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News May 25, 2025

Upon Further Review | PS #1 Wpg 15 Sask 9

Chris Streveler was back in game action for the first time since injurying his knee in last September's Banjo Bowl; photos by Cameron Bartlett

@EdTaitWFC

Pick any one of the many positives from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers first preseason contest — from the depth in the receiving corps, to the O-line keeping the quarterbacks clean and from the defence being absolutely stifling in moments — and each particular narrative will get a thumbs up from head coach Mike O’Shea and his coaching staff.

That said, it could be argued the most uplifting performance of the day was seeing quarterback Chris Streveler out there doing his thing at the controls of the offence just nine months removed from shredding his knee in last September’s Banjo Bowl.

Not only was it uplifting, it was critical for a team needing a starter to step up for the suspended Zach Collaros in the season opener on June 12th against the B.C. Lions and solidify the QB depth chart with untested second-year man Terry Wilson and rookie Chase Artopoeus in the bullpen.

“With the way things ended last year, being able to get back out there feels great,” said Streveler, who finished the day 6 of 10 for 49 yards. “It felt like I was in command of the offence, good communication with some of the backup guys out there, put the ball in play, put together a couple nice drives.

“There’s always stuff to clean up but, ultimately, I feel good about it.”

Just to recap, Streveler tore three of the four ligaments in his knee after taking a low shot from then Roughriders defensive tackle Miles Brown, now with the Calgary Stampeders, in last year’s Banjo Bowl. It can be the type of injury that ends careers and/or kills the will of someone trying to make a living the game.

So, again, just seeing #17 out there making quick decisions and throws and moving the pile on shortyardage was massive for the Blue Bombers.

“Coming back from something like this, there are a lot of milestones along the way,” Streveler said. “This is another one for me — getting back out there with the brace on, taking a tackle, being in a game situation with people around my feet… I wasn’t thinking about it at all. It felt good.

“… I felt like I was in control of the ball, putting it where I wanted to put it, and giving guy opportunities and that’s what the preseason is about.”

Post-game head coach Mike O’Shea was asked a question about the play of the quarterbacks and when the conversation turned to Streveler ‘taking a few hits’ he interrupted with a grin and, “Did he take them, or did he give them?

“He looks good. He’s a savage. The way he attacked his rehab and the way his confidence is… it’s fantastic.”

ICYMI, here is our game recap from Saturday afternoon’s first preseason game:

Game Recap | WPG 15 SASK 9

And what follows is the rest of the first UPON FURTHER REVIEW of 2025…

THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT… after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found here:

1 Preseason numbers can be misleading but the quarterback play for the Blue Bombers was pretty dang solid, considering the number of bodies rotating in and out of the receiving corps, in the backfield and along the offensive line.

The four QBs combined to go 27 of 37 for 257 yards with zero TDs and zero picks and all of them flashed exactly what you would expect in their stints at the controls.

Zach Collaros finished 10 of 13 for 93 yards, Streveler was 6 of 10 as mentioned above, Wilson was 6 of 8 for 72 yards and Artopoeus finished 5 of 6 for 43 yards.

“It felt good. You want to go out there and try to get adjusted to game-speed stuff,” said Collaros. “Things didn’t seem to be moving too fast, which is good, which is what you want. I thought for all four quarters we did a pretty good job of getting lined up and knowing our assignments and executing.”

“…You want to score a touchdown on every single drive, right? But I thought it was encouraging. The little things — as we talked about the other day it’s not always the result of the play, it’s the execution of the entire thing: the play call, getting lined up, getting to our proper depths in the pass game, understanding our protections — Brady (Oliveira) does a great job of that, so does the offensive line. Probably one or two I could have given to Brady instead of pulling and throwing. So, those timing things and seeing it over and over again will be helpful.

“The more reps you get at anything the better you get at it so I think we accomplished some things, but it will be good to have some film to see the things we can clean up and teach.”

One more on Collaros, whose one-year contract extension was announced Friday… ICYMI, here is his ‘In My Words’ piece on his desire to keep playing and why he re-upped here:

In My Words: Zach Collaros

2 As preseason games go, the number of glaring errors was at a minimum. A number that really stood out with this: the Blue Bombers and Roughriders combined for just seven penalties and 60 yards — three for 35 yards by Winnipeg and four for 25 yards by Saskatchewan. That’s almost shockingly impressive and was part of what made Saturday damn good entertainment continued to so many other preseason tilts.

3 We touched on this in the game recap, but 16 different Blue Bombers receivers were targeted, with 15 making at least one catch. Going forward this is easily going to be the most intriguing positional battle. With Nic Demski, Dalton Schoen and Kevens Clercius assured spots, what happens to those next two vacancies will be determined in the practices ahead and the final preseason game this Friday in Regina.

SO MANY STORYLINES... emerging from the game including the work of rookie safety Cam Allen, who had an interception, and the second-half performances of running back Quinton Cooley and Artopoeus, the QB.

Cam Allen

Artopoeus entered the game with 3:16 left and rushed for 10 yards on his first play before finishing with five completions in six attempts and leading the offence to a field goal.

“It was awesome. Coaches really took care of me and my teammates really helped out,” Artopoeus said. “They were giving me little pointers and whatnot, and the receivers ran great routes, some great catches, too, because I had some off the mark and they were able to make up for it.”

Asked what he’s learned from being in the QB room with Collaros, Streveler and Wilson, he added, “I think the better question is what haven’t I learned from them, honestly. You come into a new game. You’ve got an extra down, the field is a little wider, obviously three downs… there’s a bunch of differences so having a bunch of veterans being able to help out and be willing to help out is really awesome.”

Cooley, meanwhile, was just signed in early May after playing the last two years at Liberty University, where he had 2,655 yards and 29 touchdowns, adding just seven receptions. He led the Blue Bombers in rushing with 36 yards on five carries and in receiving yards with 36 on two receptions.

“That was very fun,” said Cooley. My first pro game and that’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to play pro and that dream is accomplished now. I’m so thankful of this team for giving me that opportunity. I just want to show them that I love the game. I want to show that each and every day — I love the game, and I want to fight for my brothers and compete.”

Asked what this camp and the first preseason game has taught him about himself, he added, “It’s taught me that I can do more than I thought I could. Coming out of college there were a lot of doubts about whether I could catch and whether I could run routes, so just getting the chance from Coach Hogan to prove I could run routes out of the backfield has really showed me I’ve got more stuff in the tank.

“That’s been great. I mean, that was the first today that I’ve ever caught a screen pass… and it actually worked. I wasn’t a receiving back in college; I was more of a workhorse. It was all about running downhill and carrying the ball 25-30 times. So, to show (the receiving) side of my game was really good.”

AND FINALLY… thanks again for reading this far. And a reminder, the next home game for the five-time defending West Division champs is coming soon: