‘I didn’t do enough,’ Collaros says of Grey Cup loss

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This article was published 22/11/2022 (1074 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers did not play like champions on Sunday.

And that starts with the quarterback, Zach Collaros.

The Bombers looked nothing like themselves in Regina for the 109th Grey Cup and ultimately lost 24-23 to the underdog Toronto Argonauts.

It’s easy to point the finger at Bombers kicker Marc Liegghio for missing a convert and having a field goal blocked in the fourth quarter, but Collaros, the league’s Most Outstanding Player the past two seasons, wasn’t sharp.

Instead of speaking to reporters at a championship celebration, Collaros experienced his first garbage-bag day since being traded to Winnipeg in 2019.

“I think there’s definitely some plays that I wanted to have back and some things that I just missed, especially early, just from a seeing the game standpoint,” said Collaros behind the podium on Tuesday at IG Field.

“Obviously some decisions I’d like to have back, but I don’t think it was a health issue. It was just, I didn’t do enough.”

All the talk heading into the game was about the ankle injury he suffered the week prior in the West Division final, but Collaros, who was asked if it will impact his off-season, didn’t use it as an excuse.

“Yeah, I don’t think it was a huge factor. We’ll see what we have to do. We’ll see this off-season. I think just some rest will certainly help,” said Collaros. “Nobody is out there playing at 100 per cent in Week 20, 21, and 22 of the season.”

With no need for a parade, the attention immediately shifts to the off-season. Collaros has no doubt head coach Mike O’Shea, who’s currently without a contract, will return, but with more than 25 players set to hit free agency, the 2023 edition of the Bombers is guaranteed to look different.

“I know this group has a lot of love for each other and obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to end,” said Collaros.

“So, I imagine knowing the character of that locker room and the guys in that locker room, there should be a lot of guys that want to come back and give this thing another go.”

***

Short-yardage quarterback Dakota Prukop admitted Tuesday he’s lost sleep over the interception he threw in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s Grey Cup. The Bombers had a 23-17 lead when Prukop came in for a play and attempted a deep pass that was picked off by Shaq Richardson.

“I would’ve liked to have Greg (Ellingson) more open. If he’s (wide open), then you take that shot. But the situation we were in and with the momentum, I just really wish I could’ve moved on and found the next receiver,” said Prukop in front of his locker. “So, yeah, that one hurt, man. Buck made a great call. I told him before the game ‘If you put me in, I’m going to take care of the ball.’ I’ve done it all year and on that play, I didn’t. It sucks.”

Prukop is also the team’s holder on field goals. He said nothing was off on Liegghio’s failed field goal attempt to win the game.

Liegghio didn’t hang around the locker room on Tuesday to speak with the media.

“Not necessarily, no. Just kind of a normal operation. I think we just had some penetration. And it sucks. They made a good play,” said Prukop. “We had a great field goal block ourselves, so, I guess it’s not crazy to assume that they can do the same.”

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Defensive back Winston Rose finished the Grey Cup with a fractured foot.

He suffered the injury in the third quarter but stayed in the game. Rose was on crutches and in a walking boot Tuesday.

“It was (killing me),” Rose said. “But at the same time, it was a championship game so I wasn’t going to let it stop me. After the game, it felt even worse. I couldn’t walk. I had to hop around everywhere. I couldn’t put a sock or a shoe on.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.