Paul Friesen reported the following,
“”Training camp was tough this year, kind of a weird situation that we were put in,” Collaros said. “Repped a lot of things that we didn’t rep during the season. I didn’t get a lot of reps with guys who were playing.”
Can this be true? Well, Collaros said it, and I have no reason not to believe him. So no wonder he is frustrated…but it goes deep and further. Friesen additionally reported, “Reps with what concepts do we like,” Collaros continued. “What can we, on second-and-six, second-and-five, with the game on the line, what are we going to call because we know we can execute the play? I don’t know if we had that this year. Getting good at something matters.”
Based on what we saw this year, I have to believe Collaros. Remember when the Bombers decided to run the ball on that last paly of the game in Edmonton?
Why Call That Play?
With one last play to try and find a miraculous way to win, the Bombers do what? They run the ball with Oliveira. Now, even I who has been on the Bombers all year for not running enough thinks that is a terrible play call. What you do in that situation is you toss up a long bomb and hope for a pass interference penalty. If that occurs, you get one more play at the spot of the foul, because the game cannot end on a penalty. Sure, the odds of that working are slim…but they are better than a run play. We might have to start calling these plays, ‘Hogan head scratchers.’
That play call makes a lot more sense if we reflect again on what Collaros said, “What can we, on second-and-six, second-and-five, with the game on the line, what are we going to call because we know we can execute the play? I don’t know if we had that this year.“
Taking that into account, then we can hardly be surprised that Collaros took a pass at answering the question about the 2026 season, right after the Eastern Semi-Final.
However, after more reflection is seems like Collaros would like to be back in Winnipeg…but reading between the lines, he needs something to change for him to want to come back (and that might be a change at Offensive Coordinator, based on what we read above).
And then there is this:
So if you ask me, I think Collaros would like to return, but likely would not if the Bombers kept their offensive coordinator, Jason Hogan. And I am not sure that many people would blame Collaros. I think that the descent could run even deeper.
On August 12, 2025 I wrote, “There is actually 1 more issue that the Bombers need to be facing head on:
* The Bombers better figure out how to keep Brady around.
Right now this is my pure speculation, but I want to offer some historical evidence that points to this as a potential issue. Yep, you heard that right. I do not care that in the past Brady Oliveira said he needs to be in Winnipeg and he is loyal to his team. At some point, if you are not being released to use your skills on the field, you are going to look for a place where you can. Football careers are not long!”
Sometimes I would rather be wrong than right. But, I do not think I am wrong, and I do not think I was wrong on August 12, 2025. So will Collaros be back? Will Oliveira be back? Will Hogan be back? My guess is that if Collaros and Oliveira are back, then Hogan will not be. And if Hogan is back, Collaros and Oliveira will not be. For me, I know which option I would choose if I were the Blue Bombers’ management. How about you?
What did you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this.
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