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TSN CFL Analyst

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This we know for sure:

1. Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell are winners and leaders of men!

2. Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell will be making their first career Grey Cup starts.

3. These bright young stars will be around for a while, hopefully!

Collaros is a fierce competitor and that drive for excellence runs hot! He's a quarterback his teammates believe in, not so much by what he says, but by what he does. This young and talented quarterback excels at extending plays with his athleticism and imagination. He is very instinctive in his feel for the game and sees the field extremely well relative to his experience level.

One of the rare strengths that Collaros possesses is the ability to extend a play, all the while keeping his eyes downfield.  So many times this season we have seen a defence react to Collaros’ scrambling ability and converge on him only to see him dump the ball over the top for big gains and numerous conversions on second down.

Collaros has been impressive in his game management capabilities and is a big reason why this team has gone 9-2 down the stretch. The Tiger-Cats defence gets a lot of the praise, and justifiably so, but you have to have a quarterback that can check his ego, understand the complexion of a game, and do what is necessary in order to ultimately win. He has done that with great poise and character in a playoff mentality down the stretch since coming back from his concussion issue in the first half of the season.

Since returning from his stint on the six-game injured list, Collaros has led the Ticats to a 9-3 record, which rivals Calgary’s 8-2 record during that same time. Collaros finished the year with 3,261 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions on 65.8 percent accuracy. Ball security, game management and clutch throws have been his calling card since that return.

Collaros will have numerous weapons at his disposal come Sunday and with the addition of Nic Grigsby to the arsenal, I believe having a balanced attack, controlling the time of possession, and limiting the chances for the best player in the CFL to touch the ball (Calgary’s Jon Cornish), will play a huge roll in whether or not Hamilton becomes the 2014 Grey Cup Champions. Remember the last nine Grey Cup Champions have won the time of possession battle.

And on the other side of the field. Mitchell spots the ball, or to put it another way, locates the ball with great accuracy. If a back or receiver is in the flats, you will see Mitchell locate the ball in a position where the back has a chance to turn it up and not break stride. If a defender is on the inside of a receiver in tight coverage, you will see him place a ball on the outside, in a location only where his receiver can make a play on it. Easier said than done on this massive CFL field we play on up here in this great country. Mitchell had similar stats to Collaros this season, finishing with 3,389 yards and 22 touchdowns to eight interceptions.

Mitchell sees and recognizes defences like a seasoned veteran. The significance of this rare trait in a young quarterback is how quickly he has latched on to the reading of defences. It's not as easy as he is making it look! Some guys never figure it out and get bounced from the league before they ever do. Mitchell has a bead on it in only 17 starts and that's why he is 15-2 in that stretch. He sees it better than most! You often hear folks talk about how a game slows down for players with age and experience, well for Mitchell, the game is already at "snail speed" and he's making it look easy playing pitch and catch with a talented group of hungry receivers.

Oh yeah, it doesn’t hurt to have the best player in the CFL in the backfield with you in Cornish. With that said, Mitchell has found a way to feed Cornish and incorporate his skill set all the while maintaining harmony with a very balanced offensive attack! Again, not easy!

Something that is not talked about but very well could play a big factor in Sunday's outcome is his ability to extend plays and/or make them with his legs. He may not be Collaros, but he has plenty of giddy up to move the chains and extend drives. All in all a wonderful talent that has been entertaining to watch blossom so quickly right before our eyes in 2014.