Winnipeg Blue Bomber Report Record: 7–11–0

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Blue sign one-time Chiefs' QB Kilian

By: Ed Tait

24/04/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

HE'S a big, mobile quarterback who had a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs. But, no, the newest quarterback added to the Winnipeg Blue Bomber bullpen does not go by the name of Casey Printers.

The Bombers announced the signing of two imports on Thursday, quarterback James Kilian and former Edmonton Eskimos defensive lineman Montez Murphy.

Kilian (6-foot-4, 215, Tulsa) was apparently one of the quarterbacks invited to attend the Bombers free-agent camp in Florida last weekend -- along with Printers, the former CFL Most Outstanding Player who also tried out for the Chiefs before his flame-out with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- and long-time CFL veteran Marcus Crandell.

A 28-year-old Kansas product, Kilian was taken by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft and spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europa and the Arena League's Nashville Kats.

Bombers head coach Mike Kelly did not respond to an interview request by the Free Press so we are unable to provide fans with his take on the club's newest pivot, who now joins CFL vets Stefan LeFors, Ryan Dinwiddie and Bryan Randall on the roster. But here's a snippet of a scouting report done by NFLDraftscout.com before the '05 draft on Kilian's skill set:

'Positives: Tall, mobile passer ... Effective scrambler who is strong in the pocket and very difficult to bring down... Has the body control to pass while rolling out of the pocket and shows fine quickness driving away from the center... Can freeze pass rushers with his moves, showing impressive elusiveness... Good improviser who can make things happen with his feet when the play breaks down... His mobility allows him to buy extra time for his targets to get open.

Negatives: Needs to improve his mechanics, as he has a long delivery... On deep tosses, he will either bounce the ball to the receiver or make his target work back for the ball... Can slide and buy time with his feet, but looks to run mostly when under pressure... '

Murphy (6-foot-6, 260, Baylor), meanwhile, spent last season with the Eskimos and in 12 games registered 24 defensive tackles, three quarterback sacks, and four pass knockdowns. He previously had stints with the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers and both Kelly and new defensive assistant Rick Campbell know him well from last year in Edmonton.

BLUE NOTES: The Eskimos released Canadian safety J.R. Larose on Thursday but no one from the Bombers -- who do plan to start a Canadian at that position -- was available to comment on whether they would be interested in the 25-year-old former Edmonton Huskies star.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 24, 2009 C6

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