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Blue Bombers cornerback Major Williams at practice on Monday; photos by Cameron Bartlett We’ve reached the halfway mark of the Canadian Football League season and ask around for a hot take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — sporting a 5-4 record with a nasty schedule ahead — and the answers coming back range from the polite to the, well, not so polite. Head coach Mike O’Shea referred to his squad as a ‘work in progress’ as the team returned to the practice field Monday following last week’s win over the Ottawa RedBlacks. Veteran receiver Nic Demski talked about the growth in the first half of the season while his quarterback, Zach Collaros, talked about ‘raising whatever ceiling anybody thinks you have, higher.’ Every single assessment above fits, given this bunch is currently in third spot in the West Division and is every bit the picture of a 5-4 squad with some solid Ws offset by some head-scratching losses. All that said, it was first-year cornerback Major Williams who offered an intriguing perspective. He spoke of the defence needing to force more turnovers, of the team needing to play more full games backstopped by contributions of all three phases. He then touched on the need for a greater understanding of situational football, too, especially by the defence. And then he offered this: “We’re right there where we want to be. We’re ascending. It’s a long season but we really think we can still hit and achieve our goals. Everything is still in front of us. “That record, 5-4, it keeps you hungry. We’ve had one win here, one loss there and we’ve been consistently inconsistent. We now have to keep stacking. But I like where we’re at. A lot of times probably have us circled on their calendar, maybe some teams don’t. That doesn’t matter to us. “The teams that are above us, they have the hot seat. We’re the hungry guys coming to get ’em. We’re in the middle of the pack and still shooting for the top.” What is ahead is a nasty chunk of the schedule that now features four games against the three most impressive teams in the CFL through the first half, starting with a trip to Edmonton to face the Elks, first in the West at 7-3 this Friday. That’s followed by a home date with the powerhouse Montreal Alouettes at 8-1, and then the annual home-and-home/Labour Day Classic-Banjo Bowl showdown with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the defending Grey Cup champions and the only other team in the league with a better record than them at 6-3. Worth noting: three of the Blue Bombers last four games down the stretch will come on the road. WHAT’S AHEAD Blue Bombers remaining games: Home (4): vs. Montreal, Aug. 28; vs. Saskatchewan, Sept. 12; ; vs. Toronto, Sept. 25; vs. Calgary, Oct. 10; Road (5): at Edmonton, Aug. 21; at Saskatchewan, Sept. 6; at Montreal, Oct. 3; at Edmonton, Oct. 16; at B.C., Oct. 23 “We are where we’re at and I feel, to me, like we’re in a good spot,” said O’Shea. “It feels, to me, like we’re going to keep adding to the good stuff. We’ve made enough mistakes along the way; we’ve had enough learning experiences — there’s more to come — but I like where we’re at. “Nobody likes the record but in terms of our development and where we’re headed, I try not to spend too much time starting at the record. It’s just how do we keep progressing and if I were to look at this compared to other things I think we’re probably where we need to be. “We are a work in progress, and we always would be at this stage. And on Game 10, just finishing up Game 9, we would always be still working all the way through the playoffs. Now, the finite details are starting to take hold whereas earlier on it was big picture stuff. Not it’s more finite details to allow you finish more. As far as that goes, I think we’re fine.” The Blue Bombers are currently ranked seventh in offensive points (25.3) and sixth in points allowed (28.7). Some other key numbers have them seventh in passing (268.3), fifth in rushing (98.3) and first in passing yards allowed (269.9) and last in rushing yards against (128.4). Again, there stuff to like there and, on the contrary, some totals that will have anyone in Bomberland cringing. “Last game we did a good job of improving. No turnovers is a huge thing,” said Demski of the offence. “We stayed on the field, we had three offensive touchdowns so we’re moving in the right direction, but I still feel that we have more to give. “We left some plays out there; left some drives out there as as much as we like Serge (Castill0), I’d rather see him on the sidelines and coming out to kick converts instead of field goals. “There was a lot of growth in this first half. We’ve got to improve as an offence and everybody’s on board for that, too.” And when it was put to Collaros that all this could be encouraging — the fact the team still has so much room to potentially grow to reach its ceiling — he offered a veteran big-picture perspective. “It’s encouraging coming to work every day,” he said. “You’re out here for the chase of the Grey Cup, the chase of being great at your job. That’s pretty much life, right? So, you’re not going to come in here and half-ass it. You’re going to come in here and try to be the best that you possibly can be. “If you’ve made it this far in your career you should have enough confidence that you’re a good player. Part of that chase is wanting to execute every single play and raising whatever ceiling anybody thinks you have, higher. That’s all part of this, for sure. It’s part of why you wake up every morning and do this.” More notes and quotes from Bomberland in this week’s NEED TO KNOW: OUCH REPORT: First day back to work and so the list of players who backed off from practice was significant, although O’Shea didn’t seem worried about the availability of RB Brady Oliveira and left tackle Stanley Bryant for this week in Edmonton. Also of note: the injury list confirms that second-year DB Ethan Ball, unfortunately, has suffered an Achilles injury. Injury Report: August 17, 2026 #ForTheW | @DoctorsManitoba pic.twitter.com/9ZrBLO2Cii — Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 17, 2026 QUOTABLE: Demski, when asked how Oliveira has a game like he did last Friday against Ottawa while working on a bad ankle: “Brady’s a monster. I don’t think that guy was born the same as other people in this world. He just knows his game. He’s a vet. He’s a beast. He has that mindset. It’s funny, when he caught that hitch to set up Perkins first touchdown I told him, ‘Your pain isn’t real, man. “It’s just the way he attacks every day. It’s pretty unbelievable what he can do. It’s awesome what he did for this team.” SALUTE TO THE NATIONAL FLAG FOOTBALL TEAMS: O’Shea took a moment at the end of his media session to salute our men’s and women’s national flag football teams, both of which qualified for the 2028 Olympics. “Tremendously proud,” said O’Shea. “I don’t want to say envious or jealous, it’s just that idea of being able to represent your country, that carries so much weight for me. I tried to tune in and watch a bit of it (the Olympic qualifiers) when I could and I’m just so excited for both clubs and the coaches — Rachel (Lessard) has done a great job and so has LaPo (former Blue Bombers coach Paul LaPolice). “They’ve got some time now to keep preparing. The Olympics seem to be right around the corner, but they’ve got also got a lot of time to hone it. Just tremendously proud for both teams.”