A thought after watching a Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad minus most of their starters and all their star power complete the squad’s final dress rehearsal of the preseason: Is it June yet?
Oh sure, Friday’s lightning-delayed 31-10 loss to the Calgary Stampeders Friday night in front of 24,297 at the freshly christened Princess Auto Stadium is an important evaluation tool for the coaches and management staff. And absolutely, the preseason is a critical necessity when it comes to unearthing answers to pressing questions – especially with the final cuts coming by 9 p.m. Saturday night.
Still, aside from a few moments of brilliance by the home side – the biggest a 109-yard punt return touchdown by Chris Smith – the game had most in Bomberland pining for next Thursday’s CFL season opener, right back here in south Winnipeg when the Blue Bombers host the Montreal Alouettes in a Grey Cup rematch.
Yes, this one was very thin on artistic merit.
Asked afterward for a big-picture take, head coach Mike O’Shea cut right to the chase.
“That everyone hates losing – no matter what. That’s the easy one. It just feels crappy. I certainly liked some things in the first half. I liked the way our defence was swarming – there were a bunch of tackles where there were a lot of guys in on it. And the defence gets worn down a little bit, but they have to know if we need them to play that many plays, they’ve got to play that many plays.
“It was nice to see guys get a little tired out playing defence and the amount of special teams they were playing and still gutting it out. I like to see that kind of grit from a lot of guys and then eventually they run out of gas.”
More on the Blue Bombers final preseason game from our view from the press box…
FYI:
Further to our point above about this being a Blue Bombers lineup thin on recognizable names – at least, not yet – unofficially there were 17 projected starters not dressed.
That included QB Zach Collaros (as well as No. 2 man Chris Streveler); running back Brady Oliveira; receivers Kenny Lawler, Dalton Schoen, Drew Wolitarsky and Nic Demski; offensive linemen Stanley Bryant, Chris Kolankowski and Pat Neufeld; defensive linemen Willie Jefferson, Jake Thomas and Celestin Haba; linebacker Kyrie Wilson and defensive backs Deatrick Nichols, Evan Holm, Redha Kramdi and Brandon Alexander. As well, out due to injury were linebacker Adam Bighill, defensive tackle Cam Lawson and defensive back Jamal Parker.
Just for the record, 11 starters sat out the first preseason game in Regina on Victoria Day, clearly indicating the bigger-picture philosophy by the coaching staff: try to get through camp as healthy as possible for when the games that matter count.
DECISION TIME
The Blue Bombers must now whittle the roster down by Saturday night and settle on who will make up the practice roster before the team returns to practice Monday in what will be a short work week leading up to the game against the Alouettes.
“There are always answers… and then sometimes there are more questions,” said O’Shea. “That’s fine. That’s part of it.
“(Training camp) is gone. It’s fast. That training camp went by fast. Sure, we got a bunch of answers and we’ll pour through it tonight and tomorrow morning and make sure we’re trying to give the most to these guys in terms of evaluation. They deserve it.
“We’ll watch the film right now. We’ll watch it again in the morning and have good discussions. The last ones are always really tough, the last 10-15 guys…. That’s not easy. They’re all good.”
THE WORD ON THE THIRD
Terry Wilson started the game, with Zach Collaros and Chris Streveler in civvies, and looked to build on his solid performance in the game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina on Victoria Day. He took a sack on the opening possession when he had an opportunity to throw it into the ninth row, effectively taking the club out of field-goal range. He played the full first quarter, completing 5-of-7 for 34 yards but the club also punted on four straight drives while he was at the controls as the offence couldn’t find any rhythm to stay on the field.
He returned in the third quarter and tossed two interceptions in his second half, finishing the night 10-of-17 for 52 yards. All this after impressing a week ago by going 11 of 16 for 116 yards, with a TD strike to Kevens Clercius.
Darren Grainger, who arrived in Winnipeg just last weekend, replaced Wilson in the second quarter and somewhat understandably, also struggled. He finished one-of-six for 13 yards and was sacked in the end zone in the second quarter for a safety but did not finish the game due to an apparent injury.
The conclusion here? We knew Collaros and Streveler were chiseled in to spots 1-2 on the depth chart, but the third is hardly clear-cut. Wilson has a larger body of work with a full camp, yet the club may want to keep both around to get a clearer picture in the days/weeks ahead.
THE MOMENT OF BRILLIANCE
No doubt players helped themselves in the quest for regular work with the Blue Bombers and a lot of that will be determined as the coaches put their heads together to dive deeper into the film.
One player who likely earned a gig just from a straight-up eyeball test was Chris Smith with a second quarter 109-yard punt return for a TD that was sensational.
he gooooooooooooone #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/Rin13r15YO
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) June 1, 2024
“It felt amazing,” said Smith. “I hadn’t played football in over a year and just to get back in the end zone… that’s my first punt return for a touchdown since high school. That felt amazing. If I can just keep doing that, I can win that job and help this team get to where we want to be.”
SAYONARA, PRESEASON
It says a lot about a game’s entertainment value when two of the Blue Bombers who distinguished themselves were the two punters – Jamieson Sheahan and Dante Mastrogiuseppe. Sheahan was busy and finished his night with seven punts and a 38.3-yard average – and the punt cover unit was sensational as the net on his kicks was 33.7 – while Mastrogiuseppe bobbled the snap of his first punt and then flashed some athleticism by sprinting for 28 yards. He finished with one punt for 48 yards and a 40-yard met.
The says-everything-about-the-game stat of the night? Mastrogiuseppe’s 28-yard run made him the Blue Bombers’ leading rusher.
NEXT: Home opener – Alouettes at Blue Bombers, Thursday, June 6th, 7:30 p.m. at Princess Auto Stadium.