Blue Bombers break with tradition

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This article was published 28/01/2020 (2243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the current regime running the Winnipeg Blue Bombers has been known for anything since taking over control in 2014, it’s their loyalty.

Some have ventured even further when describing that label, often referring to this element of leadership by president and CEO Wade Miller, general manager Kyle Walters and head coach Mike O’Shea as “blind loyalty.” It’s a level of stubbornness that is either adored or despised by fans, depending on who you ask.

For those seeking examples, look no further than the quarterback position over the last six years.

Drew Willy needed to be run out of town, and even then his exit via trade midway through the 2016 season came only after a number of last-ditch efforts by the team’s brass to try and right his game. Matt Nichols, Willy’s replacement, managed to carve out parts of five seasons with the Blue and Gold despite putting up modest numbers for long stretches. It didn’t matter that much of his success was in large part due to a stellar offensive line and a creative offensive co-ordinator in Paul LaPolice.

So it came as somewhat of a surprise — or, at the very least, a stark change in philosophy — when the Bombers front office elected to go with Zach Collaros instead of Nichols as their quarterback of the future.

Needless to say, bidding adieu to a player like Nichols, a big piece in the Bombers march back to respectability in recent years, wasn’t an easy decision. Especially for a group that until this month did everything in its power to protect and defend the quarterback.

“It was gut-wrenching,” Walters said Tuesday at IG Field. “There are just so many hours and hours of conversation and back-and-forth. I just think, ultimately, down the stretch there with the way Zach played at that level, getting us over the hump, winning a Grey Cup, I believe it earned him first right of refusal in regards to the offer.”

What Collaros was able to achieve in such a limited time with the Bombers was nothing short of incredible, and certainly worthy of giving him another — and longer — look. Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Argonauts just moments before the trade deadline on Oct. 9, the 31-year-old native of Ohio reeled off four straight victories, three of which came on the road in the playoffs, including a 33-12 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 107th Grey Cup.

What made it even more impressive was when Collaros led the Bombers to a come-from-behind, 29-28, win over the Calgary Stampeders in his first game in blue and gold, he had done so after going a stretch of 134 days without taking a live snap. From there, Collaros went on to defeat the Stampeders again the following week in the West semifinal; then edged out a victory against his former team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in the West final a week later; before finally disposing of the Tiger-Cats to claim the Bombers their first league title in 29 years.

“It was gut-wrenching… I just think, ultimately, down the stretch there with the way Zach played at that level, getting us over the hump, winning a Grey Cup, I believe it earned him first right of refusal in regards to the offer.”
– Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Kyle Walters

“When you actually sit back and think about it — which I really haven’t done — it’s pretty crazy,” said Collaros, who is in Winnipeg for a couple days to help promote his signing. “But at the same time, now we just signed and it’s time to get to work.”

It was during the Bombers post-season push that Walters started to envision a higher upside in Collaros. After all, Nichols had performed admirably in the playoffs in previous years but always came up short. With Collaros, the Bombers finally had a proven winner — someone who could makes plays when it mattered most and didn’t flinch when the lights were brightest.

What’s more, without a full training camp and with little time to adjust to the playbook last year, the Bombers believe they might have only scratched the surface of Collaros’s potential. It was an intriguing prospect, and one the Bombers clearly felt was impossible to pass up.

“He was thrown into the fire last year, came in and picked things up,” Walters said. “I think there’s even more that we can expect from him, for sure.”

As is the case with most difficult decisions, particularly when it comes to professional sports, Walters had to carefully weigh the potential risks against the possible rewards.

There’s the financial risk. Quarterbacks are the highest paid players on the team and Collaros is no exception. His deal will pay him nearly $1 million over the next two seasons, with only $100,000 of that earned on incentives. It’s a salary comparable to the going-rate for experienced quarterbacks, though much cheaper than the $700,000-plus payout both Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell and B.C. Lions pivot Mike Reilly are getting.

“He’s slotted in there, probably in the middle, which is fair, as his agent wasn’t being unrealistic,” Walters said.

The greater risk with Collaros, though, is with his health; or, more specifically, a history with head injuries. Collaros has suffered three concussions over the past 19 months, each of which has left him out of the game for long stretches.

“People are going to always have questions with that– and rightfully so — and I appreciate people’s concern. Last year, I just wanted to prove I could play. As football players, this is my job and it’s what I’ve done my whole life and you just want to go out there and play. If that proved to strangers that I’m still healthy then that’s cool.”
– Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros

His most recent concussion was suffered in the first game of the 2019 season, when Collaros took a head shot from Hamilton’s Simoni Lawrence while still a member of the Roughriders. It was the hit that ultimately set in motion an eventual trade to Toronto, which then led to him being moved to Winnipeg.

In the past five seasons, Collaros has missed more than 30 games due to injury.

“People are going to always have questions with that — and rightfully so — and I appreciate people’s concern,” Collaros said. “Last year, I just wanted to prove I could play. As football players, this is my job and it’s what I’ve done my whole life and you just want to go out there and play. If that proved to strangers that I’m still healthy then that’s cool.”

Nichols also carries a great degree of concern regarding his health, even if he has proven more durable than Collaros over his career. Most recently, Nichols suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder in Week 10 that ended his season.

Add to that Nichols’ other injuries in recent years — including to his knee, calf and thumb — and there’s certainly reason to fear he could go down again. Walters wasn’t ready to add fuel to the fire, so he dismissed any notions that Nichols’ health played a major role in his decision. On Tuesday, after the two spoke the night before, Walters made the decision to release Nichols so he could pursue other CFL opportunities.

“Matt’s work ethic is second to none,” Walters said. “He’s progressing along and if the decision was Matt Nichols, I don’t think anybody would have doubted that he would be ready to go.”

It was an optimistic viewpoint by Walters. Indeed, Nichols has proven an uncanny ability to heal, as witnessed prior to the 2017 playoffs. That year, Nichols rehabbed a broken thumb and serious calf strain in just a matter of weeks, at a time doctor’s originally predicted months before a full recovery.

What Walters didn’t discuss, however, was the major difference between these two seemingly similar situations between Collaros and Nichols.

The Bombers have already done their due diligence on Collaros. Prior to trading for him, doctors with both Toronto and Winnipeg shared Collaros’s medical information and deemed him healthy to play. That research continued when Collaros joined the Bombers, including setting up consultations with some of the best brain doctors this city and country has to offer.

The same can’t be said for Nichols. Although the Bombers have confidence he could fully recover, there’s little evidence at this point that backs up that claim. And if you believe Collaros has a more impressive skill set — which obviously they do given their choice to sign him — then it wouldn’t really matter if he was to fully recover or not.

Collaros is eager to start the 2020 season, adding that he relishes the chance to work closely with Bombers new offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce. The two struck a bond last season and Pierce played a notable role in the decision to bring Collaros back.

It bodes well, too, that Pierce is likely to adopt that same run-heavy offence LaPolice often turned to. With the CFL’s leading rusher in Andrew Harris still in the mix, and an O-line as powerful as ever, quarterbacks in Winnipeg aren’t expected to hold in the pocket for long or throw for 300-plus yards to win.

“It suits me fine. But I just want to win,” Collaros, who is expecting his first child with wife, Nicole, in April, said. “And, you know, I wouldn’t have been so keen on re-signing here if I didn’t trust in the process that I already knew existed here.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton