EDMONTON — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers look to extend their win streak to seven wins to open the year when they visit the Edmonton Elks on Friday night.
Winnipeg is coming off a hard fought 26-19 win over Calgary in Week 6, while Edmonton defeated Montreal 32-31 to claim their second win of the season.
The Blue Bombers are well tested as of late, matching up against undefeated opponents in back-to-back weeks, earning wins over Calgary in Week 6 and the BC Lions in Week 5.
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Against Calgary, it was a receiver Carlton Agudosi, who shone for the Bombers offence in his CFL debut. Agudosi caught six passes for 70 yards and capped the performance two impressive touchdown catches to help his team in the win.
The Blue Bombers receiver room also boasts the likes of Rasheed Bailey, Drew Wolitarsky and rookie Dalton Schoen, as Friday’s matchup will prove to be a test for an Edmonton team that has allowed a league high 220 points.
Greg Ellingson leads the team with 518 receiving yard and was honoured by the CFL as a top performer for his 11 catches and 152 yards against the Stamps. However, according to the team’s injury report, he has been listed as out for Friday’s game.
Getting the ball to the talented group of receivers will be left up to Zach Collaros, who’s coming off a 315 yard, two touchdown performance against Calgary. The two-time Grey Cup champion leads the league with 1,536 passing yards, which poses yet another issue for the Elks defensive secondary.
Edmonton has also yielded a league worst 837 yards on the ground this season. They’ll have to deal with running backs, Brady Oliveira and Johnny Augustine who have combined for 341 rushing yards and a touchdown this season.
The Bombers secondary stepped up and held Bo Levi Mitchell to a 42.9 pass completion percentage a week ago. Defensive back Demerio Houston picked off a Mitchell pass that slipped through the fingers of Kamar Jorden in the end zone late in the game to close out the victory.
Houston won’t be the only defensive back that Elks’ quarterback Taylor Cornelius will need to be aware of. Nick Taylor leads the Blue and Gold with three interceptions on the year, to pair alongside his 23 defensive tackles.
Blue Bombers defensive coordinator Richie Hall’s defence is second in turnovers forced (17), second in rushing yards allowed (73.7) and tied for first in interceptions (nine), but when the ball is kicked off it’s about one thing, keeping points off the board.
“I’m not a stats person, but I do know this, how many points do you score, how many points do you give up? That’s what decides who wins football games,” Hall told BlueBombers.com. “We don’t want to give up a lot of yards but, more importantly, if you don’t give up a lot of points it increases your chances of winning football games.”
Hall’s defence will be faced with an Elks offence featuring Cornelius, who was impressive in his Week 6 season debut. Cornelius threw for 230 yards and a touchdown as he filled in for the injured Tre Ford.
What was most impressive was his ability to lead a fourth quarter comeback with his team trailing 31-18. It’s the type of resiliency he’ll need to have against the Bombers if they hope to upset the defending Grey Cup champions.
While Cornelius will need to have a keen sense of where the defensive backs are, the pass defence has been an area of weakness for Winnipeg. They’ve surrendered a second worst 1,754 passing yards, or an average of 292.3 per game. Cornelius will attempt to get the ball to the Elks usual targets, Kenny Lawler and Emmanuel Arceneaux early and often.
According to the team’s injury report, receiver Derel Walker is out and will be replaced by Hakeem Butler.
Lawler, like Winnipeg’s Ellingson, was named a CFL top performer for his Week 6 game. He brought down seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. The star receiver will be facing his former team for the first time.
Running back James Wilder Jr. will miss his fourth straight game Friday night and backup Sherman Badie will also be out according to the team’s depth chart. That means Maleek Irons, who was brought in by Edmonton after being release by Hamilton last week, will draw the starting assignment.
The Elks defence has been a lot better against the pass than the run. Opponents have put together 265.5 passing yards per game against them this season, a mark that is fourth best. On the ground, it’s been a different story as their 139.5 yards allowed per game is last in the league.
Defensive back Ed Gainey and linebacker Adam Konar both intercepted passes against the Als in Week 6, while linebacker Malik Tyne recorded a sack.
Callaros has thrown just three interceptions and the Bombers have kept him well-protected to start the year, giving up just three sacks. It’ll take a full team effort to hold Collaros and the Bombers offence in check, but Edmonton head coach Chris Jones knows his team is in for a tough test.
“They’re playing really good football,” Jones told GoElks.com. “They’re well coached in all phases. All three phases they have veteran people who have been around the league a long time. They don’t beat themselves, they play hard and force a lot of turnovers.”
Winnipeg will put their winning streak on the line against an Alberta opponent for the second straight week. The Elks are looking to inch their way back into the West Division race with a win on home field.
Kickoff in Edmonton is set for 9:00p.m. ET and the game can be seen on TSN and can be followed along on CFL.ca’s Game Tracker.
– With files from BlueBombers.com and GoElks.com
