On September 30th the Winnipeg Blue Bombers treated their fans to an absolutely fabulous game where they beat the Roughriders for the 3rd time this season & this month!
Whenever the Bombers beat the Roughriders it is a great day for Bomber fans! However this game had a lot going on for Bomber fans to cheer about – taking spots 5, 4, 3 in the CFL Plays of The Week!
Or watch the entire recap!
While Zach Collaros’ statistic line does not look too appealing at first – when you see he only went 14/25 passing. However, in those 14 completions he amassed 296 yards and 4 touchdowns! When you compare that to Cody Fajardo’s numbers it looks even better as he completed 26/38 for 307 yards, but threw for 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
The Bombers would force a number of turnovers, including 2 turnovers on downs. One would come in the way of a 3rd and short stop and the other in the way of an incompletion on 3rd down. Fajardo would also directly drop a snap from Dan Clarke which would result in another Saskatchewan turnover.
Scoring majors for the Bombers were Schoen who found the end zone once, racked up 125 yards and eclipsed the 1,000 yard receiving point this year. I told you he was going to have a great game!
Nic Demski had 2 fabulous touchdowns and some really spectacular receptions totalling 9 yards in the game.
Rasheed Bailed also hauled in a major on 2 catches for 41 yards.
Game-Balls
Certainly there are a number of players that could receive the game-ball for Winnipeg.
While his completion percentage was not flashy, Zach Collaros is a gunslinger and can rack up a ton of yards in a short amount of time – for example that two play touchdown drive.
You could give the game-ball to any number of defenders! When you only allow 3 points in the first half and only another 10 points in the second half, the defence is doing a lot right! Along with forcing some turnovers on downs Winnipeg also had 2 interceptions. – 1 by Evan Holm and 1 by Jamal Parker.
On a normal night Brady Oliveira would certainly be in on the conversation as he had 15 carries for 101 yards – which is a 6.7 yards/carry average.
You could give the game-ball to Bomber Head Coach Mike O’Shea for creating a “1-0 this week” culture which has resulted in a 13-2 season so far!
— x-Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 1, 2022
However I think it is fairly obvious who must get the game-ball.
The game-ball must go to Dalton Schoen! Not only did he pass 1,00 yards receiving on the year, but check out his statistical line, it is ridiculous! 4 catches for 125 yards for an average of 31.2 yards per catch! It is that type of performance that is really covering up the loss of Greg Ellingson (out with injury) and Kenny Lawler (who went to Edmonton in the off season). If all of that were not enough – which it is – Dalton Schoen now holds the Winnipeg Blue Bombers record for touchdowns by a receiver with 11…and counting.
Here is what the reigning M.O.P. had to say about Schoen:
"I've been impressed with @dschoen5 since the day I met him."
— x-Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 1, 2022
Jock
Usually there is a run up to who get the jock, but this week we will get right into it.
Craig Dickenson, you get the jock.
Why? Simple. It is the 4th quarter, your team is down 17-10, down but not out of it. Your team has a long drive. You are pretty deep in Bomber territory. It is 3rd and manageable and you choose to kick a field goal? You are not going to beat the Bombers by kicking field goals in the 4th quarter. Case in point, the Bombers scored more points in the 4th quarter than the Roughrider did all game!
The way the Bombers play simply will not allow the opponent to win by kicking field goals and not getting touchdowns.
"You’ve got to come in with that dog mentality if you want to put the blue on. That’s just the culture of this team.”
— x-Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 2, 2022
Ok, last time these two teams faced off, the excuse was that the Riders were suffering from the stomach flu. What were they suffering from this game? Brain cramps?
I will lay off a bit as this will be revisited in my Truth Bombs article later this week.
But for choosing to take 3 points and not trying to play for the win, Craig Dickenson, you get the jock.
What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.
