It's where football people always go first when they arrive at Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp, drawn to it like moths to a light.
VIDEO: Bomber Close-up with Ed Tait
Battle of the booters on again
Old coaches walk into the building and immediately head there giddy with anticipation. Retired linemen drop in and, almost instantly, are hobbling over to the same area on their creaking old joints.
Bomber defensive tackle Doug Brown (97) administers a straight-arm to offensive lineman Kyle Koch during a Thursday workout. The going can get downright nasty in ‘The Gauntlet’ and if a player isn’t up to it, he’s a prime candidate for a Greyhound ticket to nowheresville.
It's the place where the 'C-R-R-A-A-C-K' of helmet on helmet, shoulder pad on shoulder pad reverberates the loudest, where blood is most likely to be spilled and where almost all football fights are born.
Some call it 'The Gauntlet,' others something that usually begins with an adjective or two that isn't suitable for a family newspaper. Most refer to it simply as 'one-on-ones' -- the simulated offensive vs. defensive lineman trench warfare drills that are football in its most basic form. One man rushes a would-be quarterback -- played by either by an injured old lineman or a big blocking bag -- and the other defends.
And for those who make their living in the game it can be violent, vicious, brutal and beautiful all at once.
"I call it 'pain and punishment,' " begins defensive tackle Doug Brown. "It's mano-a-mano, strength against strength. And it doesn't get any more personal than that.
"Some coaches love 'em, some coaches hate 'em. Coach (Bob) Wylie (O-line) really, really, really likes to do them. It's funny, we used to bitch and moan when we had to do them once a day. Now we do them twice a day."
Coaches love the drill because it shows what kind of feet and technique an offensive lineman has or what kind of pass-rush skills a defender has in his repertoire.
But, most of all, the one-on-ones are adored by coaches because they reveal character and toughness. Given that, any lineman who doesn't boil over after getting his backside whupped regularly will soon be on the next Greyhound out of town.
Now, talk to the offensive linemen and they'll insist the one-on-ones are skewed in the defence's favour.
There are no opportunities for a big hoggie to fire off on a run block, instead he just pops up from his stance into pass protection and tries to hold his ground while pedalling backward.
"If you miss a few in a row the defensive lineman will be thinking, 'I've got his number. I'm in his kitchen,' " said left tackle Alexandre Gauthier.
"It's true because you're thinking, 'Man, he beat me again' and you end up playing on your heels. So often times you try to change the momentum and (Gauthier lowers his voice as if to pass on a state secret) maybe you're going to try to bring a punch just to say, 'No-no... you're not going to do that again.'
"But for sure that's not my favourite drill."
"The hard part for offensive linemen," adds former Bomber Brett MacNeil, now the O-line boss at the University of Manitoba and a guest coach at training camp, "is that it's a defensive-favoured drill in that there really is no run threat. It's not realistic because you don't have a quarterback running around, you've got a stationary bag."
And so for an O-lineman, his footwork and his technique has all got to come together because you can't give up an inch in pass protection.
"I used to love 'em when I was winning 'em. But when I wasn't..."
MacNeil grins here. It's a sly grin accompanied by a sparkle in his eye that cannot hide his enthusiasm for the drill, both past and present. During his playing days MacNeil was Cal Murphy's boredom buster, his minister of intimidation. If Kindly Cal thought any practice was getting sloppy, it's said he'd wink at MacNeil who, sooner rather than later, would 'inadvertently' jam his paw under the facemask and of an on-charging lineman.
And -- ta-da! -- the intensity level just went up 1,000 per cent.
"I've been in many training camps in the past where it's like, 'I can't wait to go against that guy. I'm going to punch him in the throat and gouge him in the eye,' " said defensive end Tom Canada. "But this is a different group of guys. Now, it's not like a guy gets beat and he thinks 'I'm going to kick that guy's ass.' It's more like, 'All right, he got me. Next time I'll get him.' We've got such a good attitude out here.
"I know we haven't had one yet in camp, but it's inevitable a fight is going to happen. It's football. You've got guys banging into each other... stuff happens, you know?"
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
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