Zach Collaros has been practicing with the first team offence, and early indications are that he will start this Friday night against Ottawa. But here is why I think that only slightly matters.

The number one problem with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is not the play of Dru Brown.

Do not get me wrong Brown has not played well. Originally, I thought that was a very wise move by the Bombers to sign Brown as a contingency and insurance plan in case Zach went down. But what we have seen over the past number of games is that Brown has not played well. Just look at his stats (and I am taking the stats from before the bye week, as Winnipeg did not play last week. That means that the other quarterbacks in the league had a chance to put up more numbers…and the Bombers’ quarterbacks did not).

Maybe you are thinking, yah but Brown has not played a whole season. That is a fair point of consideration. A week ago I wrote this, “Yes, Collaros has been injured and Brown has not been the starter for the Bombers for the whole season. Fine, add their passing numbers together and you have about 2,100 yards. That would rank the Bomber’s quarterbacks in 6th place. Behind Adams Jr. and in front of Maier. 6th place. That’s what the upgraded receivers and a pass first offensive coordinator are producing?”
And Brown’s interception numbers could be far higher as defenders have dropped balls that most certainly should have been interceptions.

So is Zach an upgrade?

Having said all that you might think, ‘Well of course Zach is an immediate upgrade and of course, if he returns it’s substantial.’

But I disagree and here’s why.

Zach himself has not been playing great. Let us take a look at his numbers.

If the Bombers play the exact same way, they did in their previous two games, I do not care if Zach is in…the Bombers lose.

The real issues

The defence has been abysmal. The tackling has been sloppy. Opponent’s receivers have been wide open, and Winnipeg has been unable to get touchdowns and have settled for field goals.

I do say “settled” because Winnipeg had an opportunity to go for it on third down and get a first down and continue a drive, or two, or three. But instead, they settled for field goals.

Zach is not gonna make the defence play better and he probably is not going to change the coach’s decisions on whether to gamble on third down. Because the reality is this, on third down you are probably handing it off to your running back anyway. And if you do not hand it off to your running back, you are doing a quarterback sneak. Zach does not do the quarterback sneaks so it does not matter in that case if he is playing in that game.

Here is what does or may change

I did say it matters slightly if Zach is back and here is why. He has thrown a few less interceptions than Brown. However, if you look at the total possible interceptions, Zach has put a lot fewer balls in harms way. That is a good thing.

And then maybe, and hopefully, there is a change in mentality with Zach in for the offence and their play calling. If Zach can give the Bombers offence some more belief and the Bombers’ coaching staff some more risk tolerance than yes his return will make a slight difference.

Final Thoughts

Finally, I’ll leave you with this thought of mine. Zach is neither winning nor losing the game all by himself. Maybe there are some quarterbacks in the league right now, and I am thinking about Davis Alexander in Montreal, that can go out and pretty much single-handedly win a game despite how the defence and special teams is playing.

There probably was a time not so long ago that the same could have been said for Zach, ‘Keep him upright keep him protected, and the Bombers win.’ And while those days may not be too far in the rearview mirror, they are most certainly gone.

So does Zach give the Bombers the best chance to win games? Yes, yes he does. But the difference between what Zach has done this season and what Brown has done this season are not miles apart. The play calling has not been better with Zach in. The defence has not been better with Zach in.

For anyone saying that the Bombers need Zach in to win, first I disagree with you, and second I hope you are wrong. Because, if you are right the Bombers are in serious trouble if Zach goes down again this year…or if he retires at the end of this year.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.