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OL Tyson Pencer should be signed and ready to go very soon.

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   • Buck 'goes long' for Winnipeg

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wayne glowacki / winnipeg free press archives Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice says it doesn�t matter what the club did or didn�t do in the off-season. The end result is all that counts.

They didn't trade for a new quarterback, like: Hamilton (Henry Burris); Calgary (Kevin Glenn); Edmonton (Stephen Jyles) and Toronto (Ricky Ray).

They didn't sign any big-name free-agent receiver, like: Hamilton (Andy Fantuz) and Edmonton (Greg Carr).

They didn't sign a big-name offensive lineman, like: Saskatchewan (Brendan LaBatte and Dominic Picard).

They didn't sign any big-name free-agent defender, like: Montreal (DL Luc Mallinder and Aaron Hunt); B.C. (DB Byron Parker and Lin-J Shell); and Saskatchewan (Odell Willis).

And they didn't hire a new head coach, like: Hamilton (George Cortez); Toronto (Scott Milanovich); B.C. (Mike Benevides) and Saskatchewan (Corey Chamblin).

No, for the second off-season in a row under GM Joe Mack, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers did less in the free- agent market than any other team in the CFL.

And, predictably, the doomsayers are once again prognosticating -- as Winnipeg prepares to open rookie training camp on Wednesday -- that the Bombers will be punished for their inactivity when the season begins.

Calm down, says Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice. "We're continuing to make changes to help us improve and we're adapting to any changes that come our way," LaPolice told a news conference Monday afternoon. "I think people's decisions are based on how good they did, not in the off-season... it's based on how they do in the end of the season.

"All that other stuff doesn't really matter."

For the second winter in a row, Mack was the least active general manager in the CFL in terms of free-agent signings, with the addition of former Als defensive tackle Ryan Lucas counting among Winnipeg's meagre pickups of CFL veterans.

Instead, Mack has once again chosen to hope the continuing maturing of what will likely once again be the youngest team in the league -- plus the addition of some new young talent to replace the departure of some key veterans -- will be enough to once again confound his critics, who predicted disaster for the Bombers at this time last season after Mack stood pat only to watch in wonder as the 2011 Bombers went to the Grey Cup game.

Asked on Monday to identify the one area where the Bombers have improved most during the off-season, LaPolice instead brought up the two-year evolution of the club's Canadian talent, which was meagre when Mack and LaPolice took over prior to the 2010 season.

"I think our Canadian talent is continuing to get better compared to where we were a couple years ago," LaPolice said. "There's only four players left out of the Canadians that (were with the team) when we got here. Brady Browne, Ian Logan, Steven Morley and Chris Cvetkovic are the only Canadians that are left out of the 22 or 24 Canadians that were here.

"So I think that's the biggest gain -- we've got really good depth at Canadian spots."

The Bombers had a roller-coaster of a 2011 season, opening the regular season at 7-1, going 3-7 the rest of the way, but still doing enough to host the East Final in a win over Hamilton. That got them to the Grey Cup game, where they were summarily out-hustled, out-muscled and outclassed by B.C. when it mattered most.

LaPolice said Monday the challenge this season is to smooth out the path to this year's championship game. "Each year is different. Certainly, nobody picked us one year ago to be in that (Grey Cup) game. We were in the game.

"This year, the message I've been saying to the players all along is we're starting over. There's been a lot of changes throughout the course of the CFL and that's all to do one thing -- win a championship. That's always a hard thing, to win championships.

"We think we like the direction we're going. We need to become consistent winners... We've got to play consistent football."

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

C'mon out, Pencer will be there

HEAD coach Paul LaPolice said he expects the club's first pick in the 2012 CFL entry draft -- OL Tyson Pencer -- will be signed and at rookie camp by Wednesday. LaPolice said Pencer is the last of the club's draft picks still yet to sign.

Pencer said last week he also expected to sign... A still unidentified receiver and defensive back will be the final additions to the Bombers roster this week before rookie camp opens, LaPolice said... LaPolice said the club will give big non-import rookie receiver Johnny Aprile a look at free safety and on special teams... LaPolice said he's hoping to double the crowd of 4,500 that showed up for the opening day of full training camp last year when the club opens this year's full camp on Sunday. Gates open at 9 a.m. and practice will run until about 1 p.m... Concessions will be open, some gift cards will be handed out for free subs and there will be a dunk tank with a Riders fan in it. "We want everyone to come out and celebrate," said LaPolice.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 29, 2012 C3