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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

No need to panic, yet... as Blue retool secondary again

Will it work this time?

By: Ed Tait

11/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image

Newcomer James Johnson (19) provides blanket coverage on receiver Arjei Franklin during a workout Wednesday. Winnipeg has high hopes for the ’07 Grey Cup MVP.

Few things can make enemy quarterbacks as excited -- and cause head coaches and defensive co-ordinators to panic -- than seeing a defence naked in the back end.

What's that? Come again?

The back end, or secondary, is a defence's last line. And in a quarterback-driven loop like the CFL, a mediocre air defence can be exposed faster than Pauly Shore at Stratford. All of which brings us to the collection of men brought together at Winnipeg Blue Bomber training camp in the hopes of assembling a secondary that won't have Mike Kelly jolting awake every night in a cold sweat.

"I'll tell you what, it looks good back there," said Jovon Johnson, one of the few holdovers from last year's unit that finished dead last in interceptions and sixth in yardage allowed. "We've got some great athletes, a lot of guys who have played in this league and know the ropes. I think we're going to be good, it's just a matter of coming together and being on the same page."

Thing is, right about now everyone in Bomber Nation is simply going to have to trust Johnson on that one. There are some juicy resumés and dandy credentials among the defensive back candidates, but the overall CFL experience is thin. We will say this for what it's worth: based on four days of main training camp this group loves to get after it and they've got a collective brashness that would make Less Browne grin.

And that's not by coincidence. A desperate plea for that aggressiveness was made clear by Kelly in one of his first meetings with the troops last weekend when, quoting a Free Press story, he rattled off this embarrassing statistic: in the last three seasons the Bombers have managed just 38 interceptions as a defence.

That, folks, ain't a pretty number.

"I haven't hidden the fact that I liked the way the Bombers played in the '80s and early '90s," said Kelly. "I guess you could say there were a few brash guys in those days, too. I don't want us to do things that take away from the focus and the task at hand, but genuine enthusiasm for what they're doing is great to have."

Jovon Johnson looks to be a safe bet somewhere in the back end. And James Johnson, the MVP of the 2007 Grey Cup who came aboard this winter, has been steady. There are CFL vets like Keyuo Craver and Lenny Walls -- still holding out -- and promising prospects like Darrius Battles, Ronyell Whitaker and John Eubanks.

But who takes the field against Ricky Ray and the Edmonton Eskimos on July 2 is still just a guess and that means this unit will remain a question mark until well after the real bullets start flying.

"We may be new, but a lot of guys have been in the CFL, NFL or some type of professional league," said Eubanks, the former Southern Mississippi star who had a stint with the Washington Redskins.

"Now it's about communication and coming together. A guy like me, I sat out last year waiting for a shot so this is an amazing opportunity."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Trouble with the DBs

A look at the Bomber secondary over the last three years:

2008

Yards passing against: 304.1 (6th ranked)

Interceptions: 15 (last)

2007

Yards passing against: 254.7 (2nd)

Interceptions: 10 (last)

2006

Yards passing against: 235.3 (2nd)

Interceptions: 13 (7th)

Worth noting: In 1990 the Bomber defence set a CFL record that still stands with 48 interceptions -- led by Less Browne (14) and Rod Hill (12). Jovon Johnson led the Bombers with three interceptions last year; in 1990 seven Bombers had three picks or better -- Browne, Hill, James West and Tyrone Jones (4 each); Darryl Sampson, Greg Battle and Ken Pettway (3 each).

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 11, 2009 C3

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