By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

Bombers want Collaros’ mind, not his body

Oct 10, 2019 | 12:28 PM

The CFL trading deadline has passed without TSN having an eight hour trade deadline special, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything of consequence.

Consider the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Argonauts got blasted out of the playoffs with a 55-8 loss to the streaking BC Lions which resulted in the dismissal of GM Jim Popp a couple of days later and his replacement by Michael Pinball Clemons and John Murphy.

For the Argos, the dismissal of Popp was understandable considering how the Argos have plunged to a 2-12 record, worst in the CFL. The final nail in the coffin came with the Argos getting eliminated by BC, although it could be argued the Argos inability to get consistent play at quarterback was the deciding factor.

So the Argos have a head start on next season and trading Zach Collaros to Winnipeg was an opportunity to pick up some draft picks while trying to sort out their future quarterbacking situation. Collaros has not played since the third play of the season opener for Saskatchewan and whether he plays again is open to speculation.

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Kyle Walters, Winnipeg GM, was feeling the heat after the Bombers went down 21-6 to the Riders, dropping them to third and again demonstrating the 2019 Bombers are the 2018 Riders – Great special teams and defense, but one dimensional on offense. For all the abuse heaped on Matt Nichols as a game manager, at least Nichols could complete a pass when it counted.

If you like to creep onto the Bomber fan websites, the sound of weeping and gnashing of teeth could not disguise the heartbreak as they realized their dreams of breaking the 29 year old curse of no Grey Cup would likely continue to 30 years, Contrasting this with the Grey Cup parades planned in Winnipeg after they won the June, July and August Grey Cups, the feeling that Winnipeg is a place where dreams go to die, especially at Dollarama or Incestuous Field as I read in one great posting, was like bathing in their salty tears.

Things get interesting in Winnipeg because Mike O’Shea is a free agent at the end of this year and with Jim Popp gone, and likely some sort of adjustment to the football administration salary cap, which means maybe Cory Chamblin is gone after this season, and the scenario arises where O’Shea could be in his last few games as Winnipeg head coach is very viable.

That may be putting pressure on Winnipeg to show it can win and perhaps entice O’Shea to stay. What makes this interesting is while Collaros has been on the six game injury list twice, how long he would last when put into action is an interesting scenario to follow.

Winnipeg before the trade said they were satisfied with Chris Streveler leading the team into the playoffs. But as Hamilton and then Saskatchewan showed, if you shut down the running game of Winnipeg and force them to throw, the Bombers are not going to win.

This is because while no one argues with Streveler as a runner, he cannot make more than one read after the snap and then he either runs in a panic or throws the ball wildly. Sean McGuire, who is the back-up to Streveler, is an unknown quantity and fans in Winnipeg are talking of giving up their tickets in disgust to how the season unfolded.

Collaros may not have been the first choice of the Bombers. The Argos putting James Franklin in as the starter for the last two Argos was an attempt to showcase a trade for Franklin, but the 55-8 shellacking showed whatever magic Franklin once has as the most sought after backup quarterback in the CFL, is now likely gone for good.

Clemons talked about Collaros being a rental player and being optimistic the Argos can re-sign Collaros after the season. Popp had a contract extension in the works for Collaros following this season but was fired before the contract was agreed to.

So with Clemons emphasizing quarterback play as a prerequisite for a championship play, and also making greater use of analytics, getting draft picks for Collaros was a good first step in building up the talent base of the Argos. If Franklin doesn’t show much in the remaining four games, he will likely be released at the end of the season, leaving McLeod Bethel Thompson as the de facto starter.

The Argos also has Canadian Michael O’Connor, former UBC quarterback, under a three year contract and no one knows yet if he can play. The Argos can use this time to determine if Bethel-Thompson has staying power and see which players continue to show up to play and which players have mentally checked out of this season.

For Winnipeg, while many would question the wisdom of trading for a quarterback who has played only three plays this season, there may be another reason for Winnipeg’s move. The Bombers are looking at potentially playing the Riders and having Collaros on the roster, who knows how the Riders run their offense, would be invaluable for Winnipeg looking for an extra edge when they play the Riders again.

The Bombers are likely thinking the Riders will finish second, so going back to Mosaic Field means the Bombers have about a month to work with Collaros, pick his brain about the Riders offense and defense, and try to get every advantage they can get before facing the Riders again. The appearance of Collaros may help Streveler play a bit more disciplined, but asking him to do that all of a sudden at this stage of the season is not realistic.

So if Collaros goes in and then gets hit and goes out with a concussion, the Bombers are no better off than they were before, but one suspect the Winnipeg brain trust is using all their connections to the world of Santeria to break the curse of #1990. They must also be thinking whatever insight they can get about the Riders offense and defense from Collaros might be useful in a playoff game.

So before we got to the trade deadline and the firing of Popp, we first saw Hamilton serve notice they are a legit Grey Cup contender with a 42-12 dismantling of Edmonton. With Trevor Harris going down and promotion of Logan (I’m no Wolverine) Kilgore, the results have not been what Eskimo fans and Jason Maas were hoping for.

Hamilton has weathered the loss of Jeremiah Masoli as their starting quarterback with Dane Evans who has been an excellent game manager as quarterback, but perhaps even better as a deep passer, rising to sixth in passing yardage in the CFL stats. The play of Evans, combined with what is likely to be a favorable contract, likely means Hamilton will be looking to trade or release Masoli after this season.

Hamilton now has bye week, then back to work with games against Ottawa, Montreal and finishing up with Toronto. The Montreal game is likely a preview of the Eastern Final and a good tune-up for both teams.

Edmonton is in danger of slipping out of the playoffs based on recent performance combined with BC getting on a four game winning streak. For BC, two games behind Edmonton with three games left Edmonton holding the season series, it may seem like a tall order, but Edmonton is in freefall and BC slipping into the playoffs is a distinct possibility.

It is not out of the question that Jason Maas will be looking for work after this season. Maas cut loose his special teams’ and defensive coordinators last year and now has no one left to blame for the team’s slide. Edmonton gambled on Harris, along with Sirvincent Rogers and Greg Ellingson and while that was a good move, it may not have left Edmonton with enough depth to weather a major injury to Harris.

The interesting game and the gift to the Riders came when Calgary went to Montreal and then choked in a 21-17 loss. Calgary should have run Montreal out with over 500 yards in offense but Calgary turned the ball over and the offense malfunctioned, allowing Montreal to come back.

For Calgary, the loss was unfortunate, but then they have the Riders coming to town and they have a win over the Riders already this season. A Calgary win would move then into a tie for first place with the advantage going to Calgary. A Rider win would give the Riders a two game lead on the Stamps with three games remaining.

Montreal and Hamilton have proven themselves competitive against Western teams, and if Edmonton survives to be the crossover team, they will not make it past the semi-final and either Montreal or Hamilton would represent the East well in a Grey Cup.

The Rider win against Winnipeg highlighted the reasons why Winnipeg traded for Collaros. Streveler hasn’t got the experience to make more than one read at a time and Hamilton showed if you stop Winnipeg’s running game and force them to pass; they are as offensively offensive as the 2018 Saskatchewan Roughriders with Brandon Bridge at the helm.

For the Riders, the win ensured they will have a winning record when many people didn’t expect much going into the season. But before Rider fans book their Grey Cup tickets, they need to get through Calgary and position themselves for the last three games.

BC’s demolition of Toronto shows the fruits of the biggest move the Lions made this season, getting rid of offensive line coach Bryan Chiu and replacing him with Kelly Bates. The result is a 4-1 record, but more importantly, better protection for Mike Reilly and a productive running game.

Whether the trend continues and BC manages to pull out a miracle finish to get into the playoffs is still an open question, but credit BC for at least rallying and showing that next year, the Lions may be a formidable opponent.

So this week there is a double header on Friday with Ottawa going to Toronto. This is the first game since the GM change and there has to be a feeling in Toronto that further changes may be in the works.

Ottawa is starting their third quarterback Will Arndt to see if he should get an invite to camp next year. Ottawa gambled and lost in letting four major players – Harris, Ellingson, Rogers and William Powell walk away and not having any competent replacements. For Ottawa, who has lived a charmed, if mediocre existence since coming back into the league, this is the worst they have been since their first year.

So the question in this game is with question marks over both teams and uncertainty regarding coaching and players returning next year, who comes out ahead? Judging from the open mike games involving Toronto this year, there is no real sense of what is going to unfold for the team and players may be looking at putting film together for audition tapes. Toronto has talent, but not everywhere, and Ottawa has a hole in their offensive coaching and a question mark or three at quarterback.

So while conventional wisdom may indicate Toronto has motivation to perform well for their job invites next year, Ottawa has more of a team and should win this one 27-24.

The apparent game of the week comes right after with Saskatchewan going to Calgary. The Riders will be without Canadian linebacker Cameron Judge, who is replaced by the tandem of Sam Hurl and Micah Teitz, ironically both linebackers with the University of Calgary.

I would think Calgary would have some stuff to work out, like not turning over the ball and reviewing their tape from the first Rider game, will probably try to run the ball a lot against the Riders. While Calgary has consistently been on top of the west and are the defending Grey Cup Champions, consistency is not the Stamps strong point this season, and while many may choose Calgary to be the winners here, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

The Riders in the last three seasons have been competitive going into Calgary at the end of the season. The Riders are also showing a really good team chemistry that is whetted by the prospect of finishing first and proving to the rest of the league the team is for real.

Like the game against Winnipeg, this one should be a defensive struggle. The difference between the first Rider-Calgary game is the Riders were still finding out their identity and character in the first game. Now they have a better idea of what it takes to win and the Riders will win this one 24-23 on a last minute field goal.

On Saturday Montreal goes to Winnipeg and the Bombers are trying to stem the bleeding and prove their choking against Montreal a couple of weeks ago was just a bad day at the office. Montreal had a franchise best comeback against Winnipeg two weeks ago and with Hamilton continuing to win, first place may be out of the question, but getting consistent play heading into the playoffs is a goal Montreal would like to cultivate.

Winnipeg will be trying to turn their season around and showing their fans they are still a viable Grey Cup contender. There is an air of desperation in Winnipeg, and Montreal is laughing at being back in the playoffs.

If Montreal wins, that is another nail in the Winnipeg coffin, but desperate teams manage to rise to the occasion – Winnipeg wins 27-24.

Finally we have BC going to Edmonton to pursue their dreams of catching Edmonton for the last playoff spot. BC is on a four game winning streak but three of those wins were against Ottawa and Toronto and the win against Montreal came against the back-up quarterback and a botched third and goal play.

Edmonton may resemble the Sisters of the Poor varsity league, but for Maas, likely hearing whispers he is out at the end of the season, will be motivated to turn their season around. Edmonton is no Toronto, and if they have any sense of pride, they will try to finally end the Lions season. Edmonton wins 24-23.