By Jim Bender
First, Zach Collaros helped end the Grey Cup hopes of his former team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in the 2019 CFL West Final.
Then, the veteran quarterback led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, another former employer, in the Grey Cup contest.
That had some calling it the ‘Collaros Revenge Tour.’
This Friday, Collaros will face the last team that let him go, the Toronto Argonauts, and he was asked is this will be a continuation of that ‘Revenge Tour.’
“I don’t think so,” Collaros said during a Zoom media interview. “With (Argos GM) Pinball (Clemons) trading me here to Winnipeg, it was definitely a blessing for me and my family. He gave me the opportunity to come and play for a good organization.”
Clemons dealt Collaros to Winnipeg at the 2019 trade deadline in October. Collaros has not lost a game as the Bombers starter since.
“Obviously, things worked out well for us here and worked out well for me and my family,” said Collaros, who has since signed a contract extension with Winnipeg. “I love Pinball, I love a lot of people in that organization. So, no ill will.”
But beware. The Boatmen were surprise winners over the Stampeders in their season opener in Calgary on the weekend.
“They looked good,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “They obviously went out and signed a bunch of veteran players and, if you look at the number of guys left on that defence from 2019, there’s not many. So, they’ve gone through some wholesale change and brought in some veteran guys, especially up front – their linebacking corps, their D-line. They brought in leaders in those area … that’s kind of our recipe. I like to keep our veterans and I like our veteran leadership, so that’s probably a good start for them.”
On defence, the Argos have signed the likes of free agent linebackers Henoc Muamba and Cameron Judge and defensive lineman Charleston Hughes and Cordarro Law.
“Toronto’s very physical up front,” Collaros said. “They get after the passer and, in the back end, they route-read very well and they’re very talented … They’re very good against the run, too. So, we’ll have to play a great football game and we’re hoping to do that.”
On offence, Toronto signed such free agent receivers as Eric Rogers, Juwan Brescasin and DeVaris Daniels.
“They’ve got some good receivers,” said Bombers defensive back Brandon Alexander. “They’ve got a good system over there. They’ve got guys that can make plays, from receivers to running backs to everybody there. So, we’re gonna have to go out there and just be us and be able to do what we do on the field.”
FUSS OVER KICKING: Many observers were left wonder why Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea seemed reluctant to send new placekicker Tyler Crapigna to attempt some longer field goals during the game against Hamilton.
“Just the way the game played out,” O’Shea explained. “It was gonna be more of a field position battle and defensively, we were doing quite well. The way I was reading the flow of the game, it just dictated that you just kept on trying to pin them and I thought Marc (Legghio) did a good job punting and putting them out of bounds, limiting their returns.
“You limit their ability to create a spark. Hamilton does a really good job of creating explosive plays in all phases. So, if you can try to limit that, that’s important. I’ve got confidence in our kicking game and you’ll see him trotted out at whatever distance that I feel comfortable with that game and what the game dictates, really.”
Crapigna did not feel slighted.
“It’s just a matter of getting the opportunity when he feels it’s right,” he said. “That’s when I’ll come on and execute.”
Crapigna, who booted one 15-yard FG, added that he believed he could have made those longer field goals.
“As a kicker, you can’t not be confident in what your abilities are, so every time I go out there on the field, I expect to make it,” he added.
