Collaros signs 2 year deal

[do or die]

Not sure this was that complicated....

Zack was very eager to sign here
Way more mobility and escapeability than Nichols
More ability to improvise
Walked into a new team cold and helped deliver a Cup
Still some rumbles about the state of Nichols throwing shoulder

[B-F-F-C]

Holy crap Batman!  Collaros was a major factor in getting to and winning the GC.  We've seen that you can't win without a great QB and the money and structure of the contract is a moot point.     Smarter minds than any of us who are familiar with the minute intricacies of CFL contracts are OK with it.  So why are we questioning it?   

[Mark F]

Team game, but the defence carried the team to the final win..... I think they don't need to do much on O, but have to make sure the D doesn't drop off.

Whatever that takes, D line, or D back.

They seem to have a lot of good championship level players already. Both sides of the ball.

But getting Collaros is great.

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Mark F

[Blue_Dragoon]

I agree with you Mark, but with some of our big losses to the NFL on the defensive side I'm not sure we can do anything to avoid there being some kind of drop off on that side of the ball.

The good news is that there is LOTS of room for improvement on the offensive side and I think having Collaros as our #1 is a great start. 

[B-F-F-C]

31 minutes ago, Mark F said:

Team game, but the defence carried the team to the final win..... I think they don't need to do much on O, but have to make sure the D doesn't drop off.

Whatever that takes, D line, or D back.

They seem to have a lot of good championship level players already. Both sides of the ball.

But getting Collaros is great.

 

I agree but the defence has taken a few big hits this off season.  It's up to Walter's and the scouting staff to replace the players we've lost so far. 

[Noeller]

1 hour ago, Blue_Dragoon said:

The good news is that there is LOTS of room for improvement on the offensive side and I think having Collaros as our #1 is a great start. 

We've had the #1 offense (or one of the top offenses) every year under Lapo......how is there "LOTS of room for improvement"?

[Floyd]

3 minutes ago, Noeller said:

We've had the #1 offense (or one of the top offenses) every year under Lapo......how is there "LOTS of room for improvement"?

We had the least Passing yards on the league...  that’s a place for improvement 

[GCn20]

2 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

How do you know this? And this would be tampering no?

And the risk you take there is losing both over possibly 20-30k and having to go into the season with someone completely unproven. Which is just a fantastic way to take advantage of your recent success and ability to sell season tickets. This is a business after all. Collaros will sell tickets. MBT/Nichols wouldn't have.

There is a 7 day window prior to FA where all teams can talk to any pending FA. It's not tampering this year. Any offer must be put forward to the league and is considered binding come FA. All offer sheets will be shared to the teams who currently hold their rights so they have knowledge of any other offers.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

11 minutes ago, Floyd said:

We had the least Passing yards on the league...  that’s a place for improvement 

Aren't we a run focused team though? 

Didn't we do well in most offensive categories? I thought we were second in points?

[GCn20]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

Part of the QB thing getting done quickly too was to re-up a couple guys they have been talking already before free-agency starts....I wouldn't be surprised if we hear this week or next an extension for Nevis and Adams....with no effect on Willie money, as Kyle said they have money set aside for him as it stands as they have a pretty good idea what they will need, so they know pretty much what they have to work with for re-upping and free-agency

Honestly all i see us doing is targeting an established DB...be it an import, or guy who is National who can assume the safety role, possibly a high end Canadian D LINE guy who can start, one or the other as a "big ticket" and most likely a National guy for ST's and to fill in roster holes...

Walters was talking a lot about how we will address ratio on defense next year. I am not sure what he means. Could he be sending smoke signals to high price defensive NAT talent that we may have dollars set aside for that. I wonder?

[Bubba Zanetti]

8 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Aren't we a run focused team though? 

Didn't we do well in most offensive categories? I thought we were second in points?

Most definitely but Andrew Harris isnt getting any younger and at some point the passing offense is going to have to catch up. I think we'll see that under Collaros/Buck.

[Floyd]

10 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Aren't we a run focused team though? 

Didn't we do well in most offensive categories? I thought we were second in points?

Yeah for sure... I’d just say passing has room for improvement 

[Noeller]

3 minutes ago, Floyd said:

Yeah for sure... I’d just say passing has room for improvement 

I don't think it needs to "improve" per se....it's just that it's not "as utilized" as the run game is, which is/was our focus. Buck has already said that he's going to base our offense around the weapons that we have, implying that it's going to be Andrew Harris's offense and everything will *ahem* run through him...

[MC]

14 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Aren't we a run focused team though? 

Didn't we do well in most offensive categories? I thought we were second in points?

It's not about scoring touchdowns and winning games, it's about looking good.  If you don't throw for 300 a game, you suck. 

[Floyd]

Love how everyone is pretending our offence was not dysfunctional for half of last season... 

collaros and buck will show us where I could have improved - I have no doubt 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

18 minutes ago, Floyd said:

Yeah for sure... I’d just say passing has room for improvement 

Agreed.

[17to85]

51 minutes ago, Noeller said:

implying that it's going to be Andrew Harris's offense and everything will *ahem* run through him..

Boooooooooooooooooo.

[Tiny759]

1 hour ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

Most definitely but Andrew Harris isnt getting any younger and at some point the passing offense is going to have to catch up. I think we'll see that under Collaros/Buck.

We do have Johnny waiting in the wings 

[blue_gold_84]

Marshall Ferguson did some extensive digging and put out a thorough breakdown of Collaros' production through four games to cap off last season and the team's championship run.

It's a great read: https://www.cfl.ca/2020/01/28/ferguson-breaking-collaros-2019-starts-winnipeg/

He didn't blow the lid off any game but he played smart and knew when to take his shots. It's still pretty remarkable how quickly he found chemistry with his receivers.

Obviously, his health is of paramount importance. Keep him clean protected and I think there's good reason to feel very optimistic about what he (and this offense as a whole) can do in 2020, especially with a TC under his belt. 4,000 yards and 25-30 TDs would be nice to see.

[Bubba Zanetti]

8 minutes ago, Tiny759 said:

We do have Johnny waiting in the wings 

I like Augustine but he aint no Harris.

[Tiny759]

3 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

I like Augustine but he aint no Harris.

True. I also forgot Brady too. They ain’t Harris but the run offence is gonna be top of the league for a long time if they wanna go that way.

[Bubba Zanetti]

11 minutes ago, Tiny759 said:

True. I also forgot Brady too. They ain’t Harris but the run offence is gonna be top of the league for a long time if they wanna go that way.

Yes Brady is intriguing. Hopefully his leg heals up nice and Harris can turn him into a clone.

[Geebrr]

41 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

Marshall Ferguson did some extensive digging and put out a thorough breakdown of Collaros' production through four games to cap off last season and the team's championship run.

It's a great read: https://www.cfl.ca/2020/01/28/ferguson-breaking-collaros-2019-starts-winnipeg/

He didn't blow the lid off any game but he played smart and knew when to take his shots. It's still pretty remarkable how quickly he found chemistry with his receivers.

Obviously, his health is of paramount importance. Keep him clean protected and I think there's good reason to feel very optimistic about what he (and this offense as a whole) can do in 2020, especially with a TC under his belt. 4,000 yards and 25-30 TDs would be nice to see.

Not saying neccesarily that the outcome would be dramatically different. However, ZC didn't exactly have a lot of time to get deep in the playbook or build a lot of chemistry. To me it is hard to make sweeping generalizations with that taken into account about how he may play going forward.

I have no doubt he executed what he was asked to do.

[Noeller]

2 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

Not saying neccesarily that the outcome would be dramatically different. However, ZC didn't exactly have a lot of time to get deep in the playbook or build a lot of chemistry. To me it is hard to make sweeping generalizations with that taken into account about how he may play going forward.

I have no doubt he executed what he was asked to do.

What Collaros did after coming in is exactly what Lapo wanted within that offense. It's exactly what Nichols had done while he was healthy. Just don't turn the ball over under any circumstances and we'll likely win.

[Geebrr]

Just now, Noeller said:

What Collaros did after coming in is exactly what Lapo wanted within that offense. It's exactly what Nichols had done while he was healthy. Just don't turn the ball over under any circumstances and we'll likely win.

Right, but I do not neccesarily think that is what he will be asked to do going forward.