10 thoughts on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers improving to 2-0 against B.C. Lions

By
John Hodge
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Photo: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the B.C. Lions by a score of 27-14 in front of 20,138 fans at BC Place Stadium. Below are my thoughts on the game.

The Zach came back

Zach Collaros didn’t waste any time throwing his first touchdown pass of the year in his season debut, hitting Dalton Schoen for a 15-yard score on Winnipeg’s opening possession. It was career touchdown pass No. 200 for the veteran passer, who finished the night 18-of-25 for 179 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

The first pick occurred when Collaros looked deep to Nic Demski late in the second quarter. It was a smart read — Demski drew one-on-one coverage from safety Christophe Beaulieu — but the ball was under-thrown and Demski was late to adjust, overrunning the pass and allowing Beaulieu to make an easy interception.

After two quiet quarters, Collaros hit his first deep shot to Keric Wheatfall, resulting in a 48-yard gain. Four plays later, he completed a five-yard pass to offensive lineman Tui Eli — yes, you read that correctly — for a touchdown. Eli, who lined up as a tight end on the play, made a legitimately nice grab near the sideline.

The 36-year-old’s second interception came in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter. The game was out of hand, but it was still an ugly rep as he flung the ball into double coverage facing pressure from Mathieu Betts off the edge.

In all, it was an underwhelming performance from Winnipeg’s offence. The unit was far more effective last week with Chris Streveler at the controls when it wracked up 34 points and 438 net yards. That’s not to say Streveler should be starting — Collaros is the better quarterback — but had the offence not benefitted from four takeaways, this game may have ended with a different result.

Perfect Parker

Veteran defensive back Jamal Parker had the best performance of his CFL career in his second start at safety.

The 27-year-old made a big play to snuff out B.C.’s opening possession, knocking down a pass intended for Jevon Cottoy at the goal-line after defensive coordinator Jordan Younger dialled up an all-out blitz.

On the following series, Jeremiah Masoli threw an outlet pass intended for James Butler while evading pressure. Butler couldn’t secure the ball and Parker had the wherewithal to pick it up and return it for a touchdown. The play was reviewed and it was determined that the pass didn’t travel upfield, allowing the score to stand.

Moments before halftime, Masoli threw a pass in the middle of the field and Parker, driving up-field, redirected his momentum to snag the interception. Winnipeg’s offence was unable to convert on the ensuing possession but the turnover still prevented B.C. from adding any points before halftime.

It was a strong night overall for Winnipeg’s defence as Jeremiah Masoli, who started in place of an injured Nathan Rourke, completed 25-of-44 pass attempts for 281 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. B.C. committed four total turnovers, three of which came on offence, as Evan Holm also snagged an interception.

Cooley-o

When the Blue Bombers went to the trouble of sitting American offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool in order to get rookie running back Quinton Cooley on the roster — more on that in a moment — I couldn’t help but wonder if he would start despite Matthew Peterson being listed as the starter.

As it turns out, the depth chart was legitimate. Peterson started and played well early, rushing for 33 yards and on his first five carries. He fell cold for the rest of the night, however, finishing with 11 carries for 42 yards.

Cooley didn’t get into the game until midway through the second quarter and didn’t get his second carry until late in the third quarter. The rookie out of Liberty University ripped off 12 yards on his second attempt but was narrowly brought down before breaking into the secondary, looking visibly frustrated that he’d been hauled down.

It seemed bizarre that Cooley didn’t get more touches in the third quarter. Winnipeg’s passing attack was struggling, the team was nursing a 14-point lead, and Cooley had a fresh set of legs against a tired defence.

In the end, he finished the night with seven carries for 42 yards.

Ejected

Head coach Mike O’Shea wasn’t happy with his team taking seven penalties for 80 yards in last week’s season opener, including two calls for unnecessary roughness.

Winnipeg was more disciplined this week in Vancouver, taking five penalties for 43 yards, though Willie Jefferson took two late misconduct penalties, resulting in an ejection. Jefferson’s enthusiasm and boundless energy are part of what make him so much fun to watch, but he needs to be more careful. Veteran players can’t take needless penalties.

It should be noted that Jefferson took one of Winnipeg’s two unnecessary roughness penalties last week. The 34-year-old hasn’t been an oft-penalized player over his decade-long CFL career, so hopefully he’s able to buck this trend soon.

O-line shuffle

The Blue Bombers made a change along the offensive line this week, starting second-year man Gabe Wallace at left guard in place of Micah Vanterpool. Vanterpool started last week’s season-opener and graded out well, as per Pro Football Focus, but was taken off the roster to make room for rookie running back Quinton Cooley.

The results seemed positive. B.C.’s pass rush generated little to no pressure until late in the first half when Mathieu Betts beat right tackle Kendall Randolph for the initial pressure on Zach Collaros and DeWayne Hendrix cleaned up with the sack. It was the only sack the Blue Bombers allowed on the night. Randolph took one holding penalty, while the Lions declined a late holding penalty on Stanley Bryant.

If you count fullback Michael Chris-Ike, the Blue Bombers started four players taken in the 2024 CFL Draft — running back Matthew Peterson, Chris-Ike, receiver Kevens Clercius, and Wallace. Chris-Ike scored a touchdown on his team’s opening possession, though it was negated by a holding penalty on Clercius.

Returnability

Rookie returner Trey Vaval had another nice game, bringing back four punts for 66 yards and one kickoff for 26 yards.

The Minnesota State product’s best play came late in the second quarter when he flew up the field to catch a 40-yard punt from Carl Meyer and returned it up the middle for 15 yards, giving Winnipeg possession in B.C. territory.

The only knock on Vaval’s performance was that he momentarily bobbled a punt late in the third quarter, though he was still able to find a seam for 24 yards. After the play, TSN’s cameras showed Vaval standing beside head coach Mike O’Shea, who appeared to be providing instruction on how to better corral the ball. Vaval also muffed a punt return last week, though the mistake didn’t result in a turnover.

Winnipeg’s cover teams were strong as well, limiting Seven McGee to 6.3 yards on six punt returns and and 24.3 yards on three kickoff returns. Jaylen Smith, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, recorded his first career fumble recovery when McGee failed to secure a punt in the third quarter. The turnover led to a 38-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo.

Double Bond-ed

Second-year defensive back Terrell Bonds had a chance to blow Saturday’s game wide open in the second quarter when he jumped a route intended for Keon Hatcher for a would-be pick-six. Instead, he dropped the ball and immediately showed his frustration, knowing he’d let a golden opportunity slip (quite literally) through his fingers.

The 28-year-old made up for it with an impressive play early in the second half, breaking up a would-be 45-yard deep shot to Justin McInnis near the sideline. McInnis, who led the CFL in receiving last season and stands six-foot-five, doesn’t lose a lot of one-on-ones.

Castill-woah

Sergio Castillo cranked a 55-yard field goal early in the second quarter, which restored a seven-point lead. A field goal of that length is clutch regardless of the circumstances, but it’s especially impressive in a dome where the dead air can take some distance off the ball.

The veteran kicker finished the night two-for-two on field goals and three-for-three on converts.

Team Ted

Several members of the B.C. Lions wore Team Ted t-shirts on Saturday as a tribute to Hamilton Tiger-Cats general manager Ted Goveia, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Ryan Rigmaiden, who became the general manager of the B.C. Lions this offseason, worked with Goveia in Winnipeg’s personnel department from 2018 to 2020. It would be nice to see the Blue Bombers and the rest of the CFL’s teams follow the same lead over the coming weeks in support of Goveia.

Next up

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-0) will host the Edmonton Elks (0-2) on Thursday, June 26 at 8:30 p.m. EDT for the first of two meetings between the teams this season.

This will be the first of two short weeks for the Blue Bombers this season as they’ll face the Elks on only five days of rest. For what it’s worth, Winnipeg played brilliantly on their only short week of 2024, dominating the visiting B.C. Lions by a score of 25-0.

The Blue Bombers swept the home-and-home against Edmonton last September by a combined score of 82-41. Tre Ford started the first half of the home-and-home for the Elks but was replaced by McLeod Bethel-Thompson for the second matchup.

John Hodge
John Hodge

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