Gotta get that swagger on

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2010 (5869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

So which is it: Swaggerville or Lockdown U?

Before we christen the Winnipeg Blue Bombers secondary with one of the two monikers currently on the table for members of this esteemed collection of pass-coverage individuals, a little history first:

Swaggerville comes from the mind of defensive back Jovon Johnson, who assumed all that town’s mayoral responsibilities when he handed the group that handle last season. The Winnipeg secondary, a ball-hawking unit consisting of Johnson, Jonathan Hefney, Lenny Walls and Keyuo Craver, turned in a league-best 31 interceptions in 2009 and earned every bit of swagger they assumed.

The mastermind behind Lockdown U is thinking of opening a satellite campus in Winnipeg this season. Veteran defensive back LaVar Glover, who spent four years in Vancouver before coming to Manitoba this off-season, came up with the nickname for the B.C. Lions secondary a year ago, and though the group didn’t have as many picks as Swaggerville, it did manage to steal 21 balls and provide an interception education to a few quarterbacks along the way.

"LaVar is putting in a petition for Lockdown U, but I’m still keeping the Swaggerville," Johnson smiled after a spirited practice at Canad Inns Stadium Wednesday. "I don’t think there’s going to be too much debate."

Whatever confident municipal or institutional name you want to give the Bombers secondary, be aware of this stat: The group has no interceptions in the first three games this season. This time last season: seven picks. The only pick so far is credited to linebacker Courtney Smith.

Is there no joy in Swaggerville? Have the Lockdown U students flunked out?

"It’s just one of those things where you never know if it’s going to come," Johnson said. "When they do come, they come in bunches. Put it this way: Last year, we started off hot and as the season went on, teams started to throw it underneath more to avoid us.

"We’re still looking for that first one to get us going here."

The Bombers are coming off a game where they allowed the Hamilton quarterback to complete 29 balls and throw for 340 yards passing — numbers that are well above the season average Winnipeg has turned in to this point (20 for 241). That was against Kevin Glenn. Against Edmonton on Saturday (5:30 p.m., Canad Inns), the secondary faces another desperate, winless club with a future Hall of Famer at quarterback who goes by the name of Ricky Ray.

Ray, who threw for nearly 5,000 yards in 2009, is usually not where a secondary starts to design a thieving conspiracy, but Glover figures it differently. He’s seen enough of the Edmonton pivot over the years to know that Ray, while one of the smartest QBs in the league, isn’t immune to the odd blitz package or eight.

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"You have to keep the pressure on him and you have to keep someone in his face," the 31-year-old said. "Make him get rid of it before he wants to get rid of it. That’s when you can make something happen."

It’s not like Ray is a turnover machine, though. He’s sitting at only two interceptions in 2010, but as Glover and Johnson point out, he does like to throw the ball (110 attempts; only Calgary’s Henry Burris and Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo have more). The more balls in the air, the more opportunities for a defender to make a play, the more the likelihood of an interception.

Glover says the Bombers secondary, which includes Brandon Stewart, Clint Kent and Alex Suber (who should return from a hamstring injury), has to be patient and they have to recognize where the big-play Eskimo players are on the field. Two of those players are receivers Fred Stamps and Kelly Campbell, who have 700 receiving yards combined already this season.

"Playing against those guys is an added motivation for us," Glover said, adding he doesn’t think the Winnipeg secondary has done enough to warrant a nickname at this point. "Lockdown U, Swaggerville — I don’t think we’ve come up with an identity yet. We have to make some plays first. We’ll come up with something, though."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca