The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will meet the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup in Vancouver following the East and West Finals on Saturday. In the immediate aftermath of the team’s 38-22 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 3DownNation asked several members of the Blue Bombers for their initial reaction to facing Toronto next week and the fractured leg suffered by Chad Kelly.
“Injuries are tough. They’re part of the game but you never want to see anybody get injured,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “(Toronto has) an unbelievable front four. I think they do a really good job of mixing and matching on the back end, getting lined up and taking easy throws away. (They’ve got) tons of talent, so it’s gonna be a great challenge.”
“My thought would go out to any player that gets injured. You’re dealing with a human being. Nobody likes to see any guy get hurt,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “(Toronto’s) well-coached. They’re a good team. They get after it and they play hard on every single play. It should be a great game.”
Nick Arbuckle will be under centre for the Argonauts in the Grey Cup despite starting only one game in the regular season. He went five-of-eight for 73 yards after Kelly went down on Saturday in the East Final, helping seal a 30-28 win for Toronto over the Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium.
The 31-year-old passer also played the final three quarters of his team’s win over Winnipeg in July, completing 12-of-22 pass attempts for 87 yards and rushing once for five yards.
Most of Winnipeg’s players weren’t aware that Kelly was injured during the East Final. Collaros had to double-check he was right about next week’s opponents, quipping, “We’re playing Toronto, right?”
“(Arbuckle’s) been in the league for a very long time, so he knows what he’s looking at and everything. He’s played on different teams through his time in the league and he’s made a lot of plays here. Nick Arbuckle’s a good quarterback,” said safety Brandon Alexander.
“They’re a great team — from offence, defence, special teams, they’ve been making plays all over the field. Janarion Grant’s a heck of a player, Ka’Deem Carey’s a heck of a running back. Their receivers are making plays, their defence is making plays. At the end of the day, we’re going to have our work cut off for us.”
“(Arbuckle)’s a winner. He’s been in the league, he’s a quarterback with experience. In this league, the level of talent is high, so when you get experience and you know the Canadian game, it can go either way. They’ve got a good defence, a good special teams corps, and a great receiving corps. Whoever lines up at quarterback, they’re well-rounded,” said strong-side linebacker Redha Kramdi.
“They have probably the best returner in the CFL in Janarion Grant. On offence, they’re full of talent. They’ve got a great offensive line and if you take out Brady (Oliveira), I think Ka’Deem Carey is the premier (running) back in the CFL.”
The Argonauts swept their two meetings against Winnipeg during the regular season, both of which were low-scoring affairs. Toronto won 16-14 at BMO Field on July 27 despite being outgained by 195 net yards as defensive back Tarvarus McFadden scored the team’s lone touchdown on a pick-six. The play probably should have been negated by a pass interference penalty on DaShaun Amos but the call stood despite a Winnipeg challenge.
Toronto won 14-11 at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 11 as Chad Kelly hit Dave Ungerer III for a touchdown on the team’s opening drive and the defence clamped down from there. Zach Collaros was intercepted by defensive end Folarin Orimolade and sacked a season-high seven times as his pass protection consistently broke down.
“They’ve got a great defensive line. (Middle linebacker Wynton) McManis, I respect his game — he plays the game the right way. It’s gonna be a challenge. When you look at their defence, their box — their defensive line, especially — whether they’re gonna dress seven or eight guys, all those guys are studs that can play at a very high level. We’re gonna have a really tough challenge ahead of us but we look forward to those challenges and we’re gonna rise to the occasion,” said running back Brady Oliveira.
“Arbuckle’s been in league a very long time. He’s a veteran, he’s seen a lot of looks, so he’ll be ready and our defence is gonna prepare for him. Our defence has been playing lights out and they’re gonna be ready.”
“We’ve gotta get to (Arbuckle). We’ve gotta make him uncomfortable in the pocket. If we can get to him, make it hard for him, we’ll get the same outcome as we did tonight,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “(Toronto has) good running backs with Ka’Deem Carey, (Daniel Adeboboye), and (Deonta) McMahon. Good receiving corps, good offensive line, an amazing defence. It’s gonna be a good game.”
“I’m ready to go. I’ll celebrate tonight, but I’m focused on next Sunday and completing this mission that we gotta do,” said left tackle Stanley Bryant. “If you get an opportunity to get there, you’ve gotta take advantage of it. The last two (Grey Cups), we didn’t take it for granted — we were grateful to get there — we just didn’t finish. This time, I think we’re locked in and we’ve just gotta do it. It’s on us. If we go out and do it like we did tonight, we’re unstoppable — we’ll come out Grey Cup champs.”
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will face the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup in Vancouver, B.C. on Sunday, Nov. 17. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. EDT.
