Blue Bomber Report Record: 6–12–0

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

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HE stood, literally and figuratively, head and shoulders above almost everybody at Winnipeg Blue Bombers mini-camp.

So now the question is this for everyone who watched Greg Carr dominate the proceedings over three days at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex:

Just how good can the 6-foot-6 former Florida State star receiver be in 2011?

Consider that after his arrival last September Carr lit up opposition secondaries with 31 receptions for 568 yards and four TDs in only seven games. All this while playing pitch and catch with three different quarterbacks -- Steven Jyles, Alex Brink and Joey Elliott -- and minus a true understanding of all the nuances of playing in the CFL.

"Now I know what to expect. I still have a lot to learn, but now I have an understanding of what the coaches expect from me and they know what I'm capable of," said Carr after Wednesday's final workout. "I feel like any time you can get to a training camp, get to something like this, it makes you better as a player. I believe this opportunity should help me improve, (plus) going through a training camp and getting comfortable with the quarterbacks from the beginning of the season."

The Bombers did approach Carr about signing a contract extension this winter, but the 25-year-old balked, likely thinking putting up solid numbers this season could equal an NFL tryout in 2012. But that's a long-term possibility. And Carr is all about living in the here and right now.

THUMBS UP: Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice was thrilled with what he saw from the club's three-day camp. And while some CFL clubs have used the mini-camps -- now part of the collective-bargaining agreement -- as a chance to evaluate primarily new talent, the Bombers opted to mix in rookies and veterans alike.

"Our philosophy as a club and organization was to use this mini-camp as getting us better instead of looking for new talent," LaPolice said. "Think about it. There are a ton of guys on our roster that didn't even play 10 games... T.J. Harris, Greg Carr, (Deon) Beasely, Joey Elliott, even Buck Pierce, who was new to this system. This is still a very young team, so for us to be able to do this is tremendous.

"For our first year and our first run-through it went tremendously. There's obviously some talented kids that we signed here."

BLUE NOTES: The Bombers announced Wednesday the team has surpassed the 16,000-mark in season-ticket sales. Last year's total topped out at just under 18,000...

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 14, 2011 C3

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