Nic Demski is listed as 'GTD' -- game time decision -- for tonight's game against the Edmonton Elks; photos by Cameron Bartlett
Nic Demski wasn’t in a walking boot. There was no visible sign of a limp, nor did he need a walker to work his way over to a media throng waiting to interview him following Wednesday’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers walk-through practice.
So, the odds of him playing tonight when the Blue Bombers host the Edmonton Elks at Princess Auto Stadium, despite the ‘GTD’ — game time decision — designation beside his name on the depth chart?
“I’d say, ‘high’ but at the end of the day it’s a game-time decision,” said Demski. “We’ll see how I feel (today). Mentally I’m coming in like I’m preparing to play this game, and we’ll take it from there.”
That’s no small thing for Blue Bombers fans, who have their collective fingers crossed they won’t be without another valuable Canadian starter against the Elks, what with Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player/Most Outstanding Canadian Player Brady Oliveira already confirmed to miss his second straight contest with a shoulder injury.
Take him AND Demski out of the offence and, well, let’s just say that wouldn’t be ideal.
Demski led the Blue Bombers in receiving last year with 1,030 yards on 76 catches and including six touchdowns. Over the last two seasons he has posted consecutive 1K seasons while pulling in 143 passes.
“I would never want to downplay Nic because he’s so important to what we do offensively,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “It would throw a wrench into things, I’m sure, just from a play calling perspective of what you can and can’t call. For me, it’s just a guy I’m super familiar with and trust at every level of our scheme. So, it would be tough, for sure, to not have him out there. We’ll see.”
ICYMI, here is our Game Preview:
And follow along here as we present a collection of notes/quotes/anecdotes to help get Blue Bombers up to speed for tonight’s matchup against the Elks in this week’s GAME DAY HQ…
73… AND COUNTING
Demski, FYI, enters tonight with the CFL’s longest active streak of games with at least one reception, now at 73 and counting. The CFL record in that department is an astonishing 216 consecutive games with a reception, set by Saskatchewan’s Don Narcisse over a stretch from 1987-99.
Not that the streak is weighing too heavily on Demski’s mind. Here’s his answer when asked how much he thinks about it:
“Not much. To be honest, I’m a receiver and I should be catching the ball every game. It definitely is pretty cool, though. I’ve played 130 games or something like that and in 70-something in a row I have a catch so that is pretty cool stat when you put in that way. But it’s definitely not something I think about or in the back of my mind when I’m playing or when I am preparing to play.”
“I know what it is,” added Collaros when quizzed about Demski’s streak. “I love Nic, so, yeah I know. He’s going to get a catch. He better get a catch. In all seriousness, Nic doesn’t play that way. He’s one of the more unselfish people I’ve ever been around. He’s the ultimate setting a screen downfield for another player to catch a football guy because he understands coverages so much he knows when he’s getting the ball and not getting the ball. So, the amount of times that he’s assisted on catches for people is countless. He doesn’t play the game that way so I’m half joking about all that.
“He is, in my opinion, if not the best guy we’ve got you’ve got to get the ball in his hands and find ways to get him touches. So, he’s going to have a catch.”
WWWWWWWWWWWW
The Blue Bombers have cranked out 12 straight wins against Edmonton, a streak that has run from 2019 through 2024 and is the longest against any one club in franchise history.
Interestingly, Winnipeg’s last loss to Edmonton came in the regular-season finale in 2018 in which the club rested some regulars in advance of the playoffs.
There’s more: during this 12-game run the margin of victory has been less than 10 points only three times. The average margin of victory — get this — is a whopping 16.7 points.
EMERGING STAR
Blue Bombers receiver Keric Wheatfall leads the club in receiving with 11 catches for 213 yards and a TD through two games. He also leads the CFL in ‘big-play’ receptions — catches of 30 yards or more — with four and ranks sixth in the league in receiving yards despite playing only two games.
“I’m feeling good. It’s about seeing all the hard work we put in now showing out there on the field,” said Wheatfall. “We’re just getting started. We’re all just scratching the surface. We’ve still got a lot more to do to keep this rolling.”
Wheatfall showed flashes in his rookie season, finishing his first CFL game with three catches for 111 yards but then spending the next six weeks on the injured list.
“Last year at this time I was still trying to get a feel for the game,” he said. “Last year at this point in time I was playing almost like a robot as opposed to going out there and playing free. Now my confidence is way up there through the roof. I feel great. My body feels great, and I’ve got a great connection with Zach right now and everything is playing out how it’s supposed to go.
“He trusts me 100 percent. It started off in camp. We have certain reads where we have a certain route but if we see the defence move into a certain coverage I have to angle my route this way. Zach and I are on point with that. So, are me and Strev (Chris Streveler). With both quarterbacks we now have a great connection and we’re showing it to the whole CFL.”
FORD X2
The Blue Bombers will meet dangerous QB Tre Ford for a third time as a starter — he is 0-2 so far — and will see a familiar face in his twin brother Tyrell, who exited Winnipeg for Edmonton in free agency after an all-star season here.
“He was absolutely terrific for us last year and I’m sure he’s going to be terrific for Edmonton again. We’ve got to know where he is on the field,” said O’Shea of Tyrell.
“Elite athleticism. Good growth through his time here in terms of his vision, how he sees the game, how he played the game, always improving in terms of his physicality and tackling. He’s certainly become more of a complete player.”
Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson spoke of Tre’s athleticism and his ability to extend plays with his legs and be especially dangerous outside of the tackles. The key to stopping that?
“As long as we can keep him in the pocket and make him a pocket passer, we should have a good turn out,” he said. “The guys we have on our defensive front, we’re going to try and get to him as best as we can early and often and give him some problems.
“We’ve got to read our keys, do what we need to do, get off the ball, get in his face and make him uncomfortable in the pocket but at the same time keep him in the pocket.”
“HE’S BEEN TERRIFIC”
Trey Vaval only has two CFL games to his name but he’s already making a positive first impression. The rookie defensive back/returner leads the CFL in punt return yards average at 13.7 — his 151 yards is second only to Saskatchewan’s Mario Alford, who has 160 in three games — and he also has 87 yards on three kickoff returns.
This rave review from O’Shea:
“Dedicated to learning our game and the nuances in the CFL return game, committed to attacking the ball, committed to squeezing every yard out of a return. He’s been terrific. There are guys who are highly skilled returners that aren’t active participants in the learning side of the return game. It’s just, ‘Gimmee the ball. Am I going left, am I going right?’ and they let their natural ability take over.
“It’s nice to see Trey, a young guy, who wants to know the answers. He wants to be better. He wants to be able to absorb those and be able to think of those nuances now.”
MILESTONE WATCH
A few items to track for those of you, like me, who are into this stuff…
- Collaros (16,177) needs 115 passing yards to pass Kenny Ploen (16,470) for fourth on the Blue Bombers all-time list behind Dieter Brock (29,623), Khari Jones (20,175) and Kevin Glenn (18,116).
- Demski needs 55 yards to move past Darvin Adams in 10th spot on the Blue Bombers all-time receiving yardage list. Demski is at 4,613; Adams finished his career at 4,667 yards.
