Before the start of the regular season many people were saying that the Bombers were stacked. Phrases like “An embarrassment of riches,” were used to describe the Bombers. For me, I could care less what a team looks like “on paper.” I have been around this sport long enough to know that “on paper” and actually on the field are not always the same thing!

In fact, the Bombers looked inconsistent in the first 7 weeks. They would go 5-2 and many people thought their record should have been better. Even as early in the season as the Bombers loss to BC some were even acting like the sky was falling, which caused me to remind people that it indeed was not.

The reality of the situation, and I believe we saw this after the Bombers trounced BC is that the Bombers are elite!

Even the often contentious CFL Power Rankings have the Bombers back in first place!

In fact the Bombers are hitting all the CFL stories after they decimated the Lions.

CFL HONOUR ROLL, WEEK 9: COLLAROS, METCHIE, BOMBERS’ O-LINE MAKE THE GRADE

Blue Bombers’ offensive line have made the grade for Week 9 in the Canadian Football League (CFL) Honour Roll powered by Pro Football Focus (PFF).

CFL HONOUR ROLL – WEEK 9: OFFENCE

QB | Zach Collaros | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | WPG 50 – BC 14

• PFF Player Grade: 92.9
• 19-of-27 passing (70.4 per cent)
• Matched season-highs in passing yards (369) and passing touchdowns (three)
• Third 300+ yard passing game in a row; fourth of 2023
• Five 30+ yard passes, including a 71-yard effort to Dalton Schoen for a touchdown in the first to open the scoring
• 134.4 efficiency rating

CFL HONOUR ROLL – WEEK 9: OFFENSIVE LINE

Winnipeg Blue Bombers | WPG 50 – BC 14

• PFF unit grade: 84.2
• Top-3 performers:
  o Jermarcus Hardrick | 67.4
  o Stanley Bryant | 66.5
  o Geoff Gray | 66.3

CFL HONOUR ROLL: ALL-WEEK 9
(Position | Name | Team | Grade)

• QB | Zach Collaros | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 92.9
• RB | AJ Ouellette | Toronto Argonauts | 77.5
• REC | Kenny Lawler | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 90.4
• OL | Nick Callender | Montreal Alouettes | 76.9
• DL | Willie Jefferson | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 85.6
• LB | Jovan Santos-Knox | Ottawa REDBLACKS | 85.2
• DB | Royce Metchie | Toronto Argonauts | 86.6
• K/P | Cody Grace | Calgary Stampeders | 78.8
• ST | Gary Johnson Jr. | Ottawa REDBLACKS | 91.6

https://www.cfl.ca/2023/08/08/cfl-honour-roll-week-9-collaros-metchie-bombers-o-line-make-the-grade/

And it really should come as no surprise once you look at some of the game statistics from their last game. Brady Oliveira had 9 carries for 62 yards (an average of 7.4 yards/carry) and 2 touchdowns. Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen both eclipsed the 100 yard mark receiving! Lawler had 7 receptions on 8 targets for 200 yards, and 1 touchdown. Oh, and his 55 YAC yards were pretty good too! As for Schoen, he caught all 5 balls thrown his way, even securing one in the end zone after a hellacious hit, for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns! That is right, 5 catches and 2 of them were touchdowns.

The only time that I care if a team is good on paper is if that paper is the game statistics. And in this case the Bombers’ on field performance translated to them being good on paper!

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