Collaros focuses on the details

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This article was published 15/09/2021 (1454 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the Canadian Football League inching towards the midseason mark of a shortened 14-game season, many have started to make predictions for end-of-year awards.

A name that keeps popping up as a potential candidate for the CFL’s most outstanding player is Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros. Collaros is second in the league in passing yards, with 1,479, behind only Edmonton’s Trevor Harris (1,481), and is tied for the most passing touchdowns with Montreal’s Vernon Adams Jr., with nine. Only Michael Reilly in B.C. has a better quarterback rating, 114.0 to 104.9, than Collaros, who also leads the CFL in wins, with five.

Still, Collaros feels like he’s just heating up.

“I think I’ve performed well enough for us to win games. As a unit, and myself individually, I’m getting better every week at seeing the pictures and understanding the game plan and what we’re trying to attack and when we’re trying to attack it,” he said following the Bombers closed practice Wednesday.

“It’s just kind of understanding the rhythm of the game and the moments of the game and playing situational football. It’s just getting into the swing of things, and I’d like to say I’ve gotten better each week and I think, as a unit, we have too.”

The Bombers offence has been overshadowed this year by the stellar play of the team’s defence — a unit that is averaging fewer than 13 points against per game. But they’re doing their best to play catchup, with the offence coming off their best game of the season, including five touchdowns in a 33-19 Banjo Bowl win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Collaros was a big part of the Bombers Grey Cup run in 2019, and his accurate arm — he’s completed 69 per cent of his passes — and shifty feet have put them in a good position to push for a repeat title this season. This is Collaros first full season in Winnipeg after being acquired at the trade deadline in 2019. Teammates are still learning about Collaros and liking what they see.

“He’s poised. He’s a team player. He wants to make sure everybody sees the big picture. He’s a good leader. He’s a good teacher,” Bombers receiver Nic Demski said. “He’s been around for a long time, obviously, and he’s seen a lot of different defences. So, when you have a guy explaining the big picture and making sure everybody knows the ‘why’ behind their assignments, it goes a long way. It makes the receivers and the running backs and the O-line, too, all play together.”

It’s not the first time over Collaros’ nine-year career in the CFL that his name has been floated for league MOP. With the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2015, he was leading the CFL in passing yards, touchdown passes and quarterback rating before a season-ending knee injury derailed his season.

Collaros isn’t the kind of player or person to look ahead at what could have been, nor does he care much about personal accolades. Perhaps it’s a maturity he’s gained over his professional career or the understanding that any individual accomplishment is only achieved by the help of those around him.

“When you’re younger you worry more about those kinds of things. I can remember reading a Sports Illustrated article five of six years ago, it was the Harbaugh brothers talking to their dad about how they measured success at the quarterback position,” Collaros said.

“Jim Harbaugh was talking about his time at Michigan and, long story short, he would always measure success when he was a freshman or a sophomore with how many touchdowns he threw, how many receptions there were, blah, blah, blah, those type of things. As he got older and learned more, it was ‘How was my process? Did I get the guys lined up? Were my cadences right?’ Those different little things that ultimately get us in the right situations so that we can garner some statistics. ‘Am I getting us in the right situations so that we can win football games?’ I remember reading that, it really struck me, and I started looking at the game a little bit differently. I don’t know if it’s changed the way I’ve played but it’s definitely helped me focus on those tiny details and why they matter.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton