“Zach is the guy.”
Future Hall of Fame left tackle Stanley Bryant put it succinctly when asked about what quarterback Zach Collaros means to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
As Collaros and the Bombers get ready for their fifth straight Grey Cup appearance in Sunday’s showdown with Toronto, let’s not forget how the season started.
Winnipeg went 0-4 and 2-6 out of the gates. Collaros went without a touchdown pass through his first five games against four interceptions. And the Bombers looked like a shell of their former selves, especially on offence.
But with Collaros at the helm, losing faith was never an option. And now Winnipeg is back on the biggest stage.
And Zach is still the guy.
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IT WAS NEVER ALL ON ZACH
Seeing the Blue Bombers stumble out of the gate was notable. People notice when the league’s gold standard for so long looks out of sorts. But instead of panicking or pointing fingers or letting things get off the rails, Winnipeg trusted the process. And trusted the guy.
“You could say (they were struggling) for anybody that was on the team,” Bryant admitted on Friday morning.
“No belief was ever lost with him. We just started off slow, faced adversity, but we overcame that and we got back on track.”
The mark of a good locker room is how they respond when things are tough. And aside from a couple last-minute Grey Cup losses the last two years, things have rarely been hard for the Bombers over the last half decade.
Give them credit: Collaros and Winnipeg’s offence responded the right way.
“We never felt that Zach was off to a slow start,” said red hot receiver Kenny Lawler. “There are a lot of things that go into football and it’s never always on the quarterback as much as he may say, you know, yeah, it’s me.
“It’s not all him. He’s a leader so of course, you know, he might say things like that. It was just an overall team thing that we had to become better.”
And as the Bombers were going through that process, it was Collaros leading the way with accountability and leadership.
“He’s a pro and he’s a leader and he doesn’t let that stuff bother him,” said receiver Nic Demski, who’s been alongside Collaros for this entire ride.
“He’s just going to go back to the grind and work that much harder and, you know, when you see him doing that it motivates you to do the same thing. He’s always a guy that’s going to pull everybody in the right direction.”
THE ULTIMATE
When talking to teammates, it doesn’t take long to understand how much earned respect exists for Collaros. It’s evident immediately.
“Like I always say, he’s the ultimate competitor,” says Lawler. “He’s our leader, he’s our shot caller, he’s our quarterback, our point guard, our distributor. And man, he’s going to lead us up and down that field.”
We’re not just talking about anyone saying these things. Lawler and Demski are among the league’s best receivers.
And Bryant is perhaps the CFL’s best to ever suit up at left tackle.
“You just need to be in a game with him, to be in the huddle with him to see where we’re coming from,” Bryant added. “Zach is the guy. He knows that, he believes that, he trusts that, and he trusts us.”
THE RIGHT GUY FOR THE JOB
And now Winnipeg is off to the 111th Grey Cup on Sunday.
As the Bombers try to make it three championship wins in five years, and partially erase the sting of two straight heartbreaking losses, it’s clear there’s no one else they’d want leading them on the field.
“He’s the ultimate leader,” said Lawler using that U-word again.
“That’s the guy you want calling plays, giving speeches, and that’s the guy you want to do it for, man.”
Regardless of what happens this weekend, you know this Winnipeg group will be proud to have played for the final result with Collaros at the helm.
“I love Zach, man,” said a beaming Demski. “It’s no secret as soon as he signed a three-year deal, I was telling my agent let’s go get a three-year deal done.
“That’s who I want to play with. I love going to war with him, I love going to battle with him, I love the preparation with him. I’m excited.”