Blue Bombers attack line wants to strike first against BC

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Patrick Neufeld wants to strike the first blow this week.

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Not literally, of course. Something like that would result in him being sent off on Friday at the Blue Bombers’ home game against the BC Lions (1:1).

But figuratively speaking, he and the rest of the Blue Bombers offensive line would rather strike first than get beat up, which is what happened during the first two weeks of the CFL regular season.

“We just have to get back to that physical feeling that people here are used to,” Neufeld said after Winnipeg’s closed practice on Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium.

Winnipeg’s top five players have made a name for themselves with their combative and ruthless style of play.

“The relentless ability to hit someone play after play and not give in in any situation,” Neufeld described it.

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Four consecutive Grey Cup appearances and two championship rings were exactly what allowed veteran pivot Zach Collaros to ruthlessly play through the secondaries and shatter the defensive lines of running back Brady Oliveira – and before him, Andrew Harris.

But an 0-2 start in 2024 has raised doubts about whether this new lineup – which still features three of the league’s best, Neufeld, Stanley Bryant and Chris Kolankowski – can get the job done.

So far, this is not the case.

Collaros has yet to throw a touchdown pass, in part due to the pressure he feels from the lack of pass defense.

Collaros has a league-low efficiency rating of 60.3%, a completion rate of 54.7% (last place), and a touchdown-interception ratio of 0:3.

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Collaros has taken a lot of the blame with several balls thrown too far or too short, especially on targets in the end zone.

It is difficult to be precise under pressure, although Collaros has shown skill in such moves in the past.

The running game has also taken a back seat by Winnipeg’s standards. The team averages just 67 yards per game and 3.7 yards per run, numbers that are at the bottom of the CFL.

This is all strange here, but perhaps understandable.

Oliveira, who rushed for over 1,500 yards last season, is injured and missed the entire training camp. Neufeld also did not play in training camp and the team is working with two new faces on the offensive line: Liam Dobson and Eric Lofton.

“The guys just come in and we try to find the right timing together,” Bryant said.

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Bryant didn’t want to make excuses for the guys missing training camp or new guys trying to build chemistry between them, but it’s the reality.

Dobson is no newcomer to the system, having been a backup for the past two years after being drafted third overall by the Bombers in 2021.

Lofton now has 24 games of CFL experience, including 15 last season in Saskatchewan, and was with Winnipeg in 2022.

But replacing Jermarcus Hardrick and Geoff Gray comes with growing pains.

“When we had the lineup we’ve had the last few years, I think we took it for granted when we could have gone out on a short week, let’s say, and not had the same amount of preparation time,” Neufeld said. “It’s just the nature of having two guys that didn’t start with that group. It’s different.”

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“And it wasn’t fair to Liam and Eric that I missed camp. But that’s the way it goes. We just have to work harder in practice and in the film room to make sure we get as close to the same point as possible, and we’re doing a good job of that now.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea doesn’t seem worried.

“Mistakes happen,” he said Wednesday. “But it’s really not a long list of big mistakes. There are just a few things they would have liked to improve on in the last game.”

“They are working to get back to the standard they want after a few guys missed a camp. The foundation is there. There are just a few things that need to be worked out.”

Oliveira misses third training session in a row, Nichols also

Winnipeg’s injury report on Wednesday showed that Oliveira (knee) and defensive back Deatrick Nichols (shoulder) were out, the latter of whom was injured in Winnipeg’s loss at Ottawa in Week 2.

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The respective status of both for Friday’s game is listed as questionable.

Before the list was released, O’Shea said neither of them would need to train to play against the Lions.

But O’Shea did not seem very optimistic about Oliveira when asked about it.

“Well, we’ll see how he feels later today,” O’Shea said, adding that Oliveira was currently on his way to another training/therapy session.

“He’s working his ass off. I don’t know where that will take him on (Thursday) morning. We always give him the benefit of the doubt.”

The Bombers will conduct their walkthrough on Thursday.

All-Star receiver Dalton Schoen, meanwhile, fully participated for the second consecutive day and is listed as available.

The same goes for punter Jamieson Sheahan, who did not participate on Tuesday.

This allowed his teammates to cheer on 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman Devin Adams, who showed off his leg after taking on those duties in college.

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X: @scottbilleck

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