'You can bounce back'

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Newcomer Casey Bramlet is rumoured to be slated as the starter Sunday in Montreal. ( PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA )

Mike Kelly has made some mistakes in his rookie season as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but there's no questioning his pluck.

The entire world outside of Kelly's office might be wondering what the heck he's up to but the coach believes in his mission.

Kelly's club fell to 3-7 with Sunday's 55-10 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and a number of his players called the outing "embarrassing" in a sombre locker-room following the debacle. The coach was despondent following Sunday's defeat but his streak of defiance was back by Monday afternoon.

"I believe in what we're doing here. I have an energy level that says let's go to work now," said Kelly. "I was talking to (defensive co-ordinator Mark Nelson) and when he was with Edmonton in 1993 and I was here, Winnipeg beat Edmonton 53-11 and 52-10 in the two games we played and then Edmonton won the Grey Cup. Am I saying because Saskatchewan beat us 55-10 that we're going to win the Grey Cup? No, I'm not saying that. What I am saying is you can bounce back from these things if you believe and you have mental toughness and if you have a want to. I believe our football players have that."

Kelly says the talk of his firing can't and won't get under his skin.

"I love the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and I love coming in here each day and I love the guys in that locker-room," said Kelly. "It's a pleasure to come in here and work. I don't pay any attention to all that stuff going on on the outside."

The Bombers have struggled at quarterback all season and Kelly's off-season decision to release veteran Kevin Glenn has come back to haunt him. Glenn has done a serviceable job in Hamilton and helped the Tiger-Cats to a 5-5 mark for a two-game lead on the Bombers and Argos in the Eastern Division.

Kelly traded for the unproven Stefan LeFors and when that didn't work out, the team brought in Michael Bishop and the results have once again been middling as Bishop is now 2-4 as a starter with the Bombers.

"We have a couple of quarterbacks on our (negotiation list) that don't have a lot of experience that we're considering getting a look at what their skill sets are in person and how they adapt to this game," said Kelly, who was then asked if newcomer Casey Bramlet would start on Sunday in Montreal in place of Bishop. "No. I haven't said that. We're looking at a lot of things and we'll let you know as the week goes on."

Despite Kelly's non-comittal stance, the word was swirling around Bomberland Monday that the coaches were considering starting Bramlet on Sunday in place of Bishop. Bramlet has no CFL game experience.

Not surprisingly, the ever-positive Kelly was able to find some good in Sunday's thumping.

"Our guys kept playing. They forced them to kick six field goals. That could have been 42 points. It was 18. Teams that quit don't do that. We held them out of the offence and I'm proud of what we did defensively. Offensively, I'm frustrated. We flat-out just did not execute," offered Kelly.

The Bombers must travel to Montreal this weekend to meet the league-leading Alouettes and with such a tough task facing his club, Kelly says his players are ready to respond.

"I still believe we can win. I had a good talk with them today. I'm on the TSN website and it says I'm losing the players. I just got a text from a player; it says, 'Well said today coach, guys still with you.' And that's how we are. There's all this sensationalism outside of the building but in the building we're here. We come to work every day and we still believe in one another and our mental toughness is greater than anything outside this building."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

TODAY'S BOMBER REPORT C3

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 15, 2009 C1