Upon Further Review | MTL 17 WPG 47

Brady Oliveira ran over, around and through people. But that’s a movie Winnipeg Blue Bombers faithful have already come to expect from the homegrown running back.

He caught a touchdown pass, too, and Oliveira has talked openly over the last couple of years about working at that element of his craft. So, his emergence as a threat in that department is hardly a shocker.

Yet there has been something different about Oliveira’s game this year. Call it a ferocity that comes from confidence and an increased workload. Or a hunger that comes from an increased workload and the dividend from hours upon hours of offseason training. And, frankly, the Blue Bombers’ already potent offence is that much better for all of the above.

So, it was late Thursday night, not long after the Blue Bombers had finished blowtorching the Montreal Alouettes 47-17 when Oliveira was asked if he is finding another gear to his overall game because based on the evidence piling up through the first 11 games this season, he’s racing along like a Ferrari on the Autobahn.

“I think so,” began Oliveira. “I’m still young in my career. The sky’s the limit for myself, especially with this team. Buck (Pierce, offensive coordinator) does a great job of getting me the ball, the offensive line has done a great job allowing me to get to the second level.

“I’m not even in my prime yet. I say give me a couple of years and I’m going to continue to come in and get better every single day, keep on putting up good performances.”

His handiwork Thursday certainly elevated his case as a leading candidate for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player award – as we mentioned in our Game Recap – although you’ll certainly get a heated argument from B.C. Lions fans on behalf of Mathieu Betts, the league’s quarterback sack leader.

Oliveira rumbled for 119 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Als and added one reception for a six-yard score. He now has 902 yards rushing and four TDs and an additional 299 yards on 22 receptions and two more scores through 11 games. His 902 yards leads the CFL, as does his 1,201 yards from scrimmage. He is 99 yards shy of the career best 1,001 rushing yards he had a year ago, while his reception and receiving yards totals have already bested his career best numbers from a year ago.

The comparisons to last year are an intriguing reference point for Oliveira, who struggled early in the ’22 season to step out from the shadow of Andrew Harris as the club’s feature back. Through the first six games last year, he was averaging just 3.2 yards per carry and was hearing and feeling every criticism and arrow fired his way. But through the rest of the year he cranked out 956 yards along the ground – with a sparkling 5.9 yards per carry average – and including 212 yards in two playoff games.

It should be said, then, that dramatic turnaround from a low point 13 months ago – and the growth his confidence and comfortability in the offence – is nothing short of spectacular.

“I still like to use that as a reminder as to how far I’ve come,” he said. “The biggest thing is just the support from my teammates. It all goes back to my teammates, man. I do this for my teammates. They have my back every single day. When things are going good, when things are going bad, they truly pick me up and give me that confidence and motivation to keep going and that’s all I need.

“My motivation in the huddle is the guy next to me. I like to think about that because it was a rough time and I’ve come a long way with the help of my teammates, my coaches, and my running backs coach – Coach J (Jason Hogan) – man, that’s my guy. He’s really had my back the entire time. We’re getting better together. We’re working on my craft and just trying to become a better running back.

“I’m approaching games now with this offensive line knowing what we can do,” he added. “They’re moving guys up front, they’ve been hot the last couple of weeks and there’s no slowing down for them. They’ve found their stride and I’m getting more comfortable with them and more chemistry as the weeks go by and in the meeting room and practice field just getting on the same page as them. I’m definitely at peace when I’m out there and playing a lot faster.”

That last answer is revealing, too, for it indicates a level of maturity that hadn’t yet been honed when the club drafted the North Winnipeg Nomads/Oak Park Raiders/North Dakota product who just recently turned 26.

“He should be confident and he’s in a good place maturity-wise that he can handle that,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “He’s not over-confident, he’s in that right spot where he’s excited about rewarding the offensive line and working hard for his teammates. They really appreciate it.

“He runs hard behind his pads and it’s all over the tape and it’s all over the tape every single week. From a coaching standpoint it’s pretty fun to watch.”

More on the Blue Bombers 47-17 win over the Alouettes in this week’s UPON FURTHER REVIEW…

ONE OF THE MAIN STORYLINES… in the win was the work of QB Zach Collaros – who threw three interceptions, including two Pick-6s, but also tossed four touchdown passes.

The veteran pivot took the blame for his mistakes after the game, but also saluted those on the Blue Bombers sideline who helped him shake off the mistakes, all of which came in the first half.

“It’s just not panicking and me not feeling their panic and them not feeling my panic, obviously,” he said of the support. “It’s the defence getting off the field, creating turnovers, all those things. The special teams giving us field position both ways. And offensively understanding we’ve been down before in games and just staying the course.”

Asked if a younger Collaros would have been able to bounce back as he did against the Als, he didn’t hesitate.

“I think so. I’d like to think the reason I’m still around is I can deal with stuff like that,” he said. “Again, I’ve had a lot of really great mentors in my life starting with my parents and coaches back home and all the way through. I’ve always been taught no matter how high you get, no matter how low you get, just try to stay even especially at this position because the guys feel your energy so you should try and stay calm. In your own brain, you’re kind of battling that.”

“Zach has got another level to him” added O’Shea. “It’s not just flushing it, I think he can separate that, but also use a bit of fuel and say, ‘All right… it’s on.’ You see some of the throws he made throughout the game… fantastic. He’s more wired, more determined, dialled in. He’s a fierce competitor.”

WE’RE THIS DEEP INTO OUR UPON FURTHER REVIEW… and we haven’t yet mentioned the defence, which was absolutely dominant. As indicated in the game recap, the Blue Bombers shut out the Als in the second half while allowing just 21 yards net offence, did not allow a touchdown for the second straight game and have now gone nine quarters without surrendering a touchdown.

The Alouettes had 14 possessions including one at the end of the game and punted nine times, had one field goal, one interception, one fumble and a turnover on downs.

“That was fun. We played well,” said defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. “The only thing better would have been if we had scored on defence. That’s always one of our goals. We played a good game. Now we’ve got to keep growing it.

“We still think there are things out there that we didn’t do as well as we could have. We can’t just be good. We’ve got to be great. We’ve got to be exceptional. There are always ways to be better.

“There’s no complacency here,” he added. “That’s one thing we’re not going to allow because we know what it takes. We know what we have to do to win.”

Jeffcoat had one of the key plays in the second half, rocketing forward to grab a fumble after a hot shotgun snap had blown through Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo. That turnover was one of three that led to 17 points for the Blue Bombers. And when it was suggested Jeffcoat scooped up the loose ball cleanly like a shortstop, the veteran Texan grinned.

“I used to play baseball and I was really good,” he said. “I played outfield, I played shortstop. I played everything.”

THREE OTHER NUMBERS THAT JUMP OUT… after combing over the stats package, which can be found here.

• Somewhat lost amidst the Collaros crazy stat line and the work of Oliveira was the night Nic Demski had. The veteran receiver pulled in a team-high five passes for 87 yards and also rushed once for 21 yards, giving him 108 yards from scrimmage.
• It’s no coincidence that the play of the defence has taken an upward turn since the return from injury of linebacker Kyrie Wilson and cornerback Winston Rose. Rose had four tackles and an interception, while Wilson had four tackles and a pass knockdown.
• As we’ve stated before, the time of possession number can often be misleading. But in the case of Thursday’s win, it was revealing. Winnipeg held the ball for 36 minutes and 24 seconds – almost a full quarter more than Montreal’s 23:36.

AND, FINALLY… there was some confusion Thursday as to the capacity at IG Field and whether the announced crowd of 32,343. Some background: when the building first opened capacity was listed at 33,500. Sellouts last year when the club led the CFL in attendance for the first time in franchise history were listed at 33,234.

The new capacity is 32,343 with the further expansion of the party decks and the removal of flex seating to improve the fan experience. Thursday’s crowd was the first sellout of the season and the third attendance total to eclipse the 30,000 mark. The next two home dates include the Banjo Bowl vs. the Saskatchewan Roughriders on September 9^th – that game is already sold out – plus a visit from the Toronto Argonauts and the return of Andrew Harris on September 29^th.  The Edmonton Elks round out the regular season schedule on October 21.