From an unavoidably green-hued perspective, the reflexive takeaway from Friday’s CFL game was that the Saskatchewan Roughriders had lost.
Do not forget, though, that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were victorious.
That may go without saying, but it is easy for an imbalance to skew the perception when there is such a hyper-focus on one of the participants — the one we follow with such devotion and, at times, obsession.
I was reminded of the “it takes two to tango” principle when Craig Dickenson met the media shortly after Winnipeg won 45-27 at Mosaic Stadium to begin Week 2 of the 2023 CFL season.
“Credit to Winnipeg,” the Roughriders’ Head Coach said. “That’s a championship-calibre team that just wears you down and they found a way to grind out the win.”
In an earlier post-game comment, Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris had delivered a bouquet of his own — to his opposite number.
“Zach Collaros is one heck of a football player and I think everybody knows that,” Harris said. “But when you play this position and watch him do what he does, he’s special.”
Collaros has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player for each of the past two seasons and, based on what we witnessed on Friday, he has a head-start on a hat trick.
The Blue Bombers, in general, were nicely positioned for a three-peat before suffering a 24-23 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in last year’s Grey Cup game, played Nov. 20 at Mosaic Stadium.
Collaros was the quarterback of record when Winnipeg won back-to-back championships (in 2019 and 2021) and flirted with CFL supremacy in 2022.
To begin this season, he has completed 44 of 62 passes — a 71-per-cent accuracy rate — for 647 yards, with five touchdowns and nary an interception, for a Bombers team that has outscored the opposition 87-58 over two games.
As well, Collaros has rushed four times for 23 yards and one score. On Friday, he scrambled for two first downs and his other run was for a TD.
So what do you do, really?
Whatever you try against Collaros or the Bombers, they seem to have an answer. That has been the pattern for a few years now.
“Everybody’s trying to beat Winnipeg,” Dickenson said before Friday’s game. “They’re just a well-oiled machine.
“They’re sound in all three phases. They’re well-coached, they’re well-managed, and it’s a bunch of talented players.
“If you look at the top 10 CFL players, according to TSN, and they’ve got six of them, so they’re loaded.”
The Roughriders, by contrast, had only three players listed in the top 50.
Yet, the Green and White gave the Blue Bombers everything they could handle on Friday night, going toe-to-toe with a perennial powerhouse before 28,299 well-entertained spectators — a lively crowd that bought in from the outset.
In effect, it was a statement game for both teams.
The Blue Bombers, still rankled by last year’s Grey Cup loss, underlined their status as a formidable foe. They are the standard by which all CFL teams are judged.
With the Bombers continuing to set the bar, one should note that it has also been raised in Saskatchewan.
With three projected starting receivers out of the lineup, Harris nonetheless threw for 413 yards and three touchdowns. His quarterback-efficiency rating (127.4) virtually mirrored that of Collaros (127.5).
The manner in which Harris operated the offence created a buzz during the game and generated a stream of compliments on the open-line shows.
He started the game by firing completion after completion — often into tight windows — and the excitement was contagious.
Keep in mind, too, that Harris was playing despite a hip injury he had suffered in the latter stages of a season-opening, 17-13 victory over the host Edmonton Elks on June 11.
As well, running back Frankie Hickson left Friday’s game due to an injury after carrying the football on the Roughriders’ first play from scrimmage.
Juwan Brescacin, a starting slotback on Friday, left the game after catching a 24-yard pass from Harris late in the third quarter.
Over the course of the contest, Harris received sound protection despite the absence of two offensive linemen who were expected to start — Jerald Hawkins (who has been away from the team for family reasons) and Philip Blake (torn pectoral muscle).
Even while encountering myriad forms of adversity at this very early juncture in the 2023 season, the Roughriders have demonstrated that they are resourceful and resilient.
It would have been very easy for them to buckle on Friday, given the adverse circumstances and the calibre of the opponent, but that did not occur.
The early-season exercise was constructive, despite the outcome, because the events of Friday night revealed so much about both sides.
If there was any doubt, it is now clear to the Roughriders and every other CFL team outside of Manitoba that a certain standard of performance will be required in order to dethrone the reigning West Division champions.
“They’re a team where if you don’t capitalize on every mistake and you’re not on your P’s and Q’s for a full 60 minutes, they’re going to hurt you,” Harris said.
“They’ve kept their same core of players together for multiple years. When you have that, that’s when you can start to really build a dynasty type of feel.
“I don’t feel like we’re overmatched by any stretch. We’re a good football team and we’re just learning who each other is.
“I really like this team and I think we’re going to like this team even more as the weeks go on and we gel more and more.”
