Just a question that I was pondering last night ...

 

If it wasn't for Collaros, would Drew Willy be more of a headline signing? I get that he's still viewed as the guy going forward and I get that we're all still excited, but there's still that air of "but he's not Collaros" to the whole thing and I just have to wonder if more of us would view Willy as a legitimate option for the future if not for missing on the Collaros sweepstakes.

 

I remember how excited we all were about Reilly last year.

 

Reilly in 2012

 

REILLY, M 2012 BC 52 75 69.3 682 56 4 5.3 2 2.7 104.4

 

REILLY, M 2012-10-19 BC EDM 28 19 67.9 276 47 2 7.1 1 3.6 108.6

REILLY, M 2012-10-26 BC CGY 26 19 73.1 261 56 2 7.7 0 0.0 130.5

REILLY, M 2012-11-03 BC SSK 13 9 69.2 101 21 0 0.0 0 0.0 92.2

 

75 pass attempts, 52 completions for a near 70% completion rate and almost 700 yards.

 

Three games with decent sample size.

 

Willy in 2012/2013

 

WILLY, D 2012 SSK 69 95 72.6 709 43 5 5.3 4 4.2 93.7

WILLY, D 2013 SSK 32 52 61.5 473 45 4 7.7 1 1.92 108.9

 

 

WILLY, D 2012-09-09 SSK WPG 23 17 73.9 188 33 1 4.3 1 4.3 94.1

WILLY, D 2012-09-16 SSK MTL 34 22 64.7 225 33 1 2.9 2 5.9 68.9

 

WILLY, D 2013-07-27 SSK HAM 25 14 56.0 269 45 3 12.0 0 0.0 133.6

WILLY, D 2013-11-02 SSK EDM 22 15 68.2 157 26 1 4.5 1 4.5 84.9

 

Four games with a decent sample size for Willy and they end up comparing fairly.

 

Seems like Drew is more experienced than Reilly was when we were so enamored with him last year and considering I was a huge Reilly booster, it makes me wonder why I don't get as excited about Willy. Saskatchewan stink? Because he comes across as option B?

 

Nothing is guaranteed. Reilly wasn't. Collaros isn't. Willy isn't. But after thinking about it, I'm just not sure why I'm not as excited about Willy as I was about the other two. I mean really, I saw what he could do when he tore us a new one in the Banjo Bowl. We know he's capable. So what is it?

You make a very good point. Willy is a BIG signing for the Bombers. His scouting reports, CFL game footage and stats are all excellent. McManus is high on him, which carries a lot of weight.

The perception that he's option C is really downplaying the significance of this huge acquisition.

It sort of seems like the media can only get excited about one player a year.  Last year it was Reilly.  This year it was Collaros.

 

I also think their status was a bit different.  Everyone knew and expected Collaros to be a big Free Agent hit whereas maybe the Rider-loving media figured he might re-sign there.

 

I have to admit that my excitment for Collaros was only due to others' excitment.  I was never really emotional about it.  I was far more intrigued by Burris but maybe because Im more familar with him.

 

When I heard Danny Mac preferred Willy, even before Collaros signed, it lessened my disappointment there.

 

I agree though - Willy is our man.  It's time to embrace it.  By the time the first snap happens, I am sure he will be a bonafide rock star in this city.

I think the perception that he is option C is misguided.  We are talking free-agents, and there is no guarantee that any player will sign with any team.

 

Just assume Collaros resigned in TO, and then Burris isn't released..... then who would have been Option A?

I think their optimal scenario would of been of getting Burris and having Willy as the backup. Yet I think there is no regret within the organization that they ended up with Willy.

For me it was partly that he was a Roughie but I have already forgiven his misguided past. If there had been no Collaros then Willy would have been the jewel of free agency. Only time will tell who is the better of the two. Maybe they'll both be dominant QB's for years to come, that would be nice.

Well Willy *was* Plan C.  If we sign Collaros, we surely dont go after Burris.  If we sign Burris, *maybe* we make Willy an offer as a back up.

I think it's mostly because he was under the radar and Collaros put up some great numbers in some games last year.

Also the highlights showed Collaros scrambling around making plays on the fly which with our crap o line it might work.

Willy isn't as flashy but from the little gameplay that I remember watching of him is that the guy is very calm and can handle a rush and release the ball quick.

I'd like to rewatch more of his games to see how his arm is and his mobility.

From what I've seen, Willy has a better arm, footwork, accuracy, size, and is good at reading defenses. Willy is mobile, but not as mobile as Collaros.

Collaros had all the hype, but I think we may have gotten the better QB of the two.

I'm still firmly in the camp that thinks Collaros would be better, but hey ... McManus thinks I'm wrong and I obviously hope I'm wrong too.

 

And given my track record lately, I'm pretty sure I will be wrong.

Well Willy *was* Plan C.  If we sign Collaros, we surely dont go after Burris.  If we sign Burris, *maybe* we make Willy an offer as a back up.

 

Can you be so sure?  If none of them had been available until February 11, do you think we still would have set our sights first on Collaros, second on Burris?

I like Willy, but he just feels like a consolation point at this point.

 

I'm sure people will get a little more excited about him when the sting of losing Collaros and Burris goes away.

Watched Willy over the past couple years and always thought he was going to be a good one. Was really surprised the Riders didn't do more to work him in, 'cause in my mind, his top-end is higher than Darian Durant. I still wouldn't mind seeing Kevin Glenn in there to help mentor, but really, in a worst case scenario, I don't mind having a guy like Danny Mac as a mentor. That guy understands CFL QBs as well as anyone who's ever played the game. I have really high hopes for DW...the battle between he and Hall during camp should be a fun one!

Watched Willy over the past couple years and always thought he was going to be a good one. Was really surprised the Riders didn't do more to work him in, 'cause in my mind, his top-end is higher than Darian Durant. I still wouldn't mind seeing Kevin Glenn in there to help mentor, but really, in a worst case scenario, I don't mind having a guy like Danny Mac as a mentor. That guy understands CFL QBs as well as anyone who's ever played the game. I have really high hopes for DW...the battle between he and Hall during camp should be a fun one!

Hey good idea....

 

Danny Mac...US Scout/QB Coach

I'm of the belief that Willy was always in the plans, however I also believe the club wanted one of the other two as well. If they were successful in signing Collaros they would probably let he and Willy battle it out in camp and went with the "one-two" punch throughout the season. If they were able to sign Burris, they would have used Burris as a starter for a year maybe two and mentor Willy, he being the "future". It is my opinion that if we would have signed Khari as OC we would have been able to sign one of the two other QBs. Here we are though, we have a new QB that now knows what it feels like to be on a Grey Cup winning team, albeit in a back up capacity, and now given an opportunity to lead his own team. He is not raw by any means, has shown that he has the ability and is ready for the next step. Best of all he did not cost an arm and a leg, so we still have plenty of $$$ to bring in some impact players.

I think the lack of excitement stems from clearly pursuing and then failing to land the first two guys we went after.  I'm pretty excited for Willy, but I really wanted Collaros.

It's not about the stats for me.  It's about watching the QB's play.  Only 4 young guns have made me think 'Starting CFL QB' in the last few years, Smith, Reilly, BLM and Collaros in that order.

 

Willy is better than Hall and Goltz and the best available QB so he is a good pickup, even if he is our 3rd choice.  Thats not the same thing as being excited that we just signed our QB of the future.  Willy looked pretty good going through his progressions behind the Riders O line, but he was taking 4+ seconds to get the deep balls off which he won't have behind our O line.  It's going to be very interesting to see if he can make the right decisions quicker behind our O line.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic that Willy will play OK for a first year starter, but that's hardly anything to get excited about.

Great thread. I was wondering about this on the drive home from work yesterday. I think it was to do with the fact that Reilly was the top prize in the eyes on many last year, as was Collaros. Willy just flew under the radar despite his stats and his work on the field.

You make a very good point. Willy is a BIG signing for the Bombers. His scouting reports, CFL game footage and stats are all excellent. McManus is high on him, which carries a lot of weight.

The perception that he's option C is really downplaying the significance of this huge acquisition.

Agreed on all counts. Well said.

cause in my mind, his top-end is higher than Darian Durant. 

but you've hated Durant for years. The guy has played in what? 3 Grey Cup games already and won once, that ain't bad. Might be time to take off the rider hating glasses (and no one wants to do that) but Durant is a good quarterback.

 

Well Willy *was* Plan C.  If we sign Collaros, we surely dont go after Burris.  If we sign Burris, *maybe* we make Willy an offer as a back up.

 

Can you be so sure?  If none of them had been available until February 11, do you think we still would have set our sights first on Collaros, second on Burris?

 

 

That's what I said.

 

This whole A,B, C concept was driven by whom exactly?

Will we find that blueprint in the GM's office?

 

No. The whole thing played out the way it did, exactly in that order, because of one thing - Jim Barker releasing Collaros early.

Think about it. If he had not done that, Free Agency would have dictated where QBs ended up --unless a trade was made.

 

However, the frenzy (and it was frenzy) started and virtually guaranteed who would be sought first before Free Agency.

 

The chain of events was Collaros was released, causing Burris's release making Burris target #2 as then the frenzy swirled around him.

 

I'm far from convinced the order would have played out in the same way otherwise.

There were reports several weeks ago saying the Bombers were higher on Willy than Collaros.

Drew Willy was always in the mix for us since he was a pending FA, and, personally, I'd rather have a young guy with some promise, maybe, than Burris or Glenn, even if it means another year of pain.

I like ZC because he is more mobile and lets go of the ball quicker than Willy. Its not surprising McManus likes DW - they are pocket passers, both.

I thought we had a chance at Collaros but I don't see not getting him as a failure, it seems for whatever reason, he didn't consider Wpg an option.

Looking around the league, I expect Troy Smith will tear it up this year, along with BLM if he can stay healthy in Calgary. Honestly Collaros could catch fire or bust in Ham, who knows? Lulay and Reilly, meh.

I haven't heard much about Levi Brown who was on our practice roster and who I assume will be invited to Bomber TC to compete.

Turns out Brown and Willy are good pals, since both were on the Sask roster for 2012 and part of 2013 before Brown was released:

So they will be glad to be together again in Winnipeg.

Here's what I wonder: if he shows so much promise - why didn't SK try harder to keep Drew Willy? And what about Levi Brown? He played for Cortez in Buffalo and Regina but also was deemed expendable.

What do we know that SK doesn't?

Drew Willy was always in the mix for us since he was a pending FA, and, personally, I'd rather have a young guy with some promise, maybe, than Burris or Glenn, even if it means another year of pain.

I like ZC because he is more mobile and lets go of the ball quicker than Willy. Its not surprising McManus likes DW - they are pocket passers, both.

I thought we had a chance at Collaros but I don't see not getting him as a failure, it seems for whatever reason, he didn't consider Wpg an option.

Looking around the league, I expect Troy Smith will tear it up this year, along with BLM if he can stay healthy in Calgary. Honestly Collaros could catch fire or bust in Ham, who knows? Lulay and Reilly, meh.

I haven't heard much about Levi Brown who was on our practice roster and who I assume will be invited to Bomber TC to compete.

Turns out Brown and Willy are good pals, since both were on the Sask roster for 2012 and part of 2013 before Brown was released:

So they will be glad to be together again in Winnipeg.

Here's what I wonder: if he shows so much promise - why didn't SK try harder to keep Drew Willy? And what about Levi Brown? He played for Cortez in Buffalo and Regina but also was deemed expendable.

What do we know that SK doesn't?

SK is very high on their 3rd string QB, making Willy expendable. Willy also told SK he'd be testing free agency because he wants an opportunity to start. That wasn't going to happen in SK with Durant entrenched as the starter.

For me it was partly that he was a Roughie but I have already forgiven his misguided past. If there had been no Collaros then Willy would have been the jewel of free agency. Only time will tell who is the better of the two. Maybe they'll both be dominant QB's for years to come, that would be nice.

Remember as a player coming into the league two years ago he could ONLY sign with the Riders because of the negotiation list restrictions, so he didn't have a choice.  As it turned out it was a good choice as he got a Grey Cup and good experience.  The future is bright for the Blue Bombers

 

Drew Willy was always in the mix for us since he was a pending FA, and, personally, I'd rather have a young guy with some promise, maybe, than Burris or Glenn, even if it means another year of pain.

I like ZC because he is more mobile and lets go of the ball quicker than Willy. Its not surprising McManus likes DW - they are pocket passers, both.

I thought we had a chance at Collaros but I don't see not getting him as a failure, it seems for whatever reason, he didn't consider Wpg an option.

Looking around the league, I expect Troy Smith will tear it up this year, along with BLM if he can stay healthy in Calgary. Honestly Collaros could catch fire or bust in Ham, who knows? Lulay and Reilly, meh.

I haven't heard much about Levi Brown who was on our practice roster and who I assume will be invited to Bomber TC to compete.

Turns out Brown and Willy are good pals, since both were on the Sask roster for 2012 and part of 2013 before Brown was released:

So they will be glad to be together again in Winnipeg.

Here's what I wonder: if he shows so much promise - why didn't SK try harder to keep Drew Willy? And what about Levi Brown? He played for Cortez in Buffalo and Regina but also was deemed expendable.

What do we know that SK doesn't?

SK is very high on their 3rd string QB, making Willy expendable. Willy also told SK he'd be testing free agency because he wants an opportunity to start. That wasn't going to happen in SK with Durant entrenched as the starter.

 

Exactly right.  They would have been glad to have him come back if he didn't sign here