August 14, 2021

Bombers high-flying offence feels it still has more to prove

Jason Halstead/CFL.ca

WINNIPEG — For the second time in as many weeks, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were victorious in large part due to the successes they have found through the air.

Racking up over 500 passing yards in two games with a pair of touchdowns in both, Zach Collaros and the Bombers have been putting their offence on display. Still, Saturday night’s win is one that Collaros, while happy with, feels that the margin of victory could have been larger.

“We left some points out there that really could have put the game out of reach,” said Collaros. “If we could put the game out of reach, let’s obviously try and do that.”

Collaros and the offence were humming on offence when throwing the ball. Be it that Toronto’s defensive front shut down their ability to get the game going on the ground, Collaros did what he does best: Throw the ball. He connected with his receivers on 80 per cent of his passes, going 32-40 for 292 yards.

That said, Toronto was able to clamp down on the Winnipeg receivers once the field was condensed. This saw the Bombers be forced to settle for field goals both in the second quarter after Collaros was brought down by Chris Edwards and late in the fourth quarter to get them to their winning 20 points.

It wasn’t just Collaros who believed that the unit could be better as Nic Demski issued the same sentiment.

“I know that we hold ourselves to a high standard,” said Demski. “I know I have some stuff, personally, that I have to fix up in different aspects of my game. I’m not going to beat myself up too hard about it, but at the end of the day, there’s definitely some things I have to work on and get better at. We won today so I’m going to celebrate tonight.”

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While scoring touchdowns has been nothing new for Collaros and Demski throughout their careers, the same can’t be said for Rasheed Bailey, who hauled in the first of his career on Friday.

“That touchdown, it symbolizes everything,” said Bailey. “My hard work, my dedication. I love my teammates, man, they made it special…they know how hard I have been working for that moment and it was special.”

The 28-year-old is in his second season with the Bombers and has 72 receiving yards so far this season. Previously, he spent time with a handful of NFL organizations and the BC Lions before finding a home in Winnipeg, a place he is really excited to be.

“This is what you want to be doing, this is where you want to be,” he said. “For me to be in this position, this is the best position I’ve been in my whole career. Being able to go out and score touchdowns, celebrate, throw the ball before the game with the fans, that’s what it’s all about. I’m just taking every moment in and just appreciating every second of it.”

The Blue Bombers’ offence will look to keep this hot steak going as they play their second stint of a home-and-home with the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field on Saturday.

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