Need to Know | Week 17

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Maybe there are still some out there who roll their eyes at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ long standing mantra of focussing on ‘going 1-0 each week.’

It’s more commandment than cliché, and it’s all built on sticking to an in-the-moment process rather than getting lost in extraneous stuff.

Evidence of the club’s commitment to the commandment came on Tuesday when the club gathered for the first practice leading up to Friday’s home date with the Edmonton Elks. Earlier in the day the Canadian Football League issued its weekly playoff scenarios  and with a win Friday the Blue Bombers would have their ticket to the postseason punched.

And, believe it or not, that little tasty nugget was knowledge to just about everyone asked about it following practice.

“I didn’t know that,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “It’s a day-to-day thing, it really is. There’s a lot of growth to be had — especially on our side of the ball. There’s a lot of work to be done within the entire team, so we’re just going to take it day by day.”

That kind of grounded thinking isn’t just the byproduct of an 0-4 start, either. Head coach Mike O’Shea was asked about needing one win to qualify for the playoffs — “doesn’t matter” and “until you guys mentioned it I’m not even paying attention” were his responses — and then added this about now being in this position after being counted out by a lot of people earlier in the year.

“I don’t think I’ve ever talked about being counted out,” he said. “Whatever people think doesn’t really matter in here. We know why we’ve lost games and we know why we’ve won games and we try to do more of the stuff that allows us to win games going forward.

“We’re not going to deviate from the script because of standings or anything like that.”

What everyone has learned about this squad is it has shown some grit and resilience to be able to overcome so much change — some of it expected in the offseason; much of it not because of injuries — as well as fighting through the 0-4 start to the season.

Winnipeg is now on a six-game win streak and 8-2 in its last 10 to return to first place in the West Division.

“Winning differently, it was bound to happen,” said O’Shea. “It was most likely going to be a different season. They all are different. The rosters are different. We’ve had tremendous continuity but we had a little bit of difference in our roster this year.

“The way training camp started, they all add up to we’ve got to learn to do it differently and it’s been that way. It took us a little while and the beginning to learn, but I think we’re still in that mode of taking in information, being able to process it and put it out there.

“Does it help? I mean, you like to win and you like to learn from winning, too — you hate to do all your learning from losing.”

FROM ASHLAND TO WINNIPEG: We spoke in this week’s Upon Further Review about how rookie linebacker Michael Ayers was rushed into a starter’s role after veteran Kyrie Wilson suffered an injury in the pre-game warm-up.

Ayers made a critical play in the fourth quarter with an interception that set up a Brady Oliveira touchdown and, along with Tony Jones, stepped up in the absences of Wilson and Adam Bighill.

Said O’Shea: “These guys are good players. They’re growing into it and they both made big plays and had good games. It should only get better.”

Ayers, a product of Division II Ashland University, was scouted by Blue Bombers Assistant GM Ted Goveia at the 2023 NFPLA Bowl and a connection with their head coach, Doug Geiser, sent the 25-year-old Columbus product north after a look-see from the Seattle Seahawks.

Asked what he coach said about the Blue Bombers, Ayers grinned and offered this:

“That’s a great program. That they’ve got a hall of fame head coach, hall of fame players… been to the Grey Cup four times in last four years. He gave me the whole, ‘You’re going to the best team in Canada’ so I was excited.

“It’s been everything I’ve ever wanted. Everybody just wants a chance to play and contribute to a team and have that family environment because there’s nothing like it in sports when you have a group of men who play for one another and care for one another and go through those battles since camp. It’s just been a grind and you see the success from that.

“It’s been everything I wanted here.”

NEWS FROM ALBERTA: TSN’s Farhan Lalji first reported Tuesday that the Elks will be making a QB switch for this week’s game in Winnipeg, with McLeod Bethel-Thompson starting for Tre Ford.

OUCH REPORT: Linebacker Brian Cole has come off the six-game injured list and could be available for this week’s game. Meanwhile, WR Lucky Whitehead and DB Nick Hallett did not practice on Tuesday.

With Whitehead sidelined, the return chores were handled by Evan Holm, Kody Case and newcomer Penny Hart.

SPEEDY, NIFTY ZACH: Collaros finished Saturday’s win in Edmonton with three carries for 30 yards — including a 21-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Asked about an awkward-looking upright slide on two knees after one of his runs, he referenced being influenced by goal-scoring celebrations in soccer — “I’ve been watching too much EPL.”

Rushing was a component of Collaros’ game earlier in his career — he rushed for 574 yards over the 2013-14 seasons while with Toronto and Hamilton — but it’s worth noting his 89 yards this season is his highest total since 2018, when he had 103 yards along the ground with Saskatchewan.

“That’s (his running ability) the only reason I was able to get on a negotiation list up here,” he said with a grin. “In ’09 I had a couple 50-yard runs in college and (the Argos) put me on a negotiation list. When I got here I remember walking into a meeting room and it was Jason Maas and Scott Milanovich and (Steven) McAdoo and they said, ‘We could run you. We could do some quarterback run stuff’ and I was like, ‘Nah… I’m a passer.’ Scott showed me a little s–t eating grin and it was, ‘Get out of here.’

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