Landry: Bombers, Stamps both have plenty to prove

Don Landry

CFL.ca

@CFLLandry

It’s been a long time since the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had something to prove but here we are, ladies and gentlemen.

And Brady Oliveira wants to be the one to hammer the point home when they do prove it. The star running back wants to be the key to leading the Bombers to their first win of the season after an 0-3 start and an uncomfortable spot at the bottom of the West Division standings just ahead of the 0-4 Edmonton Elks.

“I’m hungry,” Oliveira told reporters after Bombers’ practice earlier this week. “I’m motivated. I wanna get back out there and get back to our style of play.

“You saw a glimpse of it last week,” he added, alluding to Winnipeg’s 26-24 loss to the BC Lions.

To Oliveira — and to lots of observers as well — “our” style of play would see the 26-year-old return to being the featured element in the Winnipeg attack in Saturday’s game against the 1-1 Calgary Stampeders, a team looking for some of its own proof in this game, after their own loss to the Lions in Week 2 followed by a bye in Week 3.

After being held in check by the Montreal Alouettes in the season opener — 11 carries for just 38 yards — Oliveira missed a Week 2 loss in Ottawa with a knee injury, returning to the lineup last week where he hit the depth chart at No. 2, behind Johnny Augustine.

The 2023 West Division Most Outstanding Player nominee (1,534 yards rushing and 482 more in receptions) rushed nine times against the Lions, for 64 yards. His average production, then, was a step up from his Montreal performance, but with nary a target to be had in the passing game there was little satisfaction for a workhorse who wants to pull a fully-loaded wagon.

Oliveira has made no secret of his disappointment in not being front and centre when the Bombers’ offence has been on the field in 2024, straining at the bit to be the focal point.

“Guys that wanna make plays need opportunities,” he said, not really attempting to veil his desire to be more involved.

With injuries to the receiving corps, Brady Oliveira could feature even more prominently than usual in the Bombers’ game plan (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)

“I do think I need some carries,” continued Oliveira, who averaged 16.5 touches per game last season, and 11.5 per game so far in 2024. “I need to get back to that workload of, you know, ‘You can rely on me.’ I’m built for that workload. I’m built to get 15 to 20 touches a game. Or more if needed.”

This week you’d expect things might get busier for the dual-threat back, if it’s possible that is. It’s not merely a function of desire, after all, no matter how hungry a guy is.

I like to point out, from time to time, the rather obvious — yet somehow so often overlooked — notion that we should not forget that the other team is trying really, really hard to prevent you from doing what you want.

When it comes to the case of his anxious running back, Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea puts it in these terms:

“If some team’s gonna load the box up completely, we’re not gonna forfeit a win because our plan said, ‘Here’s what we want to do,’” said O’Shea.

In other words, if the Calgary Stampeders decide the best way to maximize their chances for a win means negating Winnipeg’s splendid running back then somebody else will probably have to make some big plays.

And what about those Stampeders, anyway? With a chance to add some more misery onto the Winnipeg pile, head coach Dave Dickenson is wary of taking the defending West Division champs lightly, and hopeful that his team can take steps forward after a bye the coach would rather not have had, given the timing.

“You get started and then you’re in pit row,” said Dickenson earlier this week. “You’re watching everybody else. I don’t think that was a great feeling.”

The Stamps are eager to show that the improvements that are in evidence so far this season – compared to last year when they managed to sneak into a playoff spot with a 6-12 record – can be built upon.

They’d like to carry on a home journey that started well in Week 1 with a victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Dickenson talked this week about making McMahon Stadium a difficult place for visitors to play once again. Last season the team went just 3-6 at home.

With his own comments, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier illustrated that Dickenson’s message in that regard has been received.

“If you want to be a great CFL team, a deep playoff team, a team that contends for a championship,” Maier said, “you have to win your home games. No other way around it.”

The Stampeders, then, have something to prove to themselves, as well as to others.

The Bombers have something of their own to prove, outsiders say, and not without legitimacy. To hear their hungry-for-the-ball running back tell it, though, not so much to themselves.

“I’m not worried about what this team can accomplish,” said Oliveira, the star who just knows he’s the team’s ticket out of the doldrums.

“We’ll get back to it.”

All that’s left to do is prove it.

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