Game Preview | Blue Bombers at Tiger-Cats

Kickoff: Friday, October 4th, 6 p.m. CDT; Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ont.
TV/Streaming: TSN 1/4; RDS; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB
Streaks: Wpg.: 7W; Ham.: 4W
Road/Home: The Blue Bombers are 3-4 away from home but on a three-game road win streak since a 16-14 OT loss in Toronto in August; the Tabbies are 3-4 at home and unbeaten in their last two in their own backyard.

Scene Setter

Things we now know about the 2024 Winnipeg Blue Bombers which have been reinforced over the last two months and, especially, over the last two weeks:

They’ve become world class at eliminating the outside noise and fixing on what is directly in front of them, win or lose.

It’s a testament to this philosophy — before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

And so, just like last week when this bunch essentially shrugged its collective shoulders when told a victory over the Edmonton Elks would clinch a playoff spot, they responded similarly to news of a win Friday in Hamilton over the Tiger-Cats coupled with a Saskatchewan Roughriders loss would clinch first place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division.

CFL WEEK 18 PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

WPG WIN and SSK LOSS = WPG claims division title; earns the right to host the Western Final at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday, November 9 at 6:30 pm ET
SSK LOSS or BC LOSS = WPG secures home playoff date
SSK WIN and CGY LOSS and HAM LOSS = SSK clinches postseason berth
BC WIN and HAM LOSS and EDM LOSS = BC clinches postseason berth

“I feel like a lot of people in this locker room — including myself — wouldn’t have even known that until you just told me,” said safety Brandon Alexander. “I mean, a couple weeks or so we had to really claw our way back into position to be able to drive our own boat. Now we have the opportunity to drive our own boat, and we don’t want to count on anyone else to do that, we want to do it ourselves.

“It’s all about us. It’s all about what we do in this locker room and how we can get better.”

There are so many layers to Friday’s matchup between these two clubs which makes it so compelling, most of which we’ll touch on below. In the simplest of terms, this a battle between two of the CFL’s hottest squads with the Blue Bombers have cranked out seven straight wins after stumbling in a 2-6 start and the Ticats are on a four-game run to keep themselves the playoff discussion after going 2-9 through their first 11.

What last week’s Blue Bombers win over the Elks did do was offer a bit of a snapshot of what this group thinks it can still become. And that is both encouraging for those in the locker room and a potential eyebrow-raiser for the rest of the league.

“We haven’t arrived. That’s the mentality we have,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “We feel like we’ve still got work to do. We still can get better every day. We can get better running to the ball, staying on side, the waggle from the wide receivers, the hard counts, formation recognition — we go so far into the preparation and process.

“That other stuff — us clinching first with a win and a Sask loss — that’s just noise to us for the most part. At one point in time, we were there where we were thinking about those scenarios. We won a couple of games, and everyone was going, ‘If this happens; if that happens.’ But we just put our heads down and kept working and everything fell the way it needed to.

“Now we’re in the position where we just need to keep on winning and not worry about what anyone else is doing. We just want to take care of our business and not be worried about what anybody else does. It’s just about doing our work.

“We’ve been working already to get ready for Hamilton, so let’s go to Hamilton and get it done.”

THE DEPTH CHART

The Blue Bombers have not made a single change to their depth chart this week, although there is an asterisk of spells with slotback Nic Demski having a ‘GTD’ — game-time decision — designation.

Demski was a full participant at Tuesday’s practice and then limited at Wednesday’s closed-to-the media session with what is being listed as a knee injury.

The club could start an American or a Canadian if Demski isn’t good to go with Myron Mitchell, Kody Case or newcomer Penny Hart as options as well as homegrown Concordia product Jeremy Murphy.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

1. FINDING MORE MOJO ON ‘O’

There was so much to love about the Blue Bombers offensive performance a week ago, from the six passing TDs by Zach Collaros and 432 yards through the air, to the 526 yards net offense, to 100-yard receiving games by Nic Demski and Kenny Lawler and 119 yards from scrimmage and another score by Brady Oliveira.

Yet, despite those gaudy numbers there was also this consensus from within the clubhouse: there needs to be more of that and more of that consistently.

“We’ve been waiting for a performance like that from this offense,” said Oliveira, who had 86 yards rushing and 33 receiving yards in the win over the Elks. “There’s constantly things you can learn from win or lose and watching that tape, although we did make a ton of plays, there’s some plays out there we all would want back.

“But our offense needed that. We needed the reminder that we can play at that level and now moving forward that’s got to be what we continue to do. It’s almost a moral and confidence boost, whether you needed it for yourself or for this team.

“It’s a very, very high standard we set with a game like that, but that’s good. You’re never going to be perfect, but you can try and chase it.”

2. THE HAMILTON HEX?

The Blue Bombers have lost their last four regular-season games at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, a run that dates back to the last victory in 2017.

Of course, there is rather important nugget to add here: the Blue Bombers did win the 2021 Gray Cup at this same field — over the Ticats, no less.

Still…

“We’ve talked about it,” said veteran guard Pat Neufeld after practice Wednesday. “Honestly, I don’t know what it is because we won a Gray Cup there but regular season, for some reason, we have struggled there.

“It’s just a reminder for us that we can’t falter at all, and we have to be extremely focused on every moment on that field. We can’t take a play for granted. We can’t take a situation for granted where it’s, ‘Oh, we can let that slide’ or ‘Oh, we’ll get it the next time.’ It’s, ‘No, we haven’t been successful in this stadium, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity that we have when those plays are out there for us.’”

A telling stat in the last three losses in Hamilton: the Blue Bombers are a whopping -11 in the turnover ratio.

Then there’s this from head coach Mike O’Shea which, clearly, is a major point:

“It’s well known that we haven’t played well there but I don’t know that that’s reason to think we’re not going to play well there again. That’s what happened; it doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen.”

3. BO

Collaros was brilliant in the win over Edmonton last week with his 432 yards passing — just shy of his career best — and his six TDs through the air, that total a first for him.

Later that night in Vancouver, Ticat QB Bo Levi Mitchell authored an astonishing performance of his own in Hamilton’s critical win over BC Mitchell finished the night 34-of-40 — completing 29 of his last 30 — while throwing for 315 yards and two TDs.

Over his last four games he averaged 331 yards passing while throwing seven TDs against two interceptions. If Mitchell can help guide the Ticats into the playoffs there is a serious case for him as the league’s Most Outstanding Player.

“They’re rolling now, and he’s got that offense going good,” said Brandon Alexander. “I mean, he’s going to be a hall of famer and he understands what it takes and what needs to be done. Our job is to go out there and make it hard for him.

“We’ve got to give him different looks but it’s also — and it’s cliché because I say it all the time — it’s about our communication. That’s so important to be on the same page as the guy next to you and knock down your target when you need to. You can’t be in the middle of the play wondering, ‘Should I be here, or should I be there?’ When they break the huddle, it’s got to be clear where we need to be and what we need to do. If we do that, we’ll be all right.”

The Last Word

“It’s no secret the best team is usually the one that gets hot at the end of the season. We got hot, now we’re trying to stay hot.” —Willie Jefferson.