3 things you missed from the Bombers press conference after the 111th Grey Cup
11/18/2024 01:12 AM
VANCOUVER — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost a tough battle against the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup.
The Blue and Gold went into the locker-room with a 10-9 lead, but were unable to overcome a hand injury to quarterback Zach Collaros and a fierce Argonauts defence in the second half to lose 41-24 on Sunday at BC Place.
CFL.ca brings you three things you may have missed from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers press conference after the 111th Grey Cup.
111th GREY CUP
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DIFFICULT GRIP
Collaros suffered an injury to his throwing hand in the second half and was unable to prevent the Argos from completely taking over the game.
The pivot threw three second-half interceptions, including a pick six to defensive back Robert Priester, and completed only 50 per cent of his passes. Overall Collaros connected on 15 of 30 passes for 202 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns.
“I think it was difficult to have the control on the ball that he would normally have,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after the game.
“It was a little numb,” said Collaros about the injury. “The grip was difficult.”
SPACE TO BE TERRIBLE
O’Shea said on Saturday that ‘the magnitude of a loss seems to trump the magnitude of (the) joy of wins.’ Reflecting on the Bombers losing their third straight Grey Cup, the head coach didn’t shy away from that feeling.
“They all have their space to be terrible,” answered O’Shea after the game when asked if this one stung any worse than the previous two.
“It feels so bad every time,” echoed Collaros after the game. “There are just so many people in the locker room you care for. Put in a lot of time, a lot of work together. To not have it go your way in the ultimate game is obviously tough.”
DISGUISING THINGS
Toronto’s defence was outstanding in taking the ball away through the air against the Bombers. Outside of just the second-half circumstances that plagued the Bombers offence, the Argos were also successful in showing Winnipeg different looks that ended up in takeaways for the Double Blue.
“They bring a nickel package and they do a good job in disguising things,” Collaros told reporters. “The interception in the first half I would like to have back. It was a fairly good disguise by (Argos’ defensive back Royce) Metchie.”
