Winnipeg Blue Bombers finish their season in the Eastern semi-finals on Saturday, losing 42-33 to the Montreal Alouettes.. As the team's streak of five straight Gray Cup appearances ended, franchise quarterback Zach Collaros spoke about the issues the offense has faced this season.
“From a playing point of view, I'm disappointed. I'm upset. I don't think we've played good football this year offensively and that starts with me,” Collaros told reporters at the Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.
“There's been a lot of ups and downs this season, a lot of times I didn't think we were playing at the right level and just playing good football. It can't just be pinpointed and I find it very difficult after games to point the finger at anyone other than myself. No matter what situation we're in, what the challenge is or how the preparation for the week was, I always come back to saying, 'I could have done something to make this game right to help the team.' It's very difficult for me to really talk about it.”
Winnipeg's passing game finished last in the CFL this season as part of an offensive attack that ranked fifth in net offense, fifth in yards per game and seventh in scoring.
It would be easy to point to the departure of Kenny Lawler, the torn ACL suffered by Dalton Schon and the ineffectiveness of extra agent Dillon Mitchell for the team's aerial struggles, although Collaros felt the team had the players needed to succeed. Instead, he talked about problems that began in training camp, with the implication being that the passing game lacks an overall plan or identity.
“I think reps make a big difference in trying to figure out what you're good at and kind of hone in on that and build on that. We certainly have to get better as we go along. I think not just this season, I think the last couple of seasons – not just last year but the year before – it's definitely gotten harder,” Collaros said.
“(In training camp) we went over a lot of things that we didn't do over the course of the season. I didn't get a lot of reps with the guys that were playing. My situation put us in jeopardy with the suspension and trying to deal with that. I think it's getting reps – reps with the players, reps with what concepts do we like? On second and six, second and five, when the game is on the line, as we'll call it because we know we can execute the play, I don't know, it was whether we have it this year, so I think it’s important to be successful at something.”
The 37-year-old passer has thrown for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 13 starts this season, posting a 6-7 record. Outside of yardage, which was much higher last season, these numbers are essentially the same as Collaros' 2024 class.
For a player who recently won back-to-back Most Outstanding Player awards, it seems fair to wonder if the Steubenville, Ohio native may be on the decline. While he doesn't believe his role as a player is diminishing, he won't argue with anyone who says otherwise.
“Physically, I don’t feel it,” he said. “Mentally I don’t think so, but it would be difficult for me to argue with you if you said I haven’t played good football this season.”
Collaros said his loan in Winnipeg will last until the end of November, an arrangement he and his family entered into with hopes of qualifying for the Gray Cup. While it appears they plan to spend more time in the city before returning to their off-season home near Toronto, he has no plans to attend the Gray Cup, no matter which teams are participating.
As for what's next for him and the Blue Bombers, Collaros not only plans to return next year, but also wants to keep the supporting cast the same. It may not be possible considering the team has 33 pending free agentsincluding Brady Oliveira, Nick Demski and Willie Jefferson.
“I don't think it's the end of an era. I don't even know how to classify it. If you group things together when you get to five Gray Cups in a row and then don't, I think it's a bit of a clipping, but I think we still have the pieces in place,” he said.
“I'd like to keep doing it. I love this sport, I love this league, I love this organization, first and foremost, and I love my teammates. I want to do it. I want to keep doing it, but I want to play good football, and I want the guys that were here – Jake Thomas, Patrick Neufeld, Stanley Bryant, Shane Gauthier – to race. I wish they were here to do it because I think we can continue to do it.”
“Having high expectations is great. You have to have high expectations for yourself and we have to have high expectations for our organization. I think that's why people want to come play here. I think that's why those of us who have been here for more than six or five-plus years want to keep coming back and keep doing it: it's because of the expectations. If it was just to make the playoffs every year, a lot of us would have retired by now, but that chase is why a lot of us, I think, keep wanting to do it.”
