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News November 17, 2024

The Lede: “We’re worrying about being where we are and living in this moment.”

The Blue Bombers quarterbacks and offensive coordinator Buck Pierce at Saturday's walk-through -- photos by Cameron Bartlett

@EdTaitWFC

VANCOUVER — It was a scene that said everything about the cohesiveness of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their confidence in their preparation.

Saturday afternoon, just over 24 hours from today’s 111th Grey Cup game against the Toronto Argonauts and B.C. Place, the club had their official walk-through session, not long after completing a session earlier in the morning.

They took position group photos. They played games. They did interviews while the session was unfolding and did all those goofy things the Tik-Tokkers and all the folks from a much younger generation than mine do for clicks and engagement.

Nervous or anxious? Hardly. And that says something because often on the eve of championship games a team projects a vibe that would suggest they’re collectively tighter than the bolts on a new bridge.

Not this group.

“It’s important in a walk-through setting like that with the cameras and everything to embrace it and enjoy it and not get too fired up right now,” said quarterback Zach Collaros after the session. “(Sunday) we’ll be able to do that.

“We still have some time to ratchet it up so it’s good to be out there and be loose and just enjoy and soak in the moment.”

The Blue Bombers are making their fifth straight Grey Cup appearance — the first in the Canadian Football League since the Edmonton dynasty of 1978-82 — and with a third title would cement their place among the great runs in the loop’s history.

“Leading up to this game, the preparation, the intensity — the expectations that you guys (media) have been putting out — we’re trying to put all that to the side and just lock in and be where we are: at the Grey Cup as a team,” said Jefferson.

And the chance of a third championship in five years? That’s a narrative Jefferson hasn’t heard this week unless there are cameras and microphones in his face.

“That doesn’t come up at all,” he said. “You bringing it up right now is probably the first time I’ve heard it all week.

“That’s not something we need to talk about. We’re worried about this team. We’re not worried about past teams. We’re worrying about this team, we’re worrying about this game, we’re worrying about being where we are and living in this moment.”

This moment — and finishing the job in the 111th Grey Cup — would cap a season that began with an 0-4 stumble that turned into 2-6 before this epic run that has seen the club entering today having won 10 of its last 11 games.

“I’ve said it before but the core group of guys that we have here are just amazing individuals that make up a great core, foundation for our locker room and our organization,” said quarterback Zach Collaros Saturday. “It’s just a blessing to be around guys that care that much about not just winning but doing things the right way. And I think the winning comes with doing things the right way.

“To have been a part of that this season and seasons before is just really special. It never really gets old.”

Here are some more notes, numbers, quotes and anecdotes to get you ready for today’s Grey Cup…

TONE SETTER: If this doesn’t give you chills, please see a doctor. A hype video put together by Blue Bombers Senior Manager, Digital Media Sam Calvert with help from Rheanne Marcoux, the Vice President of Marketing & Communications of the 2025 Grey Cup Festival and great shots by Senior Video Producer Josh Kjarsgaard and videographer Rylan Dyck.

FRESH STARTS = CHIPS ON SHOULDERS: Three players will suit up today for the Blue Bombers playing prominent roles for the club after being kicked to the curb by their previous squads — DB Michael Griffin II (Calgary), LB Tony Jones (Edmonton) and WR/KR Lucky Whitehead (B.C.).

And don’t think that doesn’t serve as fuel.

“It’s even better for me because I was here and the game is here,” said Whitehead. “People are going to see that. People say as you get older not to hold grudges, but you do put that chip on your shoulder and for me to play the final game here, that championship game, I’ve got that chip.

“I’m 32 and I’ve got an opportunity to actually play in a Grey Cup. I didn’t play in ’19 (he wasn’t on the active roster) but it was still fun. I was a young guy then trying to learn the Canadian game. Now I know it and I get to go out here and put it on the line with the boys and not being watching. That makes it special.”

Jones proved to be an important addition for the Blue Bombers, as he started 11 games for both Kyrie Wilson and Adam Bighill and finished third on the team with 60 total tackles — 49 on defence, 11 on special teams — while adding a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

“Whenever you get released it’s always, ‘OK, when I get to the next team I want to beat them, of course, but also get to the Grey Cup and go win it,'” Jones said. “You hold that fire in you. You never forget it, honestly, especially with how it happened to me from where I was told I was going to be the guy to two weeks later I’m getting released.

“It is fuel. It’s a crazy story. A helluva story. And I’m super-blessed to be here.”

THE COACHES: Mike O’Shea is 2-2 as a head coach in the Grey Cup, all with the Blue Bombers. He also won three Grey Cups as a player with Toronto — 1996, 1997 and 2004) — and as a special teams coordinator with the Argos in 2012.

Toronto’s Ryan Dinwiddie, you may recall, made his first-ever CFL start with the Blue Bombers in the 2007 Grey Cup after starter Kevin Glenn was injured in the East Final, but Winnipeg lost that game to Saskatchewan. He is 1-0 as a head coach courtesy Toronto’s win over Winnipeg in the 2022 Grey Cup. He has another ring in 2018 during his days as the quarterbacks coach with Calgary.

THE QBs: Zach Collaros has been here, done that before, at the Grey Cup. This is his sixth Grey Cup start and a championship game record fifth in a row. He is 2-3 as a starter, with wins with the Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021. Collaros is 83-47 as a starter in this league.

Nick Arbuckle will be making his first Grey Cup start. He is 10-15 in his career as a starter, 1-0 this year and 1-1 in his two starts against Winnipeg.

A TIMELY DEBUT: As we outlined in part of our Game Preview, rookie defensive tackle Kyle Samson — a second-round selection by the Blue Bombers in this year’s CFL Draft — will be suiting up for his first game in Sunday’s Grey Cup.

The club made three changes this week, subbing in Samson along with linebackers Max Charbonneau and Fabian Weitz — a Global player whose parents have flown in from Germany — for Noah Hallett and Jake Kelly, both injured, and fullback Michael Chris-Ike.

“It’s super-exciting, especially being back in Vancouver and a city where I played at UBC the last four years, so I’m super-pumped,” Samson said after Saturday’s walk-through. “I’ve been learning a lot from vets like Willie (Jefferson) and Jake (Thomas) and been progressing. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to develop under.

“I’ve been hungry every week. I’ve been doing my job and just waiting for the opportunity to come. I’ve a development focus and just trying to get better every day so with that in mind (being patient) hasn’t been difficult.”

ATTENTION BLUE BOMBERS FANS BACK HOME:

THE LAST WORD: Coach O’Shea, when asked if he carries the losses around more or enjoys the wins more:

“I’ve said this several times and earlier in the week, too — it’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be this way, but I don’t know that there’s many people in sport, no matter what the sport, that have figured that out. If they have, they can call me and let me know how to figure it out and I would solve it myself.

“But the magnitude of a loss seems to trump the magnitude of joy of wins. If I want to spin it positively, that’s what gets us here maybe.”