Cauz: Ups, downs and plenty of optimism with Collaros’ first start

Wow, what a bad start for Zach Collaros! The entire CFL world had been waiting almost a year to see how he would play in his first game back from a devastating knee injury that had sidelined him since last September and on his first pass attempt he got drilled by Loucheiz Purifoy, who just blew past Jeremy Lewis.

I’m sure there are a number of you that are sick and tired of people like myself constantly writing about his eventual return, and I get it, we in the media are often guilty of going nuts over specific storylines and hyping them up into oblivion. But please allow me to just say this: in a league where there are nine teams, it is a big deal when a quarterback of Collaros’ stature returns.

The CFL is better off with many healthy quarterbacks out there lighting up scoreboards, so can we all agree that this was a big deal? Now, I won’t be kneeling at the alter of Collaros in this column because the final game of Week 8 deserves a proper analysis. Let’s face it, beyond Bo Levi Mitchell’s twitter account, the most interesting moments from this past week happened after many people had fallen asleep. So for all you east of Winnipeg who tuned out before the conclusion, let me help you out with all you need to know about the BC Lions’ 45-38 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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The Lions made life difficult for Zach Collaros in a Week 8 win over the Ticats (The Canadian Press)

1. Don’t let the five sacks given up fool you; the Tiger-Cats offensive line was not as bad as that number looks.

Okay, the Purifoy sack was the embodiment of turnstile protection, but after that I saw a lot of coverage sacks out there with Collaros holding on to the ball too long. In fact the five sacks were just as much about the work by the Lions’ secondary as it was their pass rush. Yes, I will get to the Adam Bighill sack a little later on.

2. You can sum up the Lions’ game plan in one word: Aggressive.

Defensively the plan was to not allow Collaros to be comfortable and for stretches of this game they did just that, constantly sending five and six defenders at Zach. Offensively, Jonathon Jennings and his trio of receivers attacked downfield and attacked often. After Collaros fumbled the ball away on his first pass the Lions immediately went deep with Jennings hitting Bryan Burnham on a 38-yard touchdown catch.

Not content with a possible seven-point lead, Wally Buono elects to go for a two point conversion. I understand going for a two point conversion late in a game, if the wind reminds you of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ or if your kicker lost a leg in a freak pre-game chainsaw accident, but rarely have I ever seen one attempted within the first two minutes of a game.

4. The BC Lions offensive linemen were quietly the stars of the game.

If you want to attack a team deep you need time to throw and the big boys up front did just that. Remember that going into this game Hamilton was tied with the Lions for the league lead in sacks and beyond one harmless takedown Jennings was given a fairly clean pocket. The Lions may not have run for 100-plus yards but after the first quarter Jeremiah Johnson gave that offence a balanced attack.

5. Jeremiah Johnson touchdown celebration!

Yes, everyone will focus on the Emmanuel Arceneaux homage to the 1980’s break dancing touchdown, but I would rather focus on Johnson doing the Shark touchdown celebration dance first seen in ‘Any Given Sunday’. After scoring on the final play of the first quarter, Johnson raised one arm up to mimic a shark fin in honour of the Miami Sharks from Oliver Stone’s 1999 masterpiece. All right, maybe masterpiece is too strong, but if ‘Any Given Sunday’ is ever on, I’m watching.

6. No regression from Adam Bighill.

Bighill may be playing at a higher level than last year and in 2015 he was the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Whether it was blowing up C.J. Gable’s attempt at pass blocking or picking off Collaros or leading the team in tackles, Bighill was all over the field. His interception was Bighill at his best, reading where Collaros was going to deliver the ball and then leaping up to make a difficult catch. This wasn’t one of those cheapie interceptions where the ball just happens to fall your way. Bighill worked hard for that one.

7. You better think twice attempting a long field goal against Brandon Banks and the Tiger-Cats!

You know you’re good when the announcer, in this case Matt Dunigan, is already saying in anticipation “uh oh” when the ball is still in the air. With all those large lineman huffing and puffing to find an angle to tackle Banks it really just wasn’t fair. This return was not about intricate blocking schemes or jitter bug moves. Nope, this was just about Banks doing his best Usain Bolt impersonation.

8. That final touchdown drive by Jennings was damn impressive.

As great as Jennings’ numbers look, he was basically shut out by Hamilton in the second half with just a handful of completions and one interception. The Tiger-Cats had managed to overcome a 20 point deficit and tie the game on a beauty Collaros to Terrence Toliver touchdown pass and the game certainly had that feel of yet another Tabbies fourth quarter comeback win when Jennings took over.

Jennings stood tall on his 25 yard completion to Shawn Gore, avoided John Chick on a 14 yard run, took a huge shot from an unblocked Courtney Stephen but still had the guts to deliver a 17-yard strike to Arceneaux and finally, on a second and 15, it’s Arceneaux again who breaks one tackle en route to the game winning touchdown. Just crazy poise for such a young quarterback who had gone nearly 30 minutes without putting together a single drive of significance.

9. The up and down day from Zach Collaros

Yes, Collaros missed a sure touchdown throw to Luke Tasker early in the game, and he was out of sync for most of the day with Toliver until the fourth quarter touchdown pass — but there is a lot to be happy about if you’re a Tiger-Cats fan.

Collaros got just killed on that initial sack. Dunigan even commented that his own career ended on a similar hit. And yet Collaros looked comfortable throughout. You could understand if he was hesitant — if he constantly checked down for fear of getting hit or re-injuring his knee. But you saw none of that. Instead, Collaros looked confident in the pocket and on the move even while facing a consistent barrage of Lions blitzes. You saw the arm strength, the ability to zip a ball into small holes and tight windows.

All and all, Collaros acquitted himself quite well when you consider he was making his first start in nearly a year, on the road against one of the best defences in the league. A great sign for both the city of Hamilton and for fans all over the league.