WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (8-1) at EDMONTON ELKS (2-6)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: Friday, 8 p.m. CT, Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium
TV: TSN 1/3/4, ESPN+
Radio: 680 CJOB; Sirius XM (Canada Talks, channel 167).
BetRegal.ca odds: Blue Bombers by 12 points.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 6W. Edmonton.: 4L
Home/Road: The Bombers are 3-1 on the road this season, including a 37-22 victory over the Elks in Edmonton back on Sept. 18th. The Elks are 0-4 at home this year and on a five-game home losing streak dating back to the end of 2019.
Head to head: This is the third and final meeting between the two clubs this year. The Bombers have their win in Edmonton in mid-September and last week’s 30-3 win in Winnipeg. The Bombers have won four straight vs. Edmonton and are 8-2 in their last 10 against their West Division foes.
The QBs
- The Bombers will start veteran Zach Collaros. He is 43-33 in his career starts and 12-1 as a Bomber, including playoffs. Collaros is 6-6 in career starts vs. Edmonton
- The Elks answer with CFL rookie Taylor Cornelius. He is 0-2 in his career and 0-1 against Winnipeg, having started the game in Edmonton in September.
The Coaches
Winnipeg: Mike O’Shea: 64-53; vs. Edm.: 8-8
Edmonton: Jamie Elizondo: 2-6; vs. Wpg.: 0-2
Blue Roster Shuffle
The Bombers have made three roster changes for this week. Coming on to the roster are WR Kenny Lawler, DB Demerio Houston and DB Noah Hallett. Off are RT Jermarcus Hardrick (one-game injured), WR James Tyrell and DE Nick Dheilly.
The absence of Hardrick means Pat Neufeld will slide out to right tackle, with Tui Eli starting in Neufeld’s right guard spot – just as the Bombers finished last week’s win over Edmonton. Geoff Gray will dress as the sixth OL.
“He’s just a physical, physical dude,” said Neufeld of Eli earlier this week. “He likes to go play physical. I remember at the end of our game when we were taking a knee, we were saying, ‘Taking a knee… taking a knee.’ And he was like, ‘Nah, screw that. Let’s run the football.’ That’s just his mentality. He’s an aggressive guy and he’s done all he could to earn the position he’s in right now. I’m extremely happy for him and excited to see his development progress.”
3 Bombers to Watch
#9 Nick Taylor, DB: One of the veteran voices in the secondary along with Brandon Alexander and Mike Jones, Taylor is the lone starter yet to register a pick. He is a solid cover man with 26 tackles. But he was also dinged up a bit in last week’s win and the Bombers have added Demerio Houston for extra depth.
#53 Pat Neufeld, OL: Neufeld has played tackle before and certainly looked comfortable out there on the right flank in the second half against the Elks last Friday. His move out from guard to tackle, with Eli coming in at guard, does mean the right side of the O-line will look different for the first time since midseason of 2019, before Neufeld returned from injury.
#22 Alden Darby, DB: The veteran DB has settled in nicely in a rotation at the Dime spot, with 17 tackles in six games. His experience is obvious, as there aren’t many looks he hasn’t seen before as a defender.
X Factor #89 Kenny Lawler, WR
The Bombers get the CFL’s leading receiver back in their arsenal after Lawler served his one-game suspension and his return comes after a 30-3 spanking of the Elks last week and a result that pushed their current win streak to six.
Before his suspension Lawler posted a 12-catch, 205-yard game that marked career highs in both categories. He comes back to the lineup, but has been allowed to practice and participate in meetings while watching last week’s win from the sidelines.
“It was a blessing because being around this organization, the group of guys… man, they really kept me uplifted even though I was feeling so embarrassed, discouraged, just mad at myself for letting people down,” said Lawler earlier this week. “They were still there to keep me uplifted, keep me motivated and keep me going within my days.
“If I was staying home it wouldn’t have been healthy for me. I would have been down, I would have been pouting, I would have been kicking myself in the rear. Just being here, there’s so much love in this locker room, so much love in this facility that it’s very contagious and it uplifts players. It was the best thing for me.”
3 Notable Numbers
0.67
The Bombers have surrendered just six points in the fourth quarter through nine games this year, or just .67 per game. That is trending toward being the lowest point total allowed in a particular quarter in the CFL dating back to 1958.
0-34
Winnipeg opponents are 0-for-34 in their fourth-quarter drives this season.
6-0
The Bombers are 6-0 in games within the West Division. No Bomber team has ever finished a season unbeaten against its division. The 1994 Bombers were 9-1 in East Division games.
Quotable
“At this point the season’s not over so it does mean a lot yet. It means were on some special stuff and we’re doing good things. It means that the process which we work is working for us. Those numbers ae a reminder that we need to continue doing the things that got us to this point and be able to finish the season and truly make it special.” – Bombers LB Adam Bighill on the historic levels the defence is playing at through nine games.
Milestone Watch
- Andrew Harris had 150 yards rushing and 24 yards receiving last week pushing his career yards-from-scrimmage total to 14,840. He’s sixth on the CFL’s all-time list and now just 27 yards shy of moving into the Top 5, with Allen Pitts next on the list at 14,886.
- Last week Harris moved into the Top 10 on the CFL’s all-time combined yardage list (rushing, receiving and returning yards), passing Milt Stegall. Harris is now at 16,116 combined yards (Stegall finished at 16,105). Chad Owens is ninth on this list at 16,698.
- Adam Bighill moved past Kevin Eiben into 9th spot on the CFL’s all-time tackle list last week and now has 723 in his career. Number 8 on that list is long-time Bomber Greg Battle, at 766.
- Willie Jefferson’s next sack will be the 50th of his CFL career.
- Friday will mark the 100th game as a Blue Bomber for Stanley Bryant. More about that accomplishment here.
FYI:
- The Bombers are attempting to improve to 9-1 for the first time since 1960 when they started out at 10-0.
- Bombers long-snapper Mike Benson will play in his 99th career CFL game Friday.
- The Bombers are three wins clear in first place – the first they’ve held that big a lead atop the division since September 11, 2011. Winnipeg has not been three games clear in the West since September of 1962.
