Regretful Renaud kicking himself

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This article was published 15/08/2010 (5758 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When new placekicker Louie Sakoda came up lame prior to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 39-28 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Friday night, Mike Renaud, the Bombers punter, was asked if he could fill in and handle both kicking duties for the club.

The last time he kicked off a tee was in high school and as expected, the results were mixed: While the 27-year-old went 4-for-4 on converts, his kickoff average (35.7 yards) was more than 20 yards shorter than the league norm (kickoffs are usually in the 56- to 62-yard range). Making matters worse, Renaud’s extra responsibility had a noticeable negative effect on his punting.

Coming into the game, the Ottawa native was averaging 49.4 yards a crack.

Friday night, he averaged 34 yards on five punts.

"I need to be tougher mentally… that certainly could have helped (Friday)," Renaud said after the game. "No excuse, though, I still have to do what I’ve been doing all year. Maybe I was a little more concerned with kicking field goals and converts and kickoffs than I was with punting, but I have to remain focused on what my main job was. I lacked some mental toughness out there."

Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice, who revealed Saturday the club set all potential field-goal attempts by Renaud at 25-yards out (the club never tried a FG), noticed the struggles his punter was having. He pulled the second-year player aside after he shanked one out of bounds and delivered this simple message:

"I know you’re doing some other things right now, but don’t forget you’re the best punter in the CFL," said LaPolice, sharing with reporters what he shared with Renaud. "Punt like it."

Friday’s kicking duties just didn’t fall to Renaud, though.

Three weeks ago, when the Winnipeg was hurting through a sore knee, the Bombers held an open tryout of sorts after practice. The coaches wanted to get a feel of who could do what — as regular roster backups in the kicking game are not a luxury for a CFL roster.

Rookie linebacker Chris Smith showed well in that experiment, winning the job as the emergency third-string punter — a position he dabbled with in high school, as well.

"I never (placekicked) that much, though," Smith said. "I’m a punter first."

Smith, 22, took two kickoffs against the Ticats. His first one sailed out of bounds, giving Hamilton excellent field position at its own 45-yard line. The second attempt was a lot better, a 72-yard blast that was eventually scooped up at the Hamilton three-yard line. The difference, Smith says, was a practice attempt during halftime — a big boot that drew a supportive cheer from the stands.

"It was nice to just practice one to see where I was," Smith said. "That gave me the confidence on that second one."

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adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

THE Blue Bombers were not impressed with the events leading up to the situation where two non-kickers had to assume place-kicking responsibilities prior to the game against Hamilton Friday night. According to the club, Louie Sakoda’s calf injury actually happened Thursday, and the import chose not to tell anyone until he aggravated the injury before the game.

Head coach Paul LaPolice said the team will take a look at two new placekickers and will determine what direction they’ll take heading into Thursday’s game at Montreal.

Sources say non-imports Warren Kean and Justin Palardy are the two expected at practice at Canad Inns Stadium this morning.

Saturday, LaPolice said he watched Sakoda pound two 50-yard field goals and assumed everything was all systems go. Later, during the warm-up, though, a team trainer informed the coach that Sakoda had hurt his calf and wouldn’t be able to play.