Early this week it was speculated that Bombers' star and starting quarterback, Zach Collaros, would not be in the game the Friday against Toronto. And now we know for sure that Collaros is not even suiting up.
So that begs the question, which Streveler are we going to see? Are we going to see the Streveler who played the Bombers' first game this season and did enough to win? Back then, he had a full week to get starting reps, and I imagine that was the case this week (although the first practice of this week was cancelled due to air quality and the second practice was closed to media).
In that game against BC, we saw a Streveler who apparently had learned a few things. He had good touch on the ball. He did not try and force too much, and had 3 touchdowns to 1 interception, a stat line that will often win you games. However, when Streveler came in off the bench this year we saw a different player.
While his stats do not look terrible in the game vs. Toronto, he still did not pass the eyeball test. I did not love what I saw. With a bunch of changes to the Bombers' offense, I have to wonder which Streveler will we see? In the game this week the Bombers will have Lofton and Wallace manning the left side of the ball. Cooley will draw in at running back - behind Oliveira, Cobb will come in at slot back to replace Peterson. The Bombers will also bring in some new receivers...but Mitchell will still not make the roster.
So what can we expect from Streveler? Will he make good and smart throws; or will he misread the defense and throw balls into danger? And what does Streveler have to do or not do for Wilson or Artopoeus to get some reps in the game? Time will tell.
Once again, Arbuckle will get the start for Toronto. But in case the Bombers did not realize before their last game, I am sure they learned now, there are no free spots on the bingo sheet. Both Arbuckle and Grant torched the Bombers' defense!
The Bombers have made some changes on the defensive side of the ball. Kramdi, will get the start at safety with Griffin taking his spot at linebacker, and Parker will move to the corner. Winnipeg's defense has been suspect, so we will see if theses changes help. As for Toronto here is how they will stack up.
Keys To A Bomber Win
1) The Winnipeg Blue Bombers must run the ball!!
I do not care if Toronto knows that Winnipeg will run the ball. If I am Winnipeg I am saying to Toronto, "Yah! We are going to run the ball over, and over, and over again...now try to do something about it." In past years other teams knew that Winnipeg was going to run the ball, and the Bombers still did so with great efficiency. The problem this year for the Bombers is that they do not have an identity to fall back on. Running the ball a lot would be a good start to developing that identity again. For perspective the Bombers only had 20 offensive plays in the first half against Toronto; meanwhile Toronto had 44 offensive plays in the first half. That is Bomber football with no identity and too little of a run game.
2) Simplify the game plan.
This does not mean that the Bombers need to be simplistic, but this is not the time to try and play outside yourself. This is the time for the Bomber players to individually lean into their strengths and fully exploit their strengths on the football field.
3) Do not beat yourself!
When the Bombers have lost this year they have done so (in part) because they beat themselves. After the Bombers beat the Elks, I said that the Bombers would have to play better football if they wanted to keep winning games. They have not played better football, and they have lost 3 in a row to be at 3-3. The Bombers may run into trouble here, because the messaging has been that they just need work harder. That is not only the wrong answer, but that answer can cause players to try and do things that they are not accustomed to doing, and do not do well...which leads to mistakes and breakdowns. Another part of beating yourself is turnovers...and the Bombers committed 7 of them in their last game and 17 of them in the last 3 games.
4) Stop Toronto on second down...please!
Winnipeg has been brutal on stopping second down conversions. It seems like it could be 2nd and a country mile and the Bombers would give up a first down. I do not know if it is defensive schemes, players, or a bit of both. My guess would be a bit of both. Toronto converted 14 of 26 second down tries, and 8 out of 15 of them were on 2nd down and 7 (or more). This Bomber team is not poised to play bend but don't break football...so they better not even bend.
If the Bombers do that, they will set themselves up nicely for the chance to win, even without Zach Collaros, and with the other pieces in. If the Bombers do not accomplish the above, Bomber fans are going to be in for a long night at Princess Auto Stadium...possibly longer if the game is delayed due to air quality.
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