The Bombers are set to host Saskatchewan this Friday night and the Bombers are still looking to secure a playoff spot.
Some have pushed back against how the tie breaker would work, but I am going with Derek Taylor on this one.
Now, that we have got past all those possibilities, what are the Bombers chances of beating Saskatchewan on Friday? While the Bombers beat Saskatchewan in the pre-season, the Bombers have been beaten by Saskatchewan in the regular season twice. There are some that will point to the fact that the Bombers nearly beat Saskatchewan in the Labour Day Classic…but I do not care. I put zero stock in that. If the Bombers had been a consistent team this year; then I would consider the scores in their games. But the Bombers have not been consistent, so I am not convinced that we can look at the Bombers past performance and predict their future performance.
Who will Saskatchewan rest?
The biggest question will be whether the Riders rest Harris. While they are not saying what they will do, Harris did not participate in the first practice this week.
What about the Bombers?
Missing Demski is going to be huge; especially with Schoen still on the injury list! As I said earlier, the Bombers do not have the receiver power to win consistently without Schoen and Demski. So, even if the Riders do rest a bunch of payers the Bombers are going to be in it tough. Also, with Vaval being questionable the Bombers would lack some potential scoring or good field position on kick returns…but it looks like Vaval is good to go!
Bombers’ Depth Chart
Saskatchewan’s Depth Chart
As much as any team wants to clinch first place early, it always brings forward the question of rest vs. rust. It is almost a no-win situation…unless your team wins the Grey Cup. They Grey Cup will be played on Sunday, November 16th, about a month from now; and the Western Final will be played on Sunday, November 9th; which is three weeks from now. Three weeks of no meaningful reps is a lot of time! I suspect Trevor Harris is going to have to play in some part of the next two games.
CFL Writers’ Picks
The CFL writers are not always correct. Yet, all of them are over 0.500 when it comes to their picks this season. So while they are not fool proof, they may offer some idea of what is expected to happen.
If it pans out that the writers correctly pick the Bombers to win, that is good for Winnipeg. However, the writers also picked Calgary to win…and the Bombers are chasing Calgary for third place. However, the writers also picked BC to win (someone has to win between BC and Edmonton, unless they were to somehow tie) and Edmonton losing would help the Bombers by negating the possibility of a four way tie. If Edmonton loses, and Winnipeg wins – as the writers suggest – then Winnipeg is guaranteed at least fourth spot.
Final Thoughts
Without knowing who the Riders rest and for how long, it is really hard to predict what we are going to see on the field from them. So instead, here is what I believe the Bombers have to do to win the game.
1) Healthy dose of Brady
The Bombers need to feed Brady Oliveira consistently throughout the game. Getting away from the run will put the Bombers at a disadvantage.
2) Stop big passes and big runs
Whether you like ‘bend but don’t break defense’ is irrelevant. The Bombers need to make sure that they do not give up chunk plays in the air or on the ground. This not an either/or situation…they need to stop both.
3) Win the turnover battle
The Bombers simply cannot win games – vs. starters or otherwise – if they continue to turnover the ball. This starts with Collaros making good decisions. But it also translates to the receivers running the correct routes; and the return game securing the ball.
4) Find some chuck plays
With Demski and Schoen out, it would be great to see the Bombers find some chunk plays. But they must make sure to do so without throwing bad balls.
If the Bombers do all 4 of those things, I believe they win the game. If the Bombers do, 1, 2, and 4…but not 3, I am not convinced that is enough to get the win.
What did you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.
