‘Fine wine’: Vintage Collaros shows up in big win over Als after 38th birthday

Zach Collaros was in no mood for I-told-you-so’s.

There were no references – either thinly veiled or direct – to the naysayers, many of whom thought the Blue Bombers were in deep trouble as the league-leading Montreal Alouettes rolled into town on a roll for a matchup on Friday that could have left Winnipeg with a sub-.500 record heading into the Labour Day Classic.

No, that’s not Collaros’ style or part of how he operates.

After outduelling Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander in a convincing 44-28 victory, Collaros stood in front of a group of reporters and displayed almost no emotion, despite delivering what can easily be described as his best showing of the season.

Not only was this vintage Collaros on the field, his delivery of post-game quotes was the same.

In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, Collaros preferred to stick to the script and act like he’s been there before.

That’s not to suggest Collaros didn’t recognize the significance of what had just transpired during the previous three hours.

Quite the contrary, actually.

He knew full well that in order for the Blue Bombers to have a chance to pull off this upset, they would need to be highly efficient and minimize the mistakes.

Ball protection would be paramount.

That’s why it was critical for Collaros to spread the ball around, targeting eight different receivers over the course of four quarters, connecting with seven of them on a night he racked up 324 yards through the air, delivered two touchdowns to Ontaria Wilson and was inches away from a third before Tommy Nield lost control of the football after a big hit just before the goal line late in the second quarter.

Mix in another strong showing of ground and pound from running back Brady Oliveira (16 rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown) and two short-yardage majors from Bryce Perkins (who had nine rushes for nine yards).

Not only did the Blue Bombers show they could control the line of scrimmage and also time of possession, they straddled that fine line of being methodical and dynamic for the entire four quarters.

“We started fast, we finished fast and we just executed as a unit,” said Wilson, who had nine receptions for 114 yards. ‘This is what we always expected, even from Game 1. We’ve just been starting slow or not being able to finish sometimes. But this is exactly the team that we expected to be.”

At the middle of it all was Collaros, who turned 38 earlier in the week and continues to hold off Father Time in his 14th CFL season.

Not only did Collaros do a great job of spreading the ball around to ensure the Blue Bombers attack was balanced, he showed the ability to escape and get out of trouble when he was under pressure, rushing twice for nine yards.

He also protected the football, as the stat line finished with no turnovers in a game the Blue Bombers fully understood the assignment.

Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell has been under fire for some of the inconsistency that has plagued the unit through the first 10 games, Collaros was quick to reinforce his feelings towards the coach.

“Tommy’s the best play-caller I’ve ever played for,” said Collaros, who was intentionally succinct.

There was no need to defend Condell, just a quick nod and a not-so-subtle reminder that he still has the support of the guy behind centre, the same guy who would have encouraged O’Shea to add him to the staff when the vacancy opened up during the off-season.

Speaking of being succinct, Blue Bombers veteran offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld didn’t need to be his loquacious self when it was brought to his attention that some observers no longer believed that Collaros could deliver that type of outing at this stage of his career.

“No one in this building thinks that,” said Neufeld.

Although Collaros talked about the need to watch the film before making any sweeping observations about the offensive efficiency and downplayed any suggestion this could serve as a type of Aha-moment unlocking its potential, his teammates and head coach were effusive in their praise when asked about his performance.

“He was awesome. His leadership, he oozes it,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “He’s tough as nails. He commands the huddle, he’s fiery. It just comes out. Whether it’s oozing out of his pores or something that he says or he’s scrambling and he makes sure that he keeps running for a first down, putting us in good spots.

“He’s really good. I just think his leadership is invaluable to our club. I don’t know what the numbers say about everybody else or whatever, but in this building, this is the guy that we want.”

O’Shea has been unwavering in his belief in Collaros and Friday’s showing was the latest example of why.

“Fine wine, baby,” said Oliveira. “Just celebrated a birthday and went out there and had a huge performance. I tell him every single week when we start the game in the huddle, for him to lead us: you’re the leader of this team, leader of this offence. Lead us, man, and we’re all going to be with you.

“Really proud of him. Zach was on, dude. It was great to see. He plays like that, we’re a hard team to beat.”

The next step in the process for the Blue Bombers – and Collaros – will be bottling this type of effort during the next two weeks against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and beyond.

“Zach had a great game,” said Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “All we need to do is come back and try to do it again.”

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