Blue escape with narrow win

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened the preseason with a narrow 25-23 win over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Bombers survived a late scare by the Elks, blocking a 52-yard field-goal in the dying seconds to seal the win. Winnipeg wraps up the preseason by welcoming the Saskatchewan Roughriders to town on Friday, before kicking off the regular-season at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats a week later, on June 9.

Here are some observations, notes and analysis from the win.

1) There were definitely some eyebrows raised when the Bombers released a veteran-filled roster for the game, including dressing starting quarterback and two-time reigning CFL most outstanding player Zach Collaros. Collaros lasted longer than many would have expected, playing in five series over the first quarter and the first few minutes of the second. It was a slow start, beginning with two of three total two-and-outs with Collaros behind centre, before the Bombers No. 1 pivot eventually found his groove, orchestrating a pair of touchdown drives. Collaros finished the day 5-for-8 passing, for 93 yards and a touchdown – and, most importantly, left the game healthy.

2) The biggest play by Collaros came on his third series, where he connected with Kenny Lawler on a 67-yard strike for a touchdown. Lawler returns to Winnipeg after spending last year with the Elks, and it was a good sign to see Lawler and Collaros on the same page so early. Lawler could very well lead the CFL in receiving yards this season, much like he did in 2021 with Collaros as his QB.

3) Lawler led the Bombers in receiving, catching all three of his targets for 77 yards and the TD. Jeremy Murphy caught both of his targets, totalling 44 yards, including an impressive 34-yard reception (more on that in a bit). Brendan O’Leary-Orange had a team-high six targets, reeling in three for 33 yards, while adding one run for another 10 yards. Rasheed Bailey (11 yards), Jordan Salima (9) and Nic Demski (7) each had one reception.

4) Dru Brown entered the game after Collaros, playing the rest of the second quarter and the Bombers lone drive in the third. The No. 2 pivot had the benefit of playing with the first-team offence until halftime, ending his day completing three of his five pass attempts, totalling just 35 yards.

5) The most impressive showing came from Tyrrell Pigrome, whose performance most certainly makes him the front-runner to become the team’s short-yardage QB. Pigrome’s day couldn’t have started much worse, either, with his first play behind centre resulting in a botched snapped that led to a 17-yard loss. Facing 2nd-and-27, Pigrome dropped back and fired a 34-yard pass to Murphy for the first down. He would cap off the series with an impressive 45-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Bombers up 21-17 early into the fourth quarter. Pigrome went 2-for-4 passing for 43 yards and had a team-high 71 rushing yards and two touchdowns (he punched in a one-yard score) on just five runs. Josh Jones entered the game in the final minutes, playing just two series, finishing 1-for-3 for 10 yards.

6) Outside of Pigrome, the Bombers struggled to generate much in the run game. With starting tailback Brady Oliveira still nursing an undisclosed injury, Johnny Augustine got a majority of reps with the first-team offence. Augustine managed to rack up just seven yards on five carries, though, as the Bombers finished with just 84 total rushing yards.

7) The same can’t be said for the Elks run gam as it was a rather rough day for the Bombers defence. Winnipeg gave up 421 yards of net offence, while generating just 245 yards of its own, including 160 yards on the ground. Kevin Brown, the Elks’ starter, scampered for 55 yards on just four carries – an average of 13.8 yards per run – while Shannon Brooks carried the rock 13 times for a game-high 72 yards. Of their combined 127 yards, 84 of it came against the first-team defence over the first half.

8) Bombers finished with three QB sacks, with Caleb Thomas, Aaron Sterling and Malik Clements registering one each. Thomas might have also got a hand on the potential game-winning field goal.

9) Edmonton opened with No. 1 QB Taylor Cornelius, who finished 6-for-9 passing for 53 yards, before making way for Tre Ford and Kai Locksley. Locksley, who saw the most reps, going 15-for-22 for 183 yards, threw the only passing TD for the Elks – a nine-yard throw to Raphael Leonard that cut the Bombers lead to 25-23 late in the fourth. Edmonton could have tied the game but failed two-point attempt. Ford had 29 rushing yards on seven carries and Edmonton’s only rushing TD, which came on a seven-yard run up the middle, while completing eight of his nine passes for 38 yards. Ford’s rushing score ended a particularly dominating series for the Elks that lasted nearly the first nine minutes of the third quarter.

10) The Bombers were outperformed in several other statistical areas, including first downs (29 to 15), passing yards (284 to 181), 2nd down conversion percentage (55 to 40) and time of possession (36:54 to 20:22). Preseason games are always sloppy, especially a team’s first one, so I wouldn’t put too much stock into the numbers. Still, there are areas for the Bombers to clean up over the next week of practice.

10) Matt Cole, Abu Daramy-Swaray split the punt returns and Cole, Daramy-Swaray and Jordan Salima each got an opportunity to field a kick-off return. Cole averaged 5.7 yards on three punt returns and 12 yards on a pair of kickoffs; Daramy-Swaray totalled seven yards on two punt returns and 40 yards on two kickoffs; and Salima returned one punt for 15 yards. No. 1 returner Janarion Grant is still on the suspended list but is expected to be available by the start of the regular season.

11) Chandler Staton was the lone place kicker in the game. He nailed his only field-goal attempt – a 34-yarder – and went 2-for-2 on one-point converts. Staton also averaged 67.8 yards on four kickoffs, with his longest travelling 73 yards. It won’t be easy to beat out Sergio Castillo but going perfect in your CFL debut certainly helps.

12) Jamieson Sheahan and Karl Schmitz split the punting duties and both did fairly well. Both had four punts each, with Sheahan averaging 48.3 yards per kick compared to Schmitz at 49.5 yards. Marc Liegghio, who didn’t travel to the game, certainly has some competition, and will likely have to impress next week against the Roughriders to keep his job.

13) Speaking of next week, expect the Bombers to sit out several regulars and give many of the newcomers a final chance to make an impression. I don’t imagine Collaros, among many of the team’s stars, even dress, as they’ll use the time to rest and prepare for Week 1 of the regular season.

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Twitter: @jeffkhamilton