Slippery Floyd makes strong case

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This article was published 17/06/2011 (5538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — He is maybe five feet, five inches tall.

But Perry Floyd was impossible to miss at Percival Molson Stadium Thursday night as the diminutive Bombers slotback staged his own personal track meet, gaining big yards on punt returns and after catches with a slippery running style that gave the Montreal Alouettes secondary and special teams fits all night.

The Bombers lost the game 27-15, but Floyd finished the night with three catches for 57 yards, including a 33-yard gain in the third quarter.

He also ran back three punts for 41 yards, including a 30-yard return on which he had Montreal defenders missing all over the field.

Add a 15-yard kickoff return and Floyd had 113 all-purpose yards, making the smallest man on the field for the Bombers also the most productive.

So what was Floyd’s self-assessment? Surprisingly critical, actually, as the 23-year-old out of Wingate chose instead to beat himself up for a first-quarter fumble that led to Montreal’s first touchdown.

“The beginning was horrible. I’ve got to do a lot better, I really have to work on protecting the ball,” said Floyd. “When it was going good, it felt good. And I had fun. That’s the best thing — I had fun while I was playing. But still, I have to step it up.”

Floyd’s self-criticism centred on his fumble of a first quarter punt on the Winnipeg nine-yard line. The drop was originally ruled a dead ball by officials on the field but Montreal challenged and the call was overturned by video review, leading directly to Montreal’s first touchdown of the night one play later.

It was an inauspicious start, to be sure. But for backers of a Bomber team who have long coveted an explosive kick returner who can also churn out extra yards after a catch, it was easy for fans to be forgiving of Floyd on this night.

Head coach Paul LaPolice, however, called Floyd out for the fumble. “He fumbled making the extra effort, but you just cannot turn the ball over inside the 10.

“It led directly to seven points.”

But then in the next breath, LaPolice also put on a big grin as he described everything else Floyd did on the evening.

“He made some plays. Nice returns, nice catches, nice runs after the catches,” said LaPolice. “This is what we thought of him — a fast kid who can make some plays.”

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Floyd is also very slippery, creating missed tackles with a running style marked by quick carves that can resemble a slalom skier at times. “He’s just fast,” says LaPolice.

With an American passport on a team with blue-chip Canadian receiving rookies, Floyd came into camp fighting an uphill battle. The fact he looks at least three inches shorter than the 5-foot-8 the Bombers list him at doesn’t help his case.

But there’s nothing like a versatile — and effective — performance like the one Floyd put on to perhaps turn some doubters into believers.

Asked if he proved something Thursday night, Floyd was non-committal. “I might have. We’ll see. I’m fighting for a job everyday here. We’ll see what happens next week.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca