Bomber Free Agent Discussion

[Geebrr]

I assume so. 

He is going to the social 

[Noeller]

I said as soon as Collaros signed that what he gave us was "A healthy Matt Nichols"....it's a guy that can come in and run the exact playbook we ran under Matt...with Strev back to running his specialty package. It's exactly what we got and it couldn't have worked out better. But absolutely, with the D we had, we would have done exactly as well with Nichols under centre...

[Blue and Gold87]

Just now, JCon said:

That's kind of you. Let Walters know so that he can write that into the offer and the contract. 

Do you have a valid (clean) criminal record check and child abuse registry? 

Yes my work already requires that! Lol

Don't worry fellas, I got this! May even make this into a business for Bombers player's and their wives. 🤔

 Think I'll call it 'Babysitting for the W' lol

[NorthernSkunk]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

I said as soon as Collaros signed that what he gave us was "A healthy Matt Nichols"....it's a guy that can come in and run the exact playbook we ran under Matt...with Strev back to running his specialty package. It's exactly what we got and it couldn't have worked out better. But absolutely, with the D we had, we would have done exactly as well with Nichols under centre...

Those that don't believe we would have done as well, or would have even made the final with Nichols..... those people are glad that we will never know what Nichols may or may not have done.  The season worked out pretty much perfect just the way it did. 

[trueBlue83]

8 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Outside of his ability to scramble a bit better then Nichols they're basically the same. I don't by the Collaros has a stronger arm, Nichols was 2nd in the league for deep passes when he was playing.

Oh, the difference is huge.  And that makes all the difference.  When Nichols feels the pressure, he can't escape and chucks it away or goes to his bread and butter, the check down.   Zach showed a capability to escape pressure, and maneuver around buying time for receivers to get open.   You never saw that with Nichols.

[Nickthesizz]

Just now, trueBlue83 said:

Oh, the difference is huge.  And that makes all the difference.  When Nichols feels the pressure, he can't escape and chucks it away or goes to his bread and butter, the check down.   Zach showed a capability to escape pressure, and maneuver around buying time for receivers to get open.   You never saw that with Nichols.

completely agree.

Edited November 28, 2019 by Nickthesizz

[Blue and Gold87]

1 minute ago, trueBlue83 said:

Oh, the difference is huge.  And that makes all the difference.  When Nichols feels the pressure, he can't escape and chucks it away or goes to his bread and butter, the check down.   Zach showed a capability to escape pressure, and maneuver around buying time for receivers to get open.   You never saw that with Nichols.

Yeah ZC intangibles really make all the difference and they aren't as small as some believe because those 'little' plays add up to wins in the end. Scrambling in the pocket and eluding defenders doesn't always show up in the stat sheet but its absolutely needed in the CFL for success, especially in the playoffs. Does anyone really believe that Nichols would have taken off on 2nd and 5 from his own 5 yard line with 1:50 on the clock like Collaros did against the Riders to get a huge 1st?? No chance in my mind. He would have taken the safe play and or taken a sack and punted. That's the difference between the Riders having 40 seconds left vs 4 seconds left. 

[rebusrankin]

I'm making a few assumptions here but if Collaros's wife has a permanent teaching contract, she has the chance to work for the next 25-30 yards roughly, while making a pretty good salary and building a pretty nice pension. If she leaves, most likely she is on a one year term contract where she still makes the good salary and gets to contribute to a good but different pension plan. However she's possibly jobless after the year and she has given up all of her seniority and job security. She would be giving up a lot for those who are unfamiliar with the teaching world. Then factor in that her family lives in Ohio and by many accounts she'd like to be closer to them geography wise. I think he goes back to Toronto for these reasons.

[Brandon]

Lol at people thinking the teaching job is some big roadblock.  Come on now.    

I like how LaPolice has roots in Winnipeg because of his wife but he's freely going to coach somewhere else... however Collaros wife has a teaching job that pays less then 100 000 and no way in hell would he re sign in Winnipeg.    These boards at times can be very riderfans-esque. 

Jeeze I guess every single American player will never sign with Winnipeg because it would be way to far for them to be away from their wives and family.  

Collaros will sign where ever he gets the best offer,   I think O-line may play a bit of a deciding factor.    But if Winnipeg offers 450 and Toronto offers 600....  the guy is going to take the money.  

 

 

[Brandon]

Also cut Nichols now ... who cares if he gets pissy about the money... I'd rather save the money and risk losing him and moving on with McGuire and Strevs. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Would love to keep ZC even if only for one or two years.  If not then sure keep Matt.  I still don’t see think Streve can be an effective starter but you have to sign him because he’s a warrior and seems to be the heart and soul of the team. 

[Mark H.]

22 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Lol at people thinking the teaching job is some big roadblock.  Come on now.    

I like how LaPolice has roots in Winnipeg because of his wife but he's freely going to coach somewhere else... however Collaros wife has a teaching job that pays less then 100 000 and no way in hell would he re sign in Winnipeg.    These boards at times can be very riderfans-esque. 

Jeeze I guess every single American player will never sign with Winnipeg because it would be way to far for them to be away from their wives and family.  

Collaros will sign where ever he gets the best offer,   I think O-line may play a bit of a deciding factor.    But if Winnipeg offers 450 and Toronto offers 600....  the guy is going to take the money.  

I don't know their family situation, I just stated the facts I'm familiar with.

This is a volatile sport where careers can end at any time. I dare say plenty of people would not put $100 K at risk for the sake of a CFL contract.  Coaches are different, because they don't have the risk of a career ending injury.  

As for players signing (or not signing) in Winnipeg - every situation is unique and family could be a consideration.

[Jesse]

38 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Lol at people thinking the teaching job is some big roadblock.  Come on now.    

I like how LaPolice has roots in Winnipeg because of his wife but he's freely going to coach somewhere else... however Collaros wife has a teaching job that pays less then 100 000 and no way in hell would he re sign in Winnipeg.    These boards at times can be very riderfans-esque. 

Jeeze I guess every single American player will never sign with Winnipeg because it would be way to far for them to be away from their wives and family.  

Collaros will sign where ever he gets the best offer,   I think O-line may play a bit of a deciding factor.    But if Winnipeg offers 450 and Toronto offers 600....  the guy is going to take the money.  

 

 

Nothing's impossible. There's just other factors for Zach and his family to consider. If his wife has a career and a baby in the way, he's going to take that into consideration.

[Noeller]

it makes me feel better when I see all the crazy people having the same opinion on here....it's easy to know what the sane "take" on this situation is. 

[Blue and Gold87]

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

it makes me feel better when I see all the crazy people having the same opinion on here....it's easy to know what the sane "take" on this situation is. 

And which take is that? 

[O2L]

Nichols throws less picks and throws the ball away or takes a sack as soon as there’s pressure. 

Collaros is better at evading pressure and making something out of nothing, but also takes more risks with dangerous passes. 

Outside of the above, they’re relatively similar. I personally prefer Collaros when comparing their differences, but don’t mind Nichols. 

Edited November 29, 2019 by O2L

[AKAChip]

Thinking the Bombers are better off without Matt Nichols is hardly an insane take, and plenty of people far smarter than me have the same opinion. Though I will admit now that they have won the cup, I’ve softened my stance on being desperate to get rid of him since there’s less urgency now. I appreciate the argument that we would have gotten more or less the same production out of Nichols that Collaros gave us and from a yards perspective, that’s probably true. But the pocket movement and awareness that Collaros has is miles better. Still, the defence was beyond dominant in all three games so yes, we more than likely win even with below average QB play. 
 

Still, Nichols is and always will be a QB that requires the rest of the team to do more or less everything right to be successful. And it’s very good timing that he joined this team just as the rest of the roster was starting to take shape. With a recent championship taking the pressure off, I don’t see a ton of long term benefit of sticking with a guy that has basically no upside, will be handed the starting job and be given an insanely long leash. 

[coach17]

I like the way Collaros reads the field , is able to buy time and feather a long pass in under the appropriate situation. He's for sure into the check down game when there is tight or overman coverage. I just really like his poise and command of the field. The only scary part is his concussion history.

[Jpan85]

2 hours ago, trueBlue83 said:

Oh, the difference is huge.  And that makes all the difference.  When Nichols feels the pressure, he can't escape and chucks it away or goes to his bread and butter, the check down.   Zach showed a capability to escape pressure, and maneuver around buying time for receivers to get open.   You never saw that with Nichols.

Can’t say never put on the first game of the season. After first game everyone praising him how he was able to escape pressure and rollout for touchdown passes.

https://www.cfl.ca/2019/06/16/recap-winnipeg-33-bc-23/

[blue_gold_84]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

Also cut Nichols now ... who cares if he gets pissy about the money... I'd rather save the money and risk losing him and moving on with McGuire and Strevs. 

How do your propose the team "cut" a pending free agent? And even if that were viable, what money would be saved? His contract is up.

1 hour ago, Jpan85 said:

Can’t say never put on the first game of the season. After first game everyone praising him how he was able to escape pressure and rollout for touchdown passes.

https://www.cfl.ca/2019/06/16/recap-winnipeg-33-bc-23/

"BuT tHe LiOnS wErE a BoTtOm FeEdEr!"

Even after this team goes on to win it all, the usual suspects gotta gripe ad nauseam. Amazing... Simply amazing.

[Mike]

5 hours ago, Blueandgold said:

Saying that Collaros didn't do anything Nichols wouldn't is a classic case of looking at the stats sheet to compare them

Collaros's ability to use his legs to extend the play is a huge advantage over Nichols. Collaros also stretched the field much better than Nichols. I wouldn't be so quick to shortchange Collaros's impact. Not to mention the fact that his four games were against the 2nd ,3rd, and 4th best teams. 

This is true. I guess I worded it poorly, I moreso meant that Collaros didn’t really elevate our offense beyond a level that Nichols could’ve achieved - even if they did it in stylistically different ways. Collaros definitely made some plays that Nichols couldn’t have possibly made but I also saw him make quite a few throws Nichols wouldn’t have considered throwing.
 

 

[Mike]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

Also cut Nichols now ... who cares if he gets pissy about the money... I'd rather save the money and risk losing him and moving on with McGuire and Strevs. 

That’s a good way to lose a lot of the shine we’ve built as a program players want to come to - in a hurry.

[Captain Blue]

Honestly I think there is a significant chance that the 2020 starter will be someone completely new via free agency.

I personally would prefer to move on from Nichols, and I don't think they'll re-sign Collaros given the first round draft pick price tag. I'd like to bring back Streveler and see if we can develop him more as a passer. 

[AKAChip]

46 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

 

"BuT tHe LiOnS wErE a BoTtOm FeEdEr!"

Even after this team goes on to win it all, the usual suspects gotta gripe ad nauseam. Amazing... Simply amazing.

There's really not a lot of griping going on here. We're discussing what we should do with this roster going forward. Nichols is a soon to be 34-year old with a significant throwing shoulder injury. Pretending like he's a must-sign and we are guaranteed success with him going forward is arguably a more ridiculous take than the alternative. 

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

I'm making a few assumptions here but if Collaros's wife has a permanent teaching contract, she has the chance to work for the next 25-30 yards roughly, while making a pretty good salary and building a pretty nice pension. If she leaves, most likely she is on a one year term contract where she still makes the good salary and gets to contribute to a good but different pension plan. However she's possibly jobless after the year and she has given up all of her seniority and job security. She would be giving up a lot for those who are unfamiliar with the teaching world. Then factor in that her family lives in Ohio and by many accounts she'd like to be closer to them geography wise. I think he goes back to Toronto for these reasons.

Where they will **** all over him again. You can book it.