Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg at Montreal November 1, 2025

[Pete]

How Lawson jr is on and not Jenkins is ridiculas, another example of how OShea won't play rookies unless he's forced to. And you wonder why our young talent goes elsewhere when contracts expire.
Anderson is a very mobile qb . having the extra speed Jenkins would bring would be an asset. Also think that Petersen will be in ,  how do you play Demski when he can't even practice, on a hamstring injury it's just a recipe for reinjury

[Sir Blue and Gold]

It's another week of the 12 steamboat defense.

[Blue In BC]

How Lawson jr is on and not Jenkins is ridiculas, another example of how OShea won't play rookies unless he's forced to. And you wonder why our young talent goes elsewhere when contracts expire.
Anderson is a very mobile qb . having the extra speed Jenkins would bring would be an asset. Also think that Petersen will be in ,  how do you play Demski when he can't even practice, on a hamstring injury it's just a recipe for reinjury

O'Shea is playing Munier-Bailey and he's a rookie so your statement is incorrect.

Lawson sees a lot of reps on defence since Griffin has been off the roster. We don't want Vaval forced into a dual role but Lawson is a better DB at the moment as well.

The Demski question is valid but it's win or go home. Giving him maximum time to not push the injury may or may not pay off. I expected a GTD but that is just semantics. I don't see a viable choice, so expect him to play.

I don't see the non practising as a specific issue per se. He knows the offence and route trees. Having said that I did wonder if that's what caused the injury after not practising when he was waiting for the birth of his child. Moot at this point.

[gobombersgo]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers list Nic Demski as game-time decision for East Semi-Final
By John Hodge -October 31, 2025

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have listed Canadian receiver Nic Demski as a game-time decision for the East Semi-Final.

The five-foot-eleven, 212-pound target suffered a hamstring injury against the Edmonton Elks in Week 19, which caused him to miss the final two games of the regular season. He did not participate in practice with the club this week and was listed as doubtful on the team's final injury report.

The 31-year-old finished the season as Winnipeg's leading receiver, making 67 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns over 16 starts at slotback.

The native of Winnipeg, Man. has caught 494 passes for 6,285 yards and 42 touchdowns over 152 regular-season CFL games as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Blue Bombers. The former first-round CFL draft pick out of the University of Manitoba has reached 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.

Winnipeg has made nine changes to their roster this week as Zach Collaros, Brady Oliveira, Ontaria Wilson, Stanley Bryant[/b], Willie Jefferson, James Vaughters, Redha Kramdi, and Trey Vaval have been moved to the active roster alongside Demski.

Those who have come off the active roster include Chris Streveler, Matthew Peterson, Cam Echols, Micah Vanterpool, Ethan Vibert, Matthew Jaworski, Kydran Jenkins, Jake Kelly, and Peyton Logan. Streveler is the only removal who is injured, as he suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in last week's regular-season finale.

The Blue Bombers have also made one change to their starting lineup as Joey Corcoran is listed as the starter at field-side wide receiver over Kevens Clercius.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-8) will visit the Montreal Alouettes (10-8) in the East Semi-Final at Percival Molson Stadium on Saturday, November 1 with kickoff slated for 2:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at Princess Auto Stadium in the final week of the regular season as the Blue Bombers came away with a 19-10 victory.

The weather forecast in Montreal calls for a high of 8 degrees with rain. The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS, and CTV in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and TSN 690 in Montreal.

https://3downnation.com/2025/10/31/winnipeg-blue-bombers-list-nic-demski-as-game-time-decision-for-east-semi-final/

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Ok, no Griffin which surprises me but Lawson has been playing well and is healthy. Taking off Peterson doesn't sound wise.

I thought Jenkins would make the AR but we choose Munier-Bailey. We could have kept Jenkins as well, but then Lawson probably gets bumped.

Not the worst roster we've had but concern is still the health of Demski and whatever is happening with Clercius and Corcoran.

I thought they might go with Bailey over Jenkins just because he has a better understanding of the playbook, rushing the QB is important but containing him is a high priority in Younger's defence, thus the low overall sack numbers.

As for Demski, why bother, play it straight.

[gobombersgo]

[Jesse]

How Lawson jr is on and not Jenkins is ridiculas, another example of how OShea won't play rookies unless he's forced to. And you wonder why our young talent goes elsewhere when contracts expire.
Anderson is a very mobile qb . having the extra speed Jenkins would bring would be an asset. Also think that Petersen will be in ,  how do you play Demski when he can't even practice, on a hamstring injury it's just a recipe for reinjury

Is there a single example of our "young talent" going elsewhere?

Younger spoke today about how complicated our D is. So many different formations. It probably really is tough for young players to learn their assignments. And again, the D has been very successful at shutting down opponents. They are doing their job.

As for Demski, I agree. I hope we don't see him trying to tough it out.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Montreal is going with a 7 Canadians, 3 on defense, 4 on offense and they're going to use the designated rules to limit snaps by them regardless of if Ugawak plays or not. Lots of free snaps for Shawn Lemon therefore.

On the other hand, we're showing 9 starting Canadians, refusing to use the designated rule, and by this roster are affirming:

A) Corcoran, Clercius and Cobb are better than Dillon Mitchell (who would have to be rostered at the expense of Lawson Jr, Woodbey, Ayers).
B) Dexter Lawson Jr. is better than Jaworski, Jenkins and Adams, and Person.
C) The best we can come up with on defense is a interior defensive rotation of: Thomas, Lawson and Woods,
D) Vaughters and Jefferson can deliver enough pressure and contain to make a difference.

Call me skeptical.

[Jesse]

Montreal is going with a 7 Canadians, 3 on defense, 4 on offense and they're going to use the designated rules to limit snaps by them regardless of if Ugawak plays or not. Lots of free snaps for Shawn Lemon therefore.

On the other hand, we're showing 9 starting Canadians, refusing to use the designated rule, and by this roster are affirming:

A) Corcoran, Clercius and Cobb are better than Dillon Mitchell (who would have to be rostered at the expense of Lawson Jr, Woodbey, Ayers).
B) Dexter Lawson Jr. is better than Jaworski, Jenkins and Adams, and Person.
C) The best we can come up with on defense is a interior defensive rotation of: Thomas, Lawson and Woods,
D) Vaughters and Jefferson can deliver enough pressure and contain to make a difference.

Call me skeptical.

Which if these things do you have an issue with at this time of year? Other than your view point that Canadian=bad?

Demski is hurt and Mitchell has never shown anything, unfortunately. It was an off season miss but not much to do about it now.

I would personally have rostered an extra DE over that extra DB but that's seemingly not how our defensive works with multiple substitutions across the LBs and secondary. It has been working though. Our defense has held up their end if the offence would stop turning the ball over.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Which if these things do you have an issue with at this time of year? Other than your view point that Canadian=bad?

Demski is hurt and Mitchell has never shown anything, unfortunately. It was an off season miss but not much to do about it now.

I would personally have rostered an extra DE over that extra DB but that's seemingly not how our defensive works with multiple substitutions across the LBs and secondary. It has been working though. Our defense has held up their end if the offence would stop turning the ball over.

It's just interesting to see how Montreal deploys their roster compared to us. Clearly they have some very different ideas than we do and for all intents and purposes are going to play about 6.5 Canadians after Lemon gets in there compared to our 9.

We'll see. Why on earth we can't start Woods instead of Thomas and go with 8 Canadians is beyond imagining but I guess he gets to drive the struggle bus right to the end no matter how bad it gets. Why we need three backup American coverage linebackers also is incredibly confusing but I guess showcasing Younger's wizardy is more important than keeping defense ends fresh and trying to hit the QB.

[gobombersgo]

Shawn Lemon returns to Montreal Alouettes' lineup for East Semi-Final
By 3Down Staff -October 31, 2025

The Montreal Alouettes are bringing one of the CFL's best-ever pass rushers back into the lineup for the first round of the playoffs.

Shawn Lemon, who was re-signed by the Alouettes in July after being suspended for more than a year with a gambling violation and later banned substance infraction, will make his  return to the lineup after last playing in Week 14. The 37-year-old played in five games this year, recording seven defensive tackles and a sack, but has been a healthy scratch since early September.

The move comes as defensive end Lwal Uguak is a game-time decision with an ankle issue and the Alouettes lose defensive tackle Mustafa Johnson to a shoulder injury suffered in the regular-season finale. The 26-year-old has made nine defensive tackles and two sacks in seven games this year since returning from injury. Dylan Wynn will start in his place and rookie Kori Roberson Jr. will dress as insurance.

East Division all-star receiver Tyler Snead (shoulder), right guard Donald Ventrelli (ankle), cornerback Lorenzo Burns (load management), and returner James Letcher Jr. will all be back in the lineup after sitting out the finale, while Canadian running back Sean Thomas-Erlington (neck) is returning to the fold in a backup capacity after sitting out since Week 14. Veteran offensive lineman Landon Rice will dress as a backup after being signed earlier this week.

Out for the the first round of the playoffs with injury is defensive back Ciante Evans (ankle), while receiver Alexander Hollins and offensive lineman Jesse Gibbon are healthy scratches. Defensive back Robert Kennedy III, linebacker Riley MacLeod, running back Tiyon Evans, and offensive lineman Des Holmes have been placed on the practice roster.

The Montreal Alouettes (10-8) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-8) in the East Semi-Final at Percival Molson Stadium on Saturday, November 1 with kickoff slated for 2:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at Princess Auto Stadium in the final week of the regular season as the Blue Bombers came away with a 19-10 victory.

The weather forecast in Montreal calls for a high of 8 degrees with mainly cloudy conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS, and CTV in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and TSN 690 in Montreal.

https://3downnation.com/2025/10/31/shawn-lemon-returns-to-montreal-alouettes-lineup-for-east-semi-final/

[blue_gold_84]

I hope Sean Lemon steps on a LEGO between now and gametime.

[Pete]

Is there a single example of our "young talent" going elsewhere?

Younger spoke today about how complicated our D is. So many different formations. It probably really is tough for young players to learn their assignments. And again, the D has been very successful at shutting down opponents. They are doing their job.

As for Demski, I agree. I hope we don't see him trying to tough it out.

how about ford, Dobson. Garbutt, even Fox. As for Munier playing he isn't replacing a vet but another rookie in Person.

[theaardvark]

It's just interesting to see how Montreal deploys their roster compared to us. Clearly they have some very different ideas than we do and for all intents and purposes are going to play about 6.5 Canadians after Lemon gets in there compared to our 9.

We'll see. Why on earth we can't start Woods instead of Thomas and go with 8 Canadians is beyond imagining but I guess he gets to drive the struggle bus right to the end no matter how bad it gets. Why we need three backup American coverage linebackers also is incredibly confusing but I guess showcasing Younger's wizardy is more important than keeping defense ends fresh and trying to hit the QB.

Ratio is not just starters, its AR spots.  And listing Lawson as starter on Dline, you know, means nothing.  He will be on field for run plays, Woods comes in for pass plays.  You can't designate a player position as "rotation", Thomas/Woods per se.

Depending on the game calling by the Als, and the situations, Woods may get double the snaps Thomas gets, as the "backup".  And listing him as an extra Nat starter give flexibility to the roster.

With 9 NAT starters, any 2 of them can be out on any play and still not affect ratio.  But once we go with one or two less NATS on one side of the ball, the other side of the ball must maintain the projected number of NATS, so I can see each side dropping one Nats for certain plays.

[theaardvark]

how about ford, Dobson. Garbutt, even Fox. As for Munier playing he isn't replacing a vet but another rookie in Person.

We got outbid for Ford and Dobson.  Fox wasn't offered a contract.