After the Bombers dropped a second straight against Calgary, and now sit at 3-2 the question has to be asked, are the Bombers in trouble? And at this point, I can with the most amount of certainty say, maybe.
When I got home from the Bombers’ game, it was after mid-night as I live an hour and a half away from Winnipeg. So the next morning my wife asked me, “Are the Bombers even going to make it to the Grey Cup?” My response to her was the same response I gave to everyone after the Bombers started the season 2-0…maybe. In the CFL you never know. Make it to the playoffs and anything can happen. In a one-and-done playoff format, you never know.
While third place in the West is not where the Bombers would like to be, it sure beats the 0-4 start from 2024. Quite honestly, I am not surprised that the Bombers dropped their first game to Calgary. Earlier I said that if the Bombers did not play better (referring to their game against the Elks) and played better teams, that the result would not be guaranteed. But it was the second loss to Calgary where the questioning starts.
Is Winnipeg That Bad or Calgary That Good? I think the answer is “both.” Winnipeg is not playing good football, throwing another 4 interceptions and another pick 6. Some of that is on Winnipeg for sure. But the other team gets paid to play also, so Calgary must get their fair share of credit. Winnipeg was previously 17-0 off of bye weeks, but they continued to find ways to lose on Friday night! And the interceptions were not just on Streveller. Both he and Collaros threw 2 interceptions.
Winnipeg was actually in this game for quite a while. But the interception on the 1 yard line, with seven minutes to go in the third quarter stopped the Bombers from scoring a major or a field goal that series. That truly was the play that started to close the door on the Bombers.
What About Zach? There is no sugar coating it; Callaros is not playing well. And outside of the loss, a bigger concern for Bomber fans should be the Collaros injury. I certainly am not a doctor, and hesitate to speculate, but I have to wonder if Zach was removed for concussion protocol. Then I have to wonder if he will miss any games. Yes, the hit was huge! But he seemed to walk off the field fine as if it were not a rib injury. Rather, his head did hit the ground very hard, and he remained on the ground for a while. If the Bombers are not in trouble at 3-2, they are in trouble if Zach misses a significant part of the season.
Did You Like The Non-Call? There is no way that I am blaming the refs for the Bombers losing. Let me be perfectly clear on that. But did you like the non-call on the hit on Zach? For me, I did not. The Bombers had been called for 2 roughing the passer calls and one that was minimal at best. If the standard is set in the game then the refs should keep that standard. In fact, the Bombers took a roughing the passer penalty that looked very similar to the non-call when Collaros was hit. Another official, watched a Bomber player being tackled while he was out of bounds and did not throw a flag. The official was right there watching the play. I literally do not know what to make of CFL officiating, and the Command Centre.
The replay official is permitted to step in and correct an egregiously wrong judgment made by the on-field officials. This occurs when a key aspect of a play was missed by the on-field staff and replay is not triggered through another mechanism. A step in can occur when:
An out of bounds player or spot was incorrectly ruled
Whether or not a forward pass touched the ground
Whether a team had an illegal formation
This trigger cannot be used to call penalties, (other than Illegal Formation) unless described in the list of standard reviewable aspects.
CFL officiating is a joke and the league has done very little to protect quarterbacks. Think I am just complaining because it is the Bombers? Think again! How about the hit on Montreal’s quarterback? How about Marino in past years? In a quarterback driven league, there is literally very little incentive for players to not target quarterbacks. Even when a quarterback slides, I still see players going for the tackle/hit on the quarterback.
Winnipeg Has Swiss Cheese on The O-Line Winnipeg was sacked three times and their O-line has looked suspect all year. The Bombers are going to need to address this issue quickly, because even his last game when Bryant was in, he got ‘put on skates.’ I do not care who the Bombers quarterback is if the offensive line plays like that.
Who Are You Covering? This was a question I asked multiple times in the game. Winnipeg would do a good job on 1st and 10, but then let the receiver get to the first down marker and make the catch. The defenders were playing off and too deep. And what about the Bomber’s defender, Bridges, who just stopped covering his guy (Alford) and left him wide open in the end zone? I do not think that Ford would have done that, but the Bombers do not have Ford…they have Bridges That touchdown was certainly the nail in the coffin for the Bombers.
So Are The Bombers In Trouble? When you look at the final score, you may forget that the Bombers actually led the game 13-10 in the second quarter, and that Castillo hit a 58 yard field goal. And while I mentioned the 4 interceptions earlier, one of those is on Case, who totally slipped and was out of the play. However, the bombers got beat on long shots all night, and could not stop the sideline passes.
But I have to think that there is something going on behind the scenes. Who remembers the 2021 season? That year the Bombers also won the Grey Cup. In 2019 the Bombers had an ace kicker in the name of Justin Medlock. However, after the cancelled season of 2020, Medlock decided to retire. That left the Bombers with Liegghio, who was also named the team’s placekicker for the August 29, 2021 game after Crapigna was injured.
The Bombers were in a difficult spot as Liegghio was inconsistent in field goals during the season. Everyone was wondering what the Bombers would do, but nobody saw it coming. The season was looking like it might be in jeopardy. However, the Bombers, the defending Grey Cup champions had an answer. On October 19, 2021, the Blue Bombers acquired Castillo’s playing rights from a trade with the BC Lions. Castillo signed with the Blue Bombers on the same day and in the Grey Cup he went 5-5, and became a Grey Cup champion for his first time. And if you really do not think that signing was a huge move, look at what happened in 2022; the Bombers lost the Grey Cup on a field goal miss by…Liegghio.
So while things look very suspect for the Bombers right now. And while we are unsure of Collaros’ injury status (at the time of writing this article) I would have to say, trust the process. The Bombers did not spend to the cap…that is why they do not have Lawler, or Ford. They have a new offensive coordinator. And NFL cuts are coming up. If the Bombers could get BC to give up Castillo for 4th round pick in the 2022 CFL draft, I am going to believe that they know a few things that I do not.
The road will not get easier for the Bombers in the next while. They have a home and home with Toronto as their next games and they find Toronto a tough place to play. So even though Toronto is 1-5 the Bombers better prepare! Beat Toronto twice and they sit at 5-2. After that:
If Collaros is out for any amount of time, this season starts to look like the 2019 season, and I expect the Bombers to make a play for another starting quarterback. Not that they would throw Collaros to the wayside, but in a year where Winnipeg is hosting the Grey Cup, you have to believe that they will do everything to try and be in that game. Or maybe it looks more like the 2021 season where they pull a late signing at the position they are lacking. Either way, this season is not over yet…not by a long shot.
What did you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this.
