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November 14, 2019

“We’ve just got to keep that train rolling.”

Winnipeg Blue Bombers #8 Zach Collaros at practice November 14, 2019.

It’s a road chock-full of potholes and roadblocks, of washed-out sections and steep climbs and sharp turns.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are attempting to become the first third-place team in the Canadian Football League since the 2005 Edmonton Eskimos to not only advance to the Grey Cup, but win the dang thing.

They took the first step with last week’s Western Semi-Final win over the then-defending champion Calgary Stampeders and have an even bigger challenge with this Sunday’s division final in Regina against the arch-rival Saskatchewan Roughriders.

But, you know what… all these numbers and historical nuggets guys like yours truly trot out regularly mean absolutely zero, zilch and nada now, and especially so in the playoffs.

It’s a question that came up during Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea’s media availability following practice on Thursday – why is it so difficult for a third-place team to win twice on the road just to get to the Grey Cup, let alone win it?

“I don’t even have an answer for that because I don’t think that way. Do you want me to sit here for half an hour silently thinking about it?” O’Shea said with a chuckle. “I really would never know that stat, nor would I even think about it because you’re just dealing with an opponent, you’re not ever thinking about all these other so-called factors.”

“We don’t even look at the records now… I mean, what were they this season?,” said Sayles of the Riders who, for the record, were 13-5 during the regular season. It’s about living in the moment.

“We’ve played them three times. We know the receivers they have. We know what they’re good at. Honestly, our coach will put us in the right positions and the better team is going to win. And we feel like we’re the better team.”

That’s been a common take in the Bombers locker room over the last few weeks. The regular season finale win over Calgary rekindled the belief – although it had hardly fizzed out – and last week’s victory in the semi-final fed the growing fire further.

“It was a game that everything came together, but especially for our defence,” said Sayles. “We saw an article that said our secondary was a ‘liability’ and that made us a little upset. We felt that we’re better than that and could show we can play just like any other defence around the league.

“Now we’ve just got to keep that train rolling.”

The Bombers, naturally, are keeping an eye on the reports out of Regina on the health status of Riders quarterback and Most Outstanding Player candidate Cody Fajardo, who is recovering from an oblique injury that kept him out of Saskatchewan’s regular season finale.

“Cody looked alright,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson to reporters after a closed practice on Thursday. “We had him do limited stuff, but he was able to throw with the team, move around well. We’ll look at the film to get a better idea but all signs are pointing that he’s going to be good to go.”

All that said, the men on the Bombers defence won’t waste a nanosecond worrying about Fajardo’s availability or if Isaac Harker might take the first snap. Remember, it was a year ago in the days leading into the Western Semi-Final in Regina when the Bombers had prepped to face Zach Collaros, only to have Brandon Bridge take the first snap.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s 100 percent or not,” said defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. “You gotta get him. He’s a good football player. They have a good team, a good offensive line that can protect him. Regardless of how he’s doing or who’s playing back there we’ve got to be able to execute up front and the back end and with the backers.

“We’ve got to play our responsibilities, no matter what.”

“It doesn’t matter to me, because the bottom line is whoever is at the quarterback position doesn’t change what we have to do,” added Bombers defensive coordinator Richie Hall. “You’ve got to know what the personnel is regardless of whether he’s in or not in. It doesn’t change what we have to do. In order for us to continue to play in November we have to play well defensively, regardless of who is at quarterback. And if we do, if we play well, then we’ve got a chance. If we don’t play well, then we’ll be packing our bags.”


BOMBER REPORT | November 14

SICK BAY UPDATE:

Bombers QB Chris Streveler was a spectator at practice for the second straight day, but the club is still hoping he’ll be good to go for Sunday’s game in Regina. Friday’s practice session, FYI, is closed to the media.

Also not practising on Thursday were DB Jeff Hecht and OL Michael Couture.

Long-snapper Chad Rempel, meanwhile, is hoping to get clearance to return to action. He missed the last two regular season games and the semi final win over Calgary, and was replaced by Maxime Latour and Thomas Miles.

“Still not sure. I’ve still got some things I still have to do before I can get back,” Rempel said Thursday. “(Latour and Miles) have done a fantastic job. Both Max and Miles work together and I thought they did a great job. I give them a lot of credit. They’ve put in a lot of work and we didn’t miss a beat.”

Now 38, Rempel is hoping to get at least one more shot at a cup as he nears the end of his career. He was part of the 2012 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.

“It’s really tough (not playing),” said Rempel. “I take a lot of pride in being out there and being reliable. I hadn’t missed a game due to injury for 10 years… that matters to me. But you’ve got to stay in it, stay ready and hopefully you become available again and can play.

“You never know. You think if you play long enough you’re going to be in the Grey Cup multiple times. But it’s hard. You run into teams like, earlier in my career it was Montreal and in the last few years it’s been Calgary. You’ve got to seize the moment.”