Brady Oliveira eyes NFL as Blue Bombers clean out lockers, reflect on lingering Grey Cup ache

The clang of empty hangers in empty stalls was loud enough to be heard in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers dressing room on Tuesday morning as downcast players packed up their belongings, still hurting from Sunday’s Grey Cup defeat.

“Still sad. That ain’t going to change for a while,” said linebacker Adam Bighill, who played limited time with an injury.

“It’s just frustrating I didn’t have the ability to be in every single down throughout the game, playing like I normally play.”

Bighill suffered a calf injury in the western final on Nov. 11 and didn’t finish that game. He said Tuesday that the typical recovery time for the injury is four to six weeks.

It wasn’t until Saturday that he figured he might be able to see some action in the big game, which the Montreal Alouettes ultimately won 28-24 thanks to a last-minute touchdown drive.

“The plan wasn’t to go in there and play every single snap. The plan was to go in there and play a role, so I think we executed that,” he said.

The decision to play was the right one, he said, even through he was beat by a receiver in the third quarter for a Montreal TD that narrowed Winnipeg’s lead to three points.

Bighill called that play a miscommunication on the Bombers defence, noting it’s unusual for a linebacker to cover a receiver down the field.

“Let’s just say I was trying to cover up and help out,” he said.

Mistakes. The Bombers beat themselves by committing too many of them, said running back Brady Oliveira.

He buried his face in his hands and was unable to speak to reporters immediately following Sunday’s loss, but found some words Tuesday, enough to say the pain is still deep.

“I’ll feel like this for quite a while. This one definitely stings a lot more than the last one.”

The reason for that is Montreal’s game was entirely predictable, he said.

“We knew exactly what they were doing. We talked about it all throughout the week … but we didn’t capitalize,” said Oliveira, who ran for 119 yards and a TD.

His performance capped a season in which he was named the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian. He became only the second Canadian in CFL history to rush for 1,500 or more yards and put up 2,000-plus yards from scrimmage.

NFL dreams

Now he wants to take his resumé south, saying he has dreamed of playing in the NFL. His agent is already talking to some teams.

“If it’s in the books, if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. But obviously, this is where I want to be if the NFL doesn’t work out,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Defensive end Willie Jefferson and receiver Dalton Schoen are also hitting free agency.

Jefferson said he hasn’t given any thought to his contract situation but he knows he wants to stay in blue and gold.

“Most definitely, I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. This is where I’m at, this is where I want to be,” he said, but he needs time to think more clearly and get past the rawness of Sunday.

With 1:34 left in that game and the Bombers hanging on to a three-point lead, Montreal marched 70 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Als were pinned at second down and 18 yards and then third and five, but the Winnipeg defence couldn’t stop them.

The clinching TD pass came with 13 seconds left in the game.

“That last drive is going to stick with us,” Jefferson said. “Everybody felt like they could’ve did something better, something different to make the outcome better on our end. That’s usually what we do. We just didn’t execute our plans.

“Hats off to Montreal for getting the ball down the field and doing what they did.”

It’s still tough to swallow what happened, echoed slotback Nic Demski, whose year was marked by milestones.

He became engaged, had a baby and signed a three-year deal with the Bombers. As well, he and Oliveira — both Winnipeggers from the same high school — became the first Canadian teammates in CFL history to record more than 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards, respectively, in the same season.

“All that stuff kind of sinks to the bottom when you don’t get the ultimate goal. That’s kind of where I am right now,” Demski said.

“In these next couple of weeks, when everything kind of winds down and the emotions get off your chest, I’m sure I’ll backtrack and think about what an incredible year it has been.”

Every player acknowledged the next phase of heartache will come as the team figures out who stays and who goes.

Demski would like to see every player back on the roster next season but knows it’s not likely.

“That’s the business side of it. It’s always crappy.”

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said his head is still replaying parts of the game.

“It’s still hard to process [and] you try not to drive yourself crazy,” he said. “We ended the season not winning the Grey Cup. You could say it’s a failure … but it was a great run, the season. We came up short in the final game.”

Collaros, who is under contract for a couple more years, said he plans to spend time in the off-season watching tape and trying to better understand what went wrong.

“It’s not easy. It’s never going to be easy.”