Plan of attack No detail too small for Bombers QB Collaros as he prepares for opposition By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 5:40 PM CST Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023

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This article was published 08/11/2023 (880 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Zach Collaros reaches for a piece of laminated paper on a desk inside an office at IG Field and within seconds it no longer feels like a normal discussion.

If you’re not well-versed in football lingo, the next two minutes doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Collaros, now up on his feet, the sheet of paper in his left hand, starts going through the list of plays at lightning speed. He’s using phrases such as 64-Fido, backside spear check and wide-8, his free arm swinging back and forth to signal a passing play, as if he’s completely lost his mind.

Fact is, Collaros couldn’t be more in the zone. He goes through just a couple of plays — or reps, as he likes to call them — out of several the Blue Bombers quarterback has memorized and is now visualizing.

It’s something he first started doing in high school in Steubenville, Ohio, where he led the Big Red to a 30-0 record and two state championships. He still does it every night after practice and the results speak for themself, as Collaros boasts a 46-9 record, including two Grey Cups, since taking over as the Bombers starting quarterback late in the 2019 season.

“I’m kind of a whacko. I don’t like skipping any plays,” Collaros says. “Because what if that comes up and I screw it up?”

“I’m kind of a whacko. I don’t like skipping any plays…Because what if that comes up and I screw it up?”–Zach Collaros

Collaros’ performance on this day provides just a tiny peek into the work he puts in to be fully prepared come kickoff.

It’s more than a game to the 35-year-old veteran pivot. It’s a deep love for the craft and a commitment to himself and his teammates.

“It’s wanting to honour the people that put their faith in you,” Collaros says. “It’s about letting the guys know that I’m leaving it all out there for you. When I come into the facility and when I go home, this is what’s on my mind, this is what I’m thinking about, this is what I’m preparing for because you only get so many opportunities to do what you love.”

 

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The sheet of paper Collaros uses to demonstrate his nightly ritual represents a game plan against the Calgary Stampeders from earlier in the year. While the sheet’s format remains the same from opponent to opponent, the plays change each week. In total, there are 158 different reps to go through, all of which Collaros has access to come game day through a cheat sheet on his left forearm.

Planning for an opponent is no easy task. It takes a lot of film study and consultation between players and coaches, with offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce getting the final say. Every week plays out like a chess match, trying to predict the other team’s next move and what strategies they might be looking to employ.

The week is broken down day by day, with each day having clear objectives. Day 1 of practice is used to prepare first-down plays, Day 2 for second-down thoughts and Day 3 to focus on the red zone. By Day 4, which is the walkthrough practice the day before the game, everything should feel second nature.

“It’s about being able to play free,” Collaros says. “You never want to get into Day 4 or the day of the game and still have question marks. So, as I’m going through the plays every night, I’m often texting guys to say, ‘Hey, just remember on this play, if this happens, we need to do this.’”

“It’s about being able to play free…You never want to get into Day 4 or the day of the game and still have question marks.”–Zach Collaros

Together, they come up with a detailed plan to attack the opposing defence, going through every possible situation. Several factors are taken into consideration, including what down it is and what distance they need to get, as well as what kind of defensive scheme the other team will use to attack, which varies depending on who they’re playing and the tendencies of that defensive co-ordinator.

For instance, the Ottawa Redblacks don’t change a whole lot from week to week, something Collaros boils down to simply a club that “kind of plays what they play.” Against the Chris Jones-led Edmonton Elks, the Bombers know Jones is big into analytics, using the numbers to determine what a quarterback’s weakness is and then trying to exploit it, resulting in usually just a few different plays with some curveballs mixed in.

Collaros needs to know the playbook better than anyone on the field, and because he holds himself and his teammates to a high standard, it’s important that he set the example. That means hours of prep before and after team-mandated meetings.

The pressure to deliver is only heightened by the fact the Bombers have become the class of the CFL in recent years, and they always get the other team’s best. Fans in Winnipeg also have heady expectations and nothing short of a victory will do.

“I’ve been really lucky to be part of a lot of good programs and so the pressure of winning has always been high,” Collaros says, before exhaling a deep sigh. “We feel the need to win. We’ve talked a lot about it in the locker room, among the veterans, that do we even enjoy the winning part anymore? Lots of times it’s just thank God we won that one.”

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Practice time and planning is one thing. Executing on the field come game day is another.

Because you can’t fully predict what the other team is going to do, there’s plenty more work still to be done once the lights turn on and the bullets start flying for real.

Pierce calls down the play into Collaros’ earpiece inside his helmet. Collaros is already thinking about what down it is and how many yards they need, while processing several other bits of information, as his brain draws back on the work he’s put in over the week. It’s enough to make one’s head spin.

“What’s the formation? Is it a three by two, is it a two by three, is it a four by one? Do I need to communicate these formations into the boundary? If so, is it a pass or a run? If it’s a pass, where does the middle linebacker line up for protection purposes,” Collaros starts. “Are we sliding to that guy? Are we not sliding to that guy? After you know what the concept is, is it a pure progression? Is it a progression based off a coverage? And what is my plan for it, does it make me hot in zone pressure? Does it make me hot in man pressure?”

These are only some of the questions Collaros is asking himself as he walks out of the huddle. There’s also the information he’s looking to gain pre-snap, which includes trying to read the defence, which can be difficult in the CFL as teams don’t usually reveal their formations until Collaros’ hands move under centre, giving him about five to 10 seconds to gather intel.

That doesn’t even include what Collaros has to tackle once the ball is snapped. He needs to know the job of every player and be able to process the information in mere seconds, with some plays having as many as five different reads.

It can be an intense process, and it’s because of that intensity that it’s important Collaros and Pierce are on the same page. The relationship between the two is a strong bond built on respect and an appreciation for how much work they both put in every day.

It helps that Pierce, who played nine years as a quarterback in the CFL, has done the job before and knows the cost of playing the position.

“The thing about Buck is he’s a grinder and he’s not shy to explore different ways of doing things,” Collaros says. “His openness is a great trait for working together. I just always want to push the envelope and he’s really good at saying we’ve got to scale it back based on the situation.”

“The thing about Buck is he’s a grinder and he’s not shy to explore different ways of doing things.”–Zach Collaros

Pierce has been around a lot of quarterbacks over his time in the game and he considers Collaros to be among the most prepared players he’s ever seen. He’s witnessed the punishment Collaros has gone through and effort he puts in each week — including weekly visits to the chiropractor and sessions on the massage table, as well as hours spent in the gym — to put his body back together, as well as the sacrifices he makes on a daily basis.

“You don’t just say one day, ‘Alright, I’m going to become this guy.’ You’re either that guy or you’re not, and the steps along the way to get to where Zach is, there’s a lot of learning on how to prepare each week,” Pierce says. “What to do with your body, how to balance your family life with everything that’s going on here and on the field, and being able to produce at a high level and win football games. It’s one of the hardest jobs in sports and he’s able to handle everything, on a professional and personal level, as good as I’ve ever seen.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton