There were moments in the first month of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers season when the world had seemingly spun off its axis and Bomberland appeared destined to be soon facing a swarm of locusts, followed by floods, earthquakes and other signs of the apocalypse.
Now, a modest two-game winning streak doesn’t instantly wipe out the stain of opening the year with four straight losses, but there were signs over the last two weeks that have brought back the needle on the doom and gloom meter.
Zach Collaros threw for 344 yards and two scores in the win over Calgary, Brady Oliveira has posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to reclaim the Canadian Football League rushing lead, the special teams have settled in with some stellar work, and the defence has forced six turnovers in the last two games.
Critical to all that, not surprisingly, was the work of Collaros, which Oliveira described as ‘vintage Zach.’
“Vintage. That’s him, man,” Oliveira said. “That’s what he brings to this team, to this offence. I’ve said it, him being a leader but a playmaker — the guy’s a stud. That’s what he does when he’s out here. That’s what he’s capable of doing and he’s lethal. It’s good, having him back out there and playing like his old self.”
Collaros entered last week’s game after missing the win over Ottawa having yet to throw a touchdown pass on the season. Yet, by night’s end he had helped make Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson a star and had reconnected with Nic Demski for a critical TD and two-point convert late in Friday’s win — all developments that are massive for an attack that had sputtered through an 0-4 start to find consistency.
“Getting the passing game going was huge. Threats open up a lot more,” Oliveira said. “A lot more opportunities, even as a play-caller for Buck (Pierce, offensive coordinator). The playbook starts to open more and there’s a lot more you can do. Having Zach back in there was huge for this offence and having guys like Pokey and Demski, and all of our receivers going out there an making plays, it allowed us to do what we do best in the run game and let our offensive line go to work, receivers blocking as well in the run game and doing their part.
“Everyone came to work that night and did their job. Our message throughout the week was. ‘Whatever it takes.’ Like, ‘How are we going to get the job done? Whatever it takes.’ Every week is going to look different. You might run the ball a lot the following week. This week, you might pass more. Whatever it takes, as long as we just get wins. We know that we have the guys to get the job done. We have great guys in this locker room. This offence can be really scary. You saw what we can do in the pass game. I just think there’s lots to be done here, lots we can accomplish.
“Whatever it takes, right? We can get it done on the ground, in the air—whatever it takes. Every week is going to be different. It’s just pleasing to see that we were able to get the passing game going. And now, let’s get it done.”
Collaros was honest and upfront, as per usual, in his first media session of the week when asked to assess the start of the season for the team and his own play.
“It’s been a slower start than we would have liked, obviously. For myself, too,” he acknowledged. “But that’s what makes this game great. Obviously, you want all of the highs and you want everything to go right all of the time, but it’s that battle, that inner battle – whether it’s during the week of prep or in-game, that if something doesn’t go right, how do you respond?
“When you reflect on games and seasons, those are the kind of things you remember. You don’t want to put your team in a bad situation and you don’t want to lose football games, etc., etc., but you remember moments like that, where you feel like everything is working against you and how do you climb out of that brain fog, or that hole that you’re in and just keep pushing forward.
“… You live and you put one foot in front of the other and prepare yourself for things that are going to happen and hope for the best. But again, when things go wrong, I’m a big resiliency guy. So you just continue to believe in what your plan is – whether we’re talking about football or life. You draw on life experience and things that happen.”
When told that some of his teammates called his handiwork against the Stamps as ‘vintage Zach’, Collaros was again succinct, indicating he can ‘play a lot better.’
“I’ve got buddies that tell me all the time that you’ve got to chill out on criticizing yourself,” he said with a grin. “You’re offering these guys (in the media) criticisms for yourself. I have buddies who tell me that all the time.”
“What happens is the quarterback is trotted out here in front of everybody all the time. And they lead,” added head coach Mike O’Shea. “I don’t think as a team we were good early. So, the quarterback gets saddled with a lot of the commentary on that, that he has to answer to. And he answers the way a leader would. That’s why he’s so good at what he does; one reason why he’s so good at what he does.
“We liked our last game from a lot of people, Zach included. So when the entire team starts to play well and play three-phase football — when you get a blocked punt and get a decent return when you need it, when you do all these things and guys are right more than they were in Week 1 or Week 2 or whenever then it looks better.”
More on the Blue Bombers first practice session of the week in ‘Need to Know’…
FYI: A few vets took a knee on Monday, including LT Stanley Bryant, WR Nic Demski and RB Brady Oliveira.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: O’Shea when asked about the trust bred between a coaching staff and a player like Wilson when he goes for 13 receptions for over 200 yards:
Pokey Wilson
“Our coaching staff is pretty well wired that when we sign a guy they get all the benefit of the doubt. They’re not coming in with the coaches having all these preconceived ideas. They see what they do on film and they try to figure out how to best utilize them so that the players can be successful. We try — I’m not saying it’s perfect — to just trust a guy when he comes in and just give him that so they’re not burdened by that — earn, earn, earn. Just go out and play.
“Everybody is excited for Pokey. I don’t know if they’re all going to look like that but that was pretty cool.”
QUOTABLE: Oliveira on Demski’s TD celebration that didn’t feature a leap into the end zone, but saw the veteran receiver climb the stairs to get close to fans:
“I’m going to give him a hard time. I remember two years ago, I jumped into the stands. Every since I’ve known Demski playing for the Bombers, he takes the stairs. He doesn’t like to leap. I’m going to get on him about that because I know he can jump. Maybe he was tired. I don’t know. Good to see Demski getting back to himself as well and getting involved in plays and making plays. The guy’s a playmaker and still valuable to this football team. Seeing him get back out there and doing his thing was good to see.”