Game Preview | Week 2 at OTT

THE 4-1-1

Kicking off: Friday 6:30 p.m. CT, TD Place, Ottawa, ON
TV: TSN; ESPN2
Radio: 680 CJOB
House/Street: The Blue Bombers were 4-3 in the regular season last year; Ottawa was home 1-6.
BetRegal.ca odds: The Blue Bombers are favored by 2.5 points. Click here for more numbers from BetRegal on this game.
stripes: Winnipeg: 1W; Ottawa: 1L
Remarkable: Since Ottawa’s return to the league in 2014, the RedBlacks have been 4-1-2 in their home games, the best winning percentage in the entire league.

The QBs

• Ottawa will start veteran Jeremiah Masoli. He’s 27-25 in career starts, including a 3-5 record against the Blue Bombers.
• Winnipeg field Zach Collaros behind center. He is 47-34 in his career and now 18-2 in his games as a starter at Winnipeg, including playoffs and two Gray Cup wins.

The trainers

Winnipeg: Mike O’Shea: 68-55. O’Shea’s 68 victories as Blue Bombers head coach ranks third on the club’s all-time list, behind only Bud Grant (102) and Cal Murphy (86).

Ottawa: Paul LaPolice: 19-40, with 16 of those wins coming during his tenure as Blue Bombers head coach from 2010-12, including an East Division crown and a Gray Cup berth in 2011.

Blue Roster Shuffle

The Bombers depth map features three changes from the season opener a week ago. Coming on board are all-star defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, global defensive back Souleymane Karamoko and quarterback Joe Mancuso.

Out this week are quarterback Dakota Prukop, linebacker Jesse Briggs, and linebacker Malik Clements. Clements and OL Liam Dobson are now on the one-game injury list, while Prukop and Briggs have been moved to the six-game injury list.

Blue Bomber Spotlight: SB Greg Ellingson

As for debuts, Ellingson’s first blue and gold game was an A+ as he finished with six catches for 74 yards and a TD. There’s also a sense that this is just the beginning of things. Here’s Collaros on the veteran receiver:

“Greg has a very high football IQ. He has played in many different systems. He has played against various defenses in this league for a long time. He really understands where we’re attacking and what we’re trying to do and if something goes wrong he has a great knowledge of where the guys are on the field and where he should land. I can’t say enough good things about Greg. It really starts with how smart he is and how much he understands what we’re trying to do.

He’s seen a lot of different things, I’ve seen a lot of different things, so it’s really easy to communicate with him like it’s with a lot of our guys because we have a lot of experience. He’s a great soccer player, not just with his material things, but also with his intangible things that he brings to the ring. It was a pleasure to have him around.”

FYI

• The 380 yards thrown by Jeremiah Masoli last week was the seventh-highest total in his career and his 32nd^nd 300 meter performance. Among active QBs, that ranks behind only Trevor Harris (38) and Bo Levi Mitchell (35).
• All four home teams won in the CFL’s opening week: Winnipeg, BC, Saskatchewan and Calgary, which was the first time since 2006.
• The RedBlacks announced Thursday that less than 2,500 remain for their home game against the Blue Bombers. Capacity at TD Place in Ottawa is 24,000.
• Marc Liegghio was two for two on his field goal attempts last week. Winnipeg only managed to perfect in the field goal department once in their last 10 games of the regular season last year.

milestone clock

• LB Adam Bighill needs 17 more tackles to overtake former Blue Bombers LB Greg Battle and move up to eighth on the all-time CFL list. Bighill is at 750, Battle has retired with 766 career tackles.
• Rec Greg Ellingson extended his current receiving streak to 71 straight games last week and also surpassed the 8,000 mark in career receiving yards.

rally time

This from CFL stats guru Steve Daniel: Dru Brown’s work in helping lead the Blue Bombers to victory last week was the first time the No. 2 QB has done so since Robert Marve for a win in Calgary came on November 1, 2014. The other six game-winning drives in the fourth quarter, led by No. 2 Blue Bomber QBs from the Past, written by Justin Goltz (2012), Alex Brink (2011), Steven Jyles (2010), Ryan Dinwiddie (2008), Pat Barnes (2002) and Troy Kopp (1998)

ICYMI

The CFL fined RedBlack’s DB Sherrod Baltimore for his high hit on Winnipeg receiver Dalton Schoen.

Buckle up

The Winnipeg defense gave up 243 yards, 12 first downs and 11 points in the first half of last week’s win. In the second half, they forced Ottawa to five two-and-outs and three turnovers in seven possessions, just six first downs, while scoring just two field goals.