48 Hour Primer | Demski: "It's an electrifying receiving corps"
Zach Collaros hooked up with his receivers for some big explosion plays in last week's win over Calgary; photos by Cameron Bartlett
Any football fan will confirm there's an obvious appeal to a long, drawn-out drive that showcases a domination at the line of scrimmage, chews up clock and culminates in a touchdown.
That's a damn-straight given and we've seen a lot of it from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the last few years as they've leaned heavily on the big men up front along the offensive line and Brady Oliveira -- and Andrew Harris before him -- serving as the workhorses.
What we saw in the Blue Bombers 33-28 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on the weekend -- an explosive element from the attack -- has been much rarer this season, but it could be massive in the final weeks and into the playoffs.
As head coach Mike O'Shea put it Wednesday: "... We've been trying to get more explosives, obviously, and making contested catches is something we need to do to be better."
Yes, long dominant drives can be deeply satisfying, but a quick strike attack can leave everyone sliding to the front of their seats in giddy anticipation.
Last Saturday's win featured four big-play completions -- 30 yards or more -- with three going to Dorian Singer and covering 52, 45 and 39 yards and another to Tim White for 41.
Zach Collaros' two TD strikes -- the first two Pokey Wilson, the second to Nic Demski -- were also decent chunk plays through the air, covering 18 and 25 yards.
"We had a good game plan coming into that game and everybody was on the same page," said Demski. "Our receivers came up big with a lot of great contested catches, our O-line played good and when that type of stuff happens you know it's going to be a good day."
That's significant given Winnipeg came into the game with just 13 completions of 30 yards or more all season, last in the CFL. That total is up to 17, eighth best now and ahead of Ottawa at 15.
Just by comparison, Montreal's total is 37 in that department while the Blue Bombers had 24 last year, also eighth.
In the win over Calgary Winnipeg also averaged a season-high 9.2 yards per offensive play and converted 57 percent (8-of-14) second down situations, second-highest this season to the 63.6 percent conversion rate in the win over Montreal in August.
Worth noting -- as Demski did this week -- the win over Calgary was just the second game this year in which he, Tim White, Pokey Wilson, Dorian Singer and Tommy Nield were all on the field together.
"It's an electrifying receiving corps," he said. "You've got some vets with Tim and myself and Tommy's had some year
s. You've got some younger guys with Pokey and Dorian who are explosive as heck, explosive as ever.
"So, all five of us can go out there and make plays at any time... you pick your poison. It's a great receiving corps to be a part of and everybody still wants to get better and keep evolving their games. Everybody wants to work for each other, get each other open and all that good stuff.
"It's going to be exciting."
OUCH REPORT: The Blue Bombers held a closed-to-the-media practice on Wednesday before their departure to Edmonton Thursday afternoon.
It's late in the season so there is some load management at play here -- to steal an NBA term -- so don't read a lot into the club's latest injury report.
That said, RB Brady Oliveira (ankle), WR Dorian Singer (illness), DE Nuer Gatkuoth (foot), LB Jaylen Smith (hip) and LB Michael Ayers (calf) did not practice on Wednesday, with Nic Demski (knee), WR Tim White (hip) and LT Stanley Bryant (ankle) all back at their posts.
Asked if Singer was going to play this week, O'Shea said: "That would be the plan."