Game Day HQ | Blue Bombers at Alouettes

And now when the ball is put on the tee this evening at Percival Molson Stadium here in Montreal, we'll all start to see the evidence -- or, gulp, maybe not -- of all that sweat equity for the Winnipeg Bue Bombers.

"We just want to win; it doesn't matter who it's against," began Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira Friday afternoon upon arrival at the team's hotel here in Montreal. "Obviously, we know this stretch we have in front of us and every game is important and every game feels like a must-win for us. We all realize that."

Yup, talking and doing are two different things for the Blue Bombers, who opened the work week still stinging after last week's 30-28 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

Their place in the West Division standings also changed dramatically following Friday night's 37-31 win by the Calgary Stampeders over the Saskatchewan Roughriders -- a result which now has them in last place in the CFL's West Division at 7-7 and looking up at the Stamps (8-8), Roughriders (8-7), B.C. Lions (8-6 heading into this afternoon's game with the Toronto Argonauts) and the Edmonton Elks (11-4).

"The energy and vibes are still good. It just speaks to the character of the guys we have in the locker room," Oliveira explained. "It is a really close group and after a tough loss you do have some tough conversations with each other and you just seem to get closer with one another.

"Also, the other thing is I just see the work the guys put in on a weekly basis -- not that there's not work every single week, but after a tough loss it feels like guys are buying in that much more. The group of guys we have, we realize we have to go on this run, and we want it to be a special year with a special group of guys and it's on us. So, we've got to go out there out and make the most of these last few opportunities to make sure we set ourselves up."

Oliveira's full media session from Friday is here:

And ICYMI here is our Game Preview:

What follows are this week's collection of notes and quotes in this week's edition of Game Day HQ...

OKEY DOKEY POKEY

The Blue Bombers depth chart came out Friday morning and one of the big boosts to an offence that can use it comes from the return of veteran receiver Pokey Wilson -- the very same receiver who had nine catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns in Winnipeg's 44-28 win over Montreal in late August.

Wilson was injured in the Labour Day Classic and subsequently missed the Banjo Bowl and last week's loss to Toronto. He has 56 receptions for 739 yard and five touchdowns, ranking him on the Blue Bombers behind Tim White (71-876-6) and Nic Demski (58-748-3).

"Pokey's a great player," said quarterback Dru Brown. "We're glad to have him back and I'm sure he's glad to be back. He helps us. He makes us better."

GET INTO THE GROOVE

The Blue Bombers first half vs. second half offensive performance is a movie fans have seen before. Just to open an old wound, Winnipeg had 15 first downs and 270 yards of offence while holding the ball for 21 minutes and 39 seconds in the first half vs Toronto but then managed only five first downs and 115 yards of offence in the final 30 minutes.

Winnipeg's six second-half possessions included two Brown interceptions and three punts and one TD -- a short-yardage 76-yard TD run by Bryce Perkins that put the home side ahead 28-24 before the Argos' late rally.

And the key to finding more consistency on O?

"You produce on first down; stay out of second down situations that can be a challenge and then, paired with that, not have negative yardage plays," said Brown. "If you can stay on time or on schedule then you can matriculate down the field and when the time's right being able to create explosives on offence is huge. That's how I see it."

QUOTABLE

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea told the team earlier in the week everything they want this season is still right in front of them. And here's what he said Friday about the big-picture situation his squad is facing:

"You just don't want them watching the standings and squeezing their sticks and trying to put too much into it. It's the game of football. They're prepared, they prepare the same way every week and they're not going to try harder this week because it's getting closer to playoff time. They just have to go out there and let loose."

NOTABLE

• Veteran Blue Bombers OL Pat Neufeld will be playing in his 200^th career regular season game tonight. That’s a massive number for a guy who makes his living in the trenches, and it comes in a week when the veteran guard was also named as the Blue Bombers finalist for the prestigious Jake Gaudaur Veterans Award.

• Oliveira authored his 28^th career 100-yard game in last week's loss to Toronto, tying Earl Lunsford for eighth all-time. He is one 100-yard game back of the Canadian record held by Andrew Harris, with 29.

• In his first three CFL games, Dorian Singer has 14 receptions for two TDs and 209 yards, including 113 last week.

• Last week, Bryce Perkins rushed for a 76-yard touchdown – the longest rush of the season and the Blue Bombers longest play from scrimmage.

• Willie Jefferson now has 103 career pass knockdowns, leaving him just two back of Adrion Smith (105) on the CFL's all-time list. Eddie Davis tops that list at 111.

• With 124 yards receiving, Tim White would hit the 1K mark for the first time as a Blue Bomber and for the fifth consecutive season.

ICYMI

Sam Calvert and I sat down for a preview of tonight's game vs. the Alouettes in this week's edition of Game Day -1:

ICYMI, PART DEUX

It's been a bit since we recorded a Handled Internally episode, but just the other day Zach Collaros, Darren Cameron and yours truly sat down with QB Bryce Perkins for a visit. Check it out here: