{"id":102746,"date":"2025-08-28T07:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T07:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/102746\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T07:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T07:39:09","slug":"hes-got-a-vision-and-feel-for-the-game-and-the-space-around-him-that-the-really-good-ones-have-its-instinctual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/102746\/","title":{"rendered":"He’s got a vision and feel for the game and the space around him that the really good ones have. It’s instinctual."},"content":{"rendered":"

His name is already mentioned among the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterbacking legends in this town like Ploen and Brock, Jones and Jacobs, Clements and Dunigan.<\/p>\n

And yet it was a reflective Zach Collaros \u2014 this being his 37th birthday and all \u2014 who hinted after practice Wednesday that so much of his incredible Canadian Football League career seems to have unfolded a lot longer than he first expected.<\/p>\n

Case in point, his answer when asked how long he envisioned playing when he started his pro career back in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts:<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was going to get cut,\u201d he said with a chuckle. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget when Scott (Milanovich, then the Argos head coach) brought me in and said, \u2018We\u2019re going to keep you\u2019 and I thought, \u2018What?!\u2019 He said, \u2018We\u2019re going to put you on this thing called the nine-game (injured list) and hide you.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Cool. What\u2019s that pay?\u2019 He said, \u2018You\u2019ll get your full salary\u2019 and I said, \u2018all right, count me in.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Now some 13 years later and heading into the 168th game of his career in this Sunday\u2019s Labour Day Classic against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Collaros has a career record of 87-51, including a 53-19 record in Winnipeg that is the best winning percentage in Blue Bombers history.<\/p>\n

He has won two CFL Most Outstanding Player Awards, both earned here in Winnipeg, and with 90 passing yards this weekend would move past both Michael Reilly (34,805) and Dieter Brock (34,830) and into 15th place on the CFL\u2019s all-time passing yardage list.<\/p>\n

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Again, heady company for a guy who didn\u2019t think he was going to make the Argos in 2012 and continues to take that approach, despite his considerable success. Consider this: asked if he looks at things differently now knowing his football career finish line is closer now than 10 years ago, Collaros grinned, then said:<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I\u2019ve said this to Darren (Cameron, Blue Bombers Director of Player and Public Relations) probably a million times \u2014 I always thought my finish line was the next day. I always think, \u2018When are they going to figure out they should probably bring somebody else in for this job?\u2019 I\u2019ve always had that thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaros mentioned that\u2019s partly an imposter\u2019s syndrome but as his career has unfolded, he also used that approach to hone his own process which includes massive amounts of film study and his leadership skills.<\/p>\n

Head coach Mike O\u2019Shea highlighted Collaros\u2019 competitive fire, but a few other intangibles, too, that have him still among the CFL\u2019s elite pivots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more than a couple when you get to this level,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have bunches of things that when you play to his level \u2014 that level of excellence \u2014 you\u2019ve simply got some intangibles that other people don\u2019t, especially at that position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat competitive fire, you\u2019d like to say it\u2019s the same in everybody at this level but everybody\u2019s got different degrees of it. And then he\u2019s got just vision and feel that the really, really good ones have. I mean, he\u2019s athletic, he takes care of his body, he\u2019s strong\u2026 a lot of the stuff that allows people to play a long time. But he\u2019s got a vision and feel for the game and the space around him that the really good ones have. It\u2019s instinctual.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dual-threat QB when he came to the CFL out of Cincinnati, Collaros has morphed into a pivot who moves effectively around the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield for the big strike, or flipping a pass to Brady Oliveira like a shortstop connecting with a second baseman to turn a double-play.<\/p>\n

Again, so much of that comes with time and experience.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith more reps you get a better understanding of what you\u2019re doing,\u201d he explained. \u201cI probably do a better job of keeping myself out of sticky situations (than 10 years ago).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers don\u2019t always say that but if I went back and watched myself 10 years ago I\u2019d probably go, \u2018What the hell am I doing?\u2019 A lot of stuff back then I could get away with because I could move around and run \u2014 I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m not able to do that any more, it\u2019s just not at as high of a rate and it looks way worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just having an overall understanding of this game and what it takes to win week in and week out. Again, the numbers don\u2019t always reflect a winning football game. I\u2019m not just saying that for me, I\u2019m saying that for every quarterback or every offensive unit. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to burn a ball. It might hurt your completion percentage. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to take a sack or not take a sack. Those things all add up and compound over the course of the game. It\u2019s understanding those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s also changed over time is his perspective. That comes naturally as the calendar flips from one year to the next and as a guy gets married and has a family, all of which are priority No. 1 for the proud product of Steubenville, Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously this game matters a lot. And a lot of my life \u2014 if not everything in my life \u2014 is owed to the game of football,\u201d said Collaros. \u201cSo, it matters a ton. But it\u2019s also making sure I keep that in perspective. We\u2019ve talked about this a lot over the years\u2026 what\u2019s really important. It\u2019s understanding that and not trying to put too much of an emphasis on happiness and those kinds of things on this \u2014 it is important week in, week out but the health of my family is what I thank God for every day and just keeping that in the back of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, the Collaros media session opened Wednesday with what would make for a good birthday present.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo home and have a nice dinner and chill with the family,\u201d he said while holding a tupperware container of one of his favourite dishes prepared by his wife. \u201cAnd, obviously, if we get a win this weekend that would be a nice cap.\u201d<\/p>\n

OUCH UPDATE: Some more good news on the injury front, although it\u2019s not yet a green light \u2014 Nic Demski, who left last week\u2019s win over Montreal in the first half, was back practising on Wednesday. He wasn\u2019t a full participant, with Gavin Cobb still getting a lot of work in his place, but was back in a helmet and shoulder pads.<\/p>\n

As well, OL Micah Vanterpool, DB Enock Makonzo and LB Jonathan Jones were all full participants.<\/p>\n

Injury Report: August 27, 2025#ForTheW<\/a> | @DoctorsManitoba<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NXLRPdKCpM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n