It’s not often the Winnipeg Blue Bombers return to work on a Friday. Then again, these aren’t exactly typical times.
Stuck in idle this weekend as the Blue and Gold wrap up their third and final bye week, the local professional football club returned to practice a bit early from their league-sanctioned break to prepare for a pivotal road game against the CFL-leading Montreal Alouettes next Saturday.
“I enjoyed the short break,” Bombers running back Brady Oliveira said after the nearly 90-minute workout at the club’s alternative practice facility on the U of M campus. “It’s important for us to get back here and to stay on the grind and to keep this thing going. So, yeah, that means work on a Friday. It’s all good with me.”
John woods / the canadian press files
Ontaria Wilson (left) and his Bombers teammates were back at practice Friday.
Technically, the Bombers didn’t return to the field early. According to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, if a bye week occurs in the first two weeks or last two weeks of the regular season, the minimum requirement for consecutive days off is reduced to three.
“We want guys to stick around more,” is how Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea put it when asked about the practice. The Bombers return to the field on Sunday for the start of a full work week.
After all, the Bombers have some serious unfinished business to take care of and that’s clinching the West Division. That could have been achieved with a win over the Toronto Argonauts last week, but a sloppy performance by the offence proved to be Winnipeg’s downfall, leading to a 14-11 loss and keeping the race for the top spot in the West alive.
The Bombers, who were on an eight-game winning streak prior to the loss against the Argos, can wrap up the division with a win over the Alouettes in what’s the regular-season finale. Montreal’s final two games will mean nothing in the standings, as the Alouettes are weeks removed from locking up first in the East.
If the Bombers lose to the Alouettes, a Saskatchewan loss or tie would also be enough to clinch the West. Having won the West the last three seasons, the Bombers understand the importance of earning first place and getting a bye straight to the West final, which they would also host.
“I want to earn the right to host the West final again here at home and not putting it into someone else’s hands,” Oliveira said. “I want to us to go in there as a team and earn that victory.”
The difference this year is that the Bombers have waited until the last game of the season to clinch first, whereas in previous years that’s already been handled well before. That means the Bombers won’t have a choice but to dress all their regular starters and play them for the entirety of the game, risking potential injury.
It’s the old argument of rest versus rust and what’s the better strategy in preparing for an important playoff tilt. Even if the Bombers didn’t need the victory, resting players would mean three weeks off between games.
“For guys who may have a harder time staying locked in, it allows you that opportunity,” said Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros. “It doesn’t give you the three weeks of kind of nothing before the West final. Every game is important, obviously, but just for it to be meaningful, I think is something that will be beneficial, for sure.”
Bombers linebacker Tony Jones is one of the players who likes to stay sharp and said if the last game of the season was meaningless, he’d be the first one knocking on O’Shea’s office door wanting to play still.
“I don’t want to find a way to relax and get away from the game a little bit,” Jones said. “I want to be out there making plays, being vocal with my teammates and doing whatever it takes to get a win. That’s just how I am.”
It should be interesting to see how the Alouettes line up for their final two games. Montreal heads on the road to play the B.C. Lions Saturday night before welcoming the Bombers to town.
It’s unclear what head coach Jason Maas’ plans might be for this week or next, as the Alouettes have just one practice this week so there have been very few clues when it comes to the roster.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Alouettes limit their number of starters for a long road trip to Vancouver, while playing most of them against Winnipeg as they prepare to defend the Grey Cup. None of that seems to matter to the Bombers, as they’re expecting a hard-fought and physical battle against Montreal no matter who plays.
“I expect them to play physical, to run to the ball, to tackle and to be great on special teams,” said Bombers defensive back Redha Kramdi. “Regardless of who dresses, they’re going to run their plays and we’ll have a great task at hand.”
X: @jeffkhamilton
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.
Every piece of reporting Jeff 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.
