Inside the Game | The Art of a Play Call

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Inside the Game | The Art of a Play Call - Ed Tait

It's a scene Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans have seen unfold upwards of 70 times per game and on thousands of occasions over the years...

A huddle gathers around quarterback Zach Collaros, who opens a flap on a wristband to read a play call relayed to his helmet speaker by offensive coordinator Buck Pierce. Collaros then barks out a series of words, phrases, letters, and numbers which all seem so random, but are a series of assignments for each player.

On top of all that activity, the 20-second play clock unique to the three-down game is whistled in by the referee and ticking down before the snap, adding an even further heightened level of urgency.

Collaros doesn't waste a nanosecond, saying: 'Ace right/60/Fido/Spear'

And with that the offensive line hunkers down at the line of scrimmage, the running back sets up behind Collaros and the receiving corps is racing in all directions like the first shoppers at a Boxing Day sale.

The latest edition of our 'Inside the Game' series attempts to detail all that seemingly frenetic activity and what it means - without, obviously, revealing any Blue Bombers offensive secrets.

"Every offence has a master playbook where you have all these plays and all these different formations, CFL motions and things you like,? explained Pierce in a recent chat with bluebombers.com ?That?s your base foundation. So, when we?re watching tape of an opponent and tape of what we?ve done, you like to pick and choose what we like this week. Maybe it?s a wrinkle off something that we?ve had in.

?The reality is you usually only get 65, sometimes 70 plays a game. So, to carry your whole playbook into a particular game is impossible. I want to carry things we?re able to practice and we know we?re all on the same page on for each week going into a game. That said, do we have certain things we can go to if we see something in a game? Absolutely."

The Blue Bombers have been consistently one of the CFL?s most-prolific offences under Pierce?s tutelage, ranking first in offence in 2021, second in 2022 and again among the league leaders seven weeks into this season. Pierce watches and calls the game from the spotter's booth, up at the suite level near the press boxes at all CFL stadiums. He?s joined upstairs by running backs coach Jason Hogan, with offensive line coach Marty Costello and receivers coach Kevin Bourgoin at field level.

Each coach has a specific task beyond their own position group and are in constant communication with each other. Costello and Hogan, for example, are studying what the opposition is doing with their defensive front six and their blitz or pressure packages, while Bourgoin and Pierce study the defensive backfield and their coverages. It?s also Bourgoin?s job to constantly relay to his troops what formations they are running.

The rest of the article on The Art of the Play Call is here!