Net
3 days ago
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Argos, Blue Bombers enter Grey Cup rematch with sour taste
(Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images) The first rematch of last year's Grey Cup final takes place Saturday night. Neither the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers nor the defending champion Toronto Argonauts are going into it with any kind of positive momentum. Winnipeg (3-2) has dropped two straight, including a 41-20 pummeling on July 18 at home against Calgary. Toronto (1-5) dropped a tough one July 17 with a come-from-ahead 26-25 loss in Montreal after owning a 25-7 halftime advantage. It's the first time that the Argos have started 1-5 or worse since 2019, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of linebacker Wynton McManis. 'There's no time to waste,' McManis said after last week's loss. 'There's got to be some type of urgency. There's no reason we should have lost that game. There's no reason why we shouldn't be celebrating coming out victorious.' For Toronto to reverse its fortunes, it simply has to avoid the mistakes that have plagued it. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle's late fumble at the Argos' 21 led to Montreal's winning touchdown last week. 'We've got to have more ball security in the pocket and awareness of the game situation,' Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. While the Argonauts seek a more detailed effort, the Blue Bombers attempt to bounce back from consecutive routs at Calgary's hands. The most recent one featured four interceptions -- two each for starter Zach Collaros and Chris Streveler. Collaros was knocked out with a neck injury after tossing his second pick in the second quarter but said he will play in Toronto. The focus for Collaros and offensive coordinator Jason Hogan is cleaning up the mistakes that defined the back-to-back losses against the Stampeders. 'We have got to be clean and that means taking better care of the football,' Hogan said. 'If we do that, we have proved with both quarterbacks we can drive efficiently down the football field. We just have to put the nail in the coffin and score. Six points are better than three.' This is the first of a home-and-home series between Winnipeg and Toronto. They'll meet again on Aug. 1 in Manitoba.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Protecting quarterbacks talk of Bombers practice
Zach Collaros said he believes the hit that knocked him out of last week's game against the Calgary Stampeders warranted a penalty flag, but he's also not surprised that the outcome was any different. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback called the blow delivered by Stampeders' defensive lineman Clarence Hicks in the second quarter of Friday's 41-20 defeat 'pretty clean,' but took umbrage with the timing of the hit. 'It seemed late,' Collaros said. 'That's never going to change in this league, though.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (8) practiced with the club on Monday. He left Friday's game in the second quarter after a hit by Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman Clarence Hicks. The hit to Collaros' chest area caused the back of his head to hit the turf and sent him immediately to the locker room, where he remained the rest of the night. No flag was thrown on the play. Collaros is listed on this week's injury report with a neck injury. 'I just think there's not a lot of consistency,' said Collaros, who has previously been vocal about the CFL's streaky record when it comes to protecting its quarterbacks. 'I that that's the frustrating part. I think there's ways to mitigate those hits from happening. I think they'd have to be drastic, and I don't think the (CFL Players Association) are ready to do those kinds of things.' Head coach Mike O'Shea, who is on the CFL Rules Committee, said quarterback safety is 'one of the first things we always talk about' at meetings. 'Does it always work out that way in the field? No, it doesn't always work out that way. It doesn't always look that way,' he said. 'Sometimes, they're doing the right things, but it doesn't actually look like that on TV.' O'Shea didn't say whether he agreed the hit on Collaros was late, but rather spun his answer differently: 'Late or not, I didn't think we were going to (win) a challenge on that one,' he said. Regardless of whether a flag should've been thrown, the most concerning part was the health of the two-time Most Outstanding Player. That's what made Collaros' full participation in Tuesday's practice at Princess Auto Stadium an important sight. The Bombers (3-2), who will travel to Toronto to face the Argonauts (1-6) at BMO Field on Saturday (6 p.m. CT), are reeling after two straight beatdowns and can't afford to be without their most important player. Collaros said he expects to play in the contest, which is a collective sigh of relief for his teammates and fans. Backup Chris Streveler, who had one of the best performances of his career while starting in place of Collaros against the B.C. Lions in Week 2, underwhelmed when he was thrust into action against Calgary, going 16-for-25 with 136 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Granted, Streveler had all of training camp to prepare for his start against the Lions, whereas he had to overcome a four-point deficit against the league's top defence last week. 'It's tough,' Collaros said of the situations that backups are asked to overcome. 'You want all the reps, right? Shoot, I think this is the only place I've ever been that the backup actually gets reps. That's rare. So it is tough. It's very tough. 'That being said, one of the main reasons that my career has lasted so long is because I've had those opportunities, unfortunately, when a guy's gone down. Dating back to college, when I was with the Argos, with Ricky, if he never gets hurt, probably my life is radically different.' The offence looked to be putting together a decent outing before Collaros exited the game and even had a promising drive going out of halftime with Streveler at the helm, but a red zone interception thrown by Streveler killed that series, and the offence never regained traction. The unit has left each of the last two contests frustrated with its performance. JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Nic Demski (10) said Tuesday the team has to be better at finishing their drives. 'I think we are one or two plays away,' receiver Nic Demski, who had a career-high 146 receiving yards in Week 7, said of the offence's recent stretch. 'I thought we started off pretty good and all that stuff, and I still do think we make plays — we put yards out there, we put together great drives — but what's a great drive without finishing with points on the board, right? So, one thing is we definitely have to be better at taking care of the football, and definitely be better about putting points on the board, whether that's three or seven. I mean, obviously the ultimate goal is seven, but we just can't be having these great drives with no production at the end.' Collaros and Streveler have thrown a combined six interceptions — three returned for touchdowns — in the last two games, which has effectively knocked the Bombers out of both contests. The blame isn't solely on the offence, though. The defence has allowed 7.68 yards per play and conceded seven big plays (passes of 30-plus yards and rushes of 20-plus yards), as Winnipeg has been outscored 78-36 in the last eight quarters. It's appeared to unravel as a collective at times, too, with some uncharacteristic plays in all three phases. 'I think it's the amount of things, because some were big and some were minute, but too many. Too many penalties, too many giveaways, too many busts, too many times a lack of communication, out of gaps, missed tackles — too many to survive,' said O'Shea. 'Certainly didn't get the response we wanted, and I expected better. They expect better. They want better for their teammates. Just gotta put in the work and get it done.' The Bombers already have enough motivating them, being on the losing end of back-to-back bad losses, but this week's rematch of last year's Grey Cup presents yet another reason for this team to get up for a road contest. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. They will face an Argos squad that has also gotten in their own way on several occasions this season. 'I think we're just a little extra juiced up to get back on the field. We're not happy with the way we played, obviously, not just last week but the previous one,' Collaros said. 'Going all the way back to last year, we haven't talked about that, and we would never talk about that anyways. I know they have a great staff and great players, and we're on the road. It's always tough to win on the road, so it's gonna be a battle for us.' X: @jfreysam Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros practices, will play against Argonauts
It was certainly a sight for sore eyes for fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Starting quarterback Zach Collaros was back on the field with the rest of his teammates to start the practice week. Collaros was a full participant on Tuesday, despite getting knocked out of their last game in the first half. Collaros was back at the controls of the Bombers' first string offence only four days after taking a hellacious hit in the second quarter of Friday's lopsided defeat to the Calgary Stampeders. Collaros has a history of head injuries but wouldn't confirm he suffered another concussion. Collaros said there's no chance he misses Saturday's Grey Cup rematch against the Toronto Argonauts. The team is calling it a neck injury on the official injury report. 'I had to come out of the game and be evaluated,' said Collaros. 'And felt that (I) shouldn't go back in.' Story continues below advertisement Collaros said he understands there's always a risk in football, especially at the QB position. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's all I know, but it's part of the game,' said Collaros. 'It doesn't happen that often. Unfortunately, in my career, I've had some kinda chronic stuff come back up in different seasons. So, it's been tough on me obviously personally, but if you've played this game your whole life, you understand the risk of it. 'But again, getting back in the meeting room, being back on the practice field, you just, like, forget all about that and just keep going, you know. And you can't play the game to not get hurt. You got to get out there and sling it.' 5:51 RAW: Blue Bombers Zach Collaros Interview – July 22 Collaros has taken countless big hits throughout his 14-year CFL career. He said he thought last week's hit was clean, but the timing was late, and Collaros thinks the CFL can do more to protect the quarterbacks with bigger punishments for the late hits. Story continues below advertisement 'I just think there's not a lot of consistency,' said Collaros. 'It's kinda the bottom line. 'I have a lot of friends that watch and they say why wasn't this a late hit, this is a late hit. There's just not a lot of consistency. I think that's the frustrating part. I think there's ways to mitigate those hits from happening. I think they'd have to be drastic, and I don't think that the league or the association are ready to do those kinda things.' After back-to-back losses, the Bombers tangle with the 1-5 Argos on Saturday with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. Manitoba time.
Calgary Herald
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
5 Takeaways as Calgary Stampeders crush Winnipeg Blue Bombers again, become Grey Cup front-runners
Article content Article content Adams was asked in the lead-up to the game if he has any favourites. Article content Although the Stamps QB did move the ball around Friday, it seems like he's got quite the connection with a couple of receivers. Article content 'I don't get into favourite targets or anything like that,' Adams said. 'Yeah … I go where the read tells me to go with the ball.' Article content By halftime, he'd targeted five receivers, including twice each to Alford, Tevin Jones and Jalen Philpot and a whopping eight times to Dominique Rhymes. Article content Included in the first half was a 37-yard TD strike to Alford, for the receiver's third in two games, to put the visitors up 17-13. Article content Then came the big one to Alford on what was a brilliant — but lucky? — bomb for a 42-yard third-quarter major after scrambling and spinning and looking like he just heaved it downfield on a hope and a prayer. Article content Article content The question is whether the spin was a planned tip-off to the rookie receiver to jet downfield. Article content If it was in the playbook, it was executed to perfection. Article content Jones and Rhymes — the self-proclaimed 'Twins' — each led the Red and White with four receptions, while Alford hauled in a team-high 79 yards. Article content 4) GOT YOUR NUMBER! Article content They were equally bad Friday night in the rematch. Article content Collaros again tossed a pair, and so too did his understudy, fellow veteran pivot Chris Streveler. Article content Anthony Johnson got the start in place of Tyler Richardson at boundary-side corner and executed an interception of Collaros downfield to end the first quarter. Article content Then in the second frame, Jayden Grant thieved Collaros downfield. Article content To add injury to insult, Collaros was hurt on the Grant interception, as Stamps defensive lineman Clarence Hicks pressured the QB and caught him flush in the chest while in his throwing motion, knocking him out of the game. Article content Article content Winnipeg Sun columnist Paul Friesen described it as Collaros appearing 'to hit his head on the turf in a whiplash effect. He appeared stunned and remained in a sitting position for an extended period of time with two members of the team's medical staff at his sides.' Article content It's the second time in as many seasons the Stamps have sacked Collaros and K.O.'d him from a contest. Article content Article content Hicks turned the tide for good for the Stamps in Winnipeg. Article content And his defensive mates then followed in his footsteps, further proving the Red and White defence is the best in the league. Article content Hicks, a second-year Stamps d-lineman, had two big plays — the hard hurry and hit of Collaros — after stunting inside — that led to the Grant INT, and a sack not long after of Streveler. It was a track-down that could've K.O'd another Bombers quarterback from the affair.
