New QB may play Banjo

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New Blue Bombers quarterback Casey Bramlet is introduced at Canad Inns Stadium Wednesday afternoon. He is a former World Bowl MVP. (DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

CASEY BRAMLET called an old teammate from Wyoming the other night, dialing up Brock Ralph for the 4-1-1 on Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers and what kind of opportunity awaited him should he venture north to the CFL.

What he may not have known -- at least until his arrival Wednesday afternoon -- is any time a new quarterback arrives in town it sparks debate, it draws cameras and reporters to the scene and makes the incumbents nervous.

Most of all, in Bomberland it always prompts this question: has the organization found the man who can help end an 18-year Grey Cup drought?

"You don't bounce around as many NFL teams as he has without somebody thinking, 'Hey, there's a skill set there that we need to see,'" said Bomber head coach Mike Kelly of the newest pivot. "And, obviously, he played very well in (NFL) Europe and was MVP of the World Bowl. We want to take a look at some people as we're going down the stretch here and we felt that he fit some of the criteria we were looking for. And so, we get him in here and take a look. Nothing is better than seeing a guy first-hand, rather than watching film."

Bramlet's arrival comes after a Labour Day Classic loss to Saskatchewan in which starter Michael Bishop threw for a season-high 329 yards and one score, but was also intercepted three times. It also comes a day after Stefan LeFors had his non-throwing shoulder examined and was very limited in practice amid speculation he may have his season shut down and be placed on the nine-game injured list.

"I'm excited to be up here," said Bramlet. "I know a couple guys on the team...Brock Ralph and I played with coach (Manny) Matsakis before and so when they called I jumped at the opportunity to learn the game and see what happens. I'm more of a passing quarterback. I like to get out and throw the ball and that's another good reason why I think the CFL could be a good fit for me. I'm excited to come out and show them what I can do."

A three-year starter at Wyoming, Bramlet holds a handful of school career passing records. He'll spend the next few days cramming about the CFL and the Bomber offence and, depending on LeFors' immediate status, may even be in uniform on Sunday for the Banjo Bowl rematch against the Roughriders.

"I'm coming in right now and just doing everything I can to get an opportunity," said Bramlet, 28. "And if they give me a chance I'll do everything I can to take that opportunity. But if not I'm here to learn the game and improve as a quarterback. "I'm not a guy that's going to come in and try to cause controversy. But I'm going to come in and do everything I can to be as good a player as I can so that if they do call on me I'll be ready."

Meanwhile, LeFors confirmed Wednesday after practice that he did have an MRI on his right shoulder earlier this week. The club is still waiting for the results, but LeFors said he was still experiencing some pain which first appeared after the season-opening loss in Edmonton. "I just woke up the day after and it felt funny," LeFors said. "I just thought it was one of those things were something went wrong and that it would go away. But it just continued to stay the same. The Hamilton hit (where he was lit up by Tiger-Cat linebacker Otis Floyd) may have worsened it. We rehabbed it. We've taken all the steps we could have taken and it's not getting any better so we're going to keep working on it and see what this MRI says and go from there.

"If it's something that needs to be fixed... obviously, I want it to be fixed. I don't want to keep going on with pain in my shoulder. If it affects my everyday life I need to get it fixed and move on and if that means I'm done for the season, I'm done."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

The straight goods on Bramlet

On Wednesday we gave you the SI.com scouting report on Bramlet prior to the 2004 draft (he was selected in the seventh round by Cincinnati). Today, an insider's view: Brock Ralph played four years with Bramlet at Wyoming before the two took different routes to pro football. Ralph came to the CFL, Bramlet bounced around NFL Europa and a number of NFL teams.

Brock's take:

"He's a big, tall, strong quarterback. He moves pretty good for a 6-4 guy. He's got long limbs, long arms...that's one of his strengths, his arm strength. He can really whip that thing, he's got a great deep ball which suits the big field. He's smart quarterback who makes good decisions and reads well. I haven't seen him for a couple of years so I'm interested to see how he's grown and I'm sure he's improved.

"He's always been a guy who had the raw tools to play at the next level and that's why he's continued to play all this time. We'll see how he adapts to this game and how long it takes him to figure out the differences here. I was trying to get him up to Hamilton two or three years ago (when Ralph was with the Ticats) but he wasn't ready to do that. I got an unexpected phone call the other day and I guess he thought the time had come."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 10, 2009 C1