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.
“Down south they have more time (in the NFL the play clock is 40 seconds and predominantly begins after a play is finished), but up here you have to make sure you streamline things as much as possible because of the time constraints,” Pierce explained. “That’s why our play calls are shorter, and you don’t see a lot of audibles (changing of plays) by the quarterback. As an offence, you never want to take a time count (penalty). And so, the streamlining process and how you call a play has got to be seamless.
“With our play calls, the formation comes first, telling everyone where to line up. Then you want to give the next most important information, which is the protection – if it’s a pass play or a run play so that the offensive line is already thinking about those things and the receivers already know where to line up. Then you give the route combinations. The last thing is usually telling the tailback what you want him to do.”
Pierce used a fictional example of a play call – ‘Ace right/60/Fido/Spear’ listed above – to further explain.
“Ace right would be the formation and there’s a strength call, which tells three receivers where to go while the other two receivers go opposite. Ace right means two receivers go left; three receivers go to the right.
“The 60 is the protection for the O-line – in this case a six-man protection. It also tells the quarterback his drop, how many steps he’s to take on his drop back. The sixth man in protection would be the tailback.”
“And without giving too much away, ‘Fido’ tells certain receivers what they have, and ‘Spear’ tells the other receivers what they have.
“As a former quarterback I know that you have a pretty big job being behind centre,” added Pierce. “There’s a lot going on. There’s down and distance, what the defence is doing, making sure we’re lined up right, the decision making and making sure we’re getting in and out of the right plays, managing the play clock… all those things.
“Part of my job is to make his job as easy as possible. And, obviously, that process is very important to an offence’s success.”
The Blue Bombers offensive coaching staff, like all successful teams, are open to input from their players – especially so with an offence so stacked with veterans and all stars. Ultimately, it’s Pierce who is calling the game and it’s his experience as a QB in the CFL that is vital in the critical moments.
“There’s a lot going on, a lot to digest,” said Pierce. “When you’re in a game and you’ve got those things going… let’s just say the best coordinators I’ve been around just had a really good ‘feel’ for the game. Even if a play doesn’t get 12 yards, for example, it can still be a good play for a certain reason. Even if you didn’t get a first down or a completion, that play might still have merit. There’s a lot of factors in there. Sometimes you have to decipher why it didn’t work and then make the decision to come back to it quickly or put it off for a bit. That’s a big factor: as a play caller it’s important to have the understanding of the ‘why’s – Why plays work or didn’t work.”
“You’ve also got to be able to stay poised and not get too high or too low. Those guys get paid on that side of the ball, too, and there are elite players and great coordinators in this league, too. You never beat yourself up on your call or get too excited. You have to stay in the moment and decipher what’s important to winning on any given day. Weather, injuries can all be factors and so as a coordinator you don’t just put your blinders on and focus on what you’re doing.”
Game-planning, studying opposition defences through film study and the daily grind of preparation and player evaluation is all part of the allure of coaching. And on game day it’s the in-game adjustments and play-calling which can be both thrilling and fascinating.
How a coordinator and his staff manage the stress of all that, and the stresses of the moment, can dictate the outcome of a game. After all, as former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson once said – and it’s a statement which certainly relates to play calling – ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.’
“Calling the plays from the booth – relaying them down to Zach – is pretty close to the feel of playing the game,” said Pierce. “You know what? At times I still do miss being on the field. I miss the engagement on the field and the atmosphere because you can’t always hear the crowd.
“But to be up there in my own thoughts while gathering information is definitely a plus for me. I tell ya, you don’t get quite the same nerves on game day, but the competitiveness is obviously there.”
Inside The Game series:
