{"id":197791,"date":"2026-09-06T02:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/197791\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T02:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:09:11","slug":"tommy-condell-giving-zach-collaros-keys-to-the-maserati-and-no-curfew-in-winnipeg-offence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/197791\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy Condell giving Zach Collaros ‘keys to the Maserati’ and no curfew in Winnipeg offence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Swanson\/CFL.ca<\/p>\n

Winnipeg offensive coordinator Tommy Condell is happy to have Zach Collaros back behind the wheel of the Blue Bombers\u2019 offence. In fact, it seems as though he\u2019d be comfortable with the veteran quarterback driving just about anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the keys to the Maserati, so to speak, and I\u2019m not asking him to come home by 12,\u201d Condell told the Winnipeg media when asked about his franchise quarterback<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s got a little time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaros had arguably his best performance of the season in the Bombers\u2019 44-28 win over the Montreal Alouettes last week<\/a>. The 38-year-old pivot completed 26-of-32 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns as part of the shocking upset.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we always want to make sure he\u2019s bringing his command and control. As he\u2019s able to do that, I think that\u2019s important,\u201d Condell said. \u201cHe made some great throws, but he\u2019s able to get us in and out of plays that he\u2019s able to do, and give us all those types of things. He\u2019s got to protect the ball inside and outside the pocket, because it all starts with the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condell was hired by the Bombers this offseason in part because of his existing relationship with Collaros, whom he coached with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The two-time Most Outstanding Player was coming off consecutive down years, with some analysts questioning if he was the best option for the team moving forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thus far, the reunion has offered mixed results<\/a>. Collaros has completed 140-of-196 passes (71.4 percent) for 1,750 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions, while also missing four games due to a nagging neck injury. With or without the star QB, Winnipeg\u2019s offence has struggled and currently sits seventh in the CFL in terms of net yardage, yards per play, passing yardage, and points scored. They rank dead last when it comes to passing touchdowns and completions of over 30 yards.<\/p>\n

The offensive explosion against the Alouettes flew in the face of all those narratives<\/a>, though Condell claims he was completely unaware that his unit was under scrutiny to begin with<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about the criticism. I live in a sheltered world. The only time I get criticized is if I go home and my wife\u2019s upset, so I don\u2019t know about that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t mean that to be facetious, but I don\u2019t. I think what we have to do on a daily basis as coaches is communicate with consistency and try to act consistently, and then be able to do the things at the right time that we\u2019re doing it. I don\u2019t get caught up in trying to be judged or anything like that. You can\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you have to do is meet day by day, make sure you\u2019re chopping wood and carrying water, and then, on a daily basis, be consistent with your players. Communicate effectively, concisely, and make sure that they understand what the intent of the plays are and go. If we\u2019re going to live outside that world, that\u2019s going to be a tough world to live in. Then what you\u2019re going to do is live on emotion. You don\u2019t want to live on emotion. That\u2019s too variable right now. We\u2019ve got to build on the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Condell, that process means giving everyone, not just Collaros, the trust to play loose and unencumbered. His job is to gas up the sports car every week in practice and meetings, providing the fuel for a pleasure cruise rather than micro-managing every gear shift on the highway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be able to make sure that they are free in order to play and not have any living with the outcomes. I don\u2019t want to live with the outcomes just off that. We\u2019ve got to make sure that we\u2019re between those outcomes of the play or the stat,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to coach that, and whatever the outcome may be, let them make sure that they\u2019re free to make the choice and live with freedom and go with fastness and quickness of making that choice. The thing that I would be upset (with is) if they\u2019re decision-based or anything that they\u2019re doing is slow. I wanted to be biased towards action.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the quarterback on down, the Bombers lived up to that philosophy in Week 13, but Condell won\u2019t put the performance on a pedestal as the team prepares for the Labour Day Classic. It may have provided a public demonstration of the unit\u2019s potential, but it didn\u2019t change a thing internally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve had moments of that, certainly, and also halves of that. We\u2019re certainly capable of it,\u201d he insisted. \u201cThey\u2019ve seen it in the past, and at times, I think it comes up (in meetings). I certainly don\u2019t go in there and (say), \u2018Look at this, look at that.\u2019 Again, it\u2019s a consistent basis. We\u2019re going to go in there and correct the things that we didn\u2019t do well, and then move on. It\u2019s not just a pat on the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-5) will visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-4) at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, September 6, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. Last week, the Blue Bombers got a one-sided upset victory over the Montreal Alouettes, while the Roughriders got a come-from-behind win over the Toronto Argonauts to snap a two-game losing skid.<\/p>\n

The weather forecast in Regina calls for a high of 24 degrees and a 60 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the U.S., and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 620 CKRM in Regina or 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

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J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.<\/p>\n

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