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Defensive back Keyuo Craver latches onto a ball during a Wednesday morning workout at Canad Inns Stadium. Craver is hoping to solidify his claim to a starting job.

Last year's Nightmare on Maroons Road may have been a horror show for most around the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but not everyone was gored by the sharp razors of the Mike Kelly regime.

Go up and down the Bomber's training camp roster -- from the big men on both sides of the line to the speedsters on the outer edges -- and traces of Kelly's and former talent hound John Murphy's handiwork are everywhere.

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‘Mike was great to me, no question and I was wondering how it would be (with a new coach) but so far it’s been pretty good. Coach LaPo told me no one is going to be able to give me confidence except for myself. It’s so simple but it’s the truth’ — Alexis Serna

Take Keyou Craver for example. The defensive back was brought back to the CFL by the Bombers before the 2009 season (he was in Edmonton in 2005 and '06 before landing in the arena league) and the 29-year-old responded with a fine season, playing in all 18 games and pulling down two interceptions. With the defection of Jonathan Hefney to the Detroit Lions and the tryout underway for some defensive secondary depth, Craver, who is in his ninth pro football camp, should be considered a lock for a job in 2010.

Surprisingly, that's not the case.

A new coaching staff brings with it a clean slate, and any comfort a player like Craver has these days is offset by the potential for an overhaul.

"I'm not one of those guys who feels comfortable being comfortable, you know what I mean?" Craver said after the daily workout at Canad Inns Stadium Wednesday. "I can't be that guy. Even if I could be that guy, where I know my spot is safe, it wouldn't feel right.

"Experience definitely helps, but with a new coaching staff... you never know how things will go," added the Dallas-born veteran. "Nothing is ever guaranteed out here. I have experience, but the younger guys could have younger, fresher legs. So it all depends what (the coaches) are looking for. All I can do is use what I have to my advantage."

Craver likens his situation to the position he plays. Defensive backs are in the reaction business, and if the proper adjustments aren't made when a receiver is charging down on you, the results won't be favourable for a guy like Craver.

'Adjustments'

"You have to be able to adapt, to learn on the fly," said the Nebraska product. "You have to make adjustments, just like when you're out there covering a receiver. When I came to Winnipeg last year it was a new coaching staff and new schemes for me then, too. Change is a part of the game."

Then there's Alexis Serna.

Unlike the battle for a defensive back position, Serna is the only placekicker in camp. His job competition (or evaluation) doesn't really start until the regular season gets underway in two weeks, when he tries to show coach Paul LaPolice that the faith placed in him was justified. That's still some time away, so Serna is enjoying the nature of his camp these days.

"This is the first time since I've been playing where I feel totally comfortable right now," Serna said. "I'm hitting the ball well, but I can hit all the field goals I want in practice, but it's all about that first field goal in the first game."

Similar to Craver's situation in that he thrived (or is it survived?) under Kelly's big top, the Bombers' placekicker put up big numbers in 2009 (40-of-49 field goals made for an 81 per cent completion rate) as the former coach went out of his way to offer support for Serna's contribution to the club. It should be noted that LaPolice did a similar thing early in training camp, pulling the kicker aside and telling him offers to bring in other legs for a competition were not accepted.

"Mike was great to me, no question" said Serna, "and I was wondering how it would be (with a new coach) but so far it's been pretty good. Coach LaPo told me no one is going to be able to give me confidence except for myself. It's so simple but it's the truth.

"I think that can apply to a lot of players out here."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

Today's training camp report C3

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 17, 2010 C1