Q&A with Weston Dressler, the Blue Bombers’ latest import

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This article was published 27/01/2016 (3535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Weston Dressler made his debut in Blue and Gold on Wednesday, making a round of local media appearances one day after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced they had signed the longtime former Saskatchewan Roughriders all-star receiver.

Dressler sat down with Free Press writer Paul Wiecek to talk football, resentments and why Dressler thinks being short might be the best thing that ever happened to his football career.

Here’s an edited transcript of their conversation:

Wiecek: You’ve come from a team that has had a lot of success in recent years — although obviously not last year. And you’re coming to a team that has really struggled for a long time now. Did that discourage you in your deliberations about whether you really wanted to come to Winnipeg?

Dressler: I wouldn’t say discouraged but it is something I definetely did think about. Absolutely. When you’re looking for a place to play — and I was in a spot where I had a few options — you think about winning. That’s one of the biggest factors involved. But past successes or failures don’t always predict the future. And I think that the different conversations I had — with coach O’Shea, coach Lapo and Kyle — made me feel that things are headed in the right direction here and that things can get turned around here quickly. And when you see what Ottawa did last year, it just proves it’s possible to turn an organization around in a year or two.

Wiecek: Everyone talks about the Winnipeg-Saskatchewan rivalry and how ferocious it is, but it’s really been very one-sided for the last decade. One team has been winning almost all the head-to-head games and it’s not been this one. You’ve been on the other side of this rivalry — why has Saskatchewan so dominated, year after year?

Dressler: It was just the mindset we always had — “It’s Labour Day and we’re going to win.” That was the thought we always carried into that game playing the Bombers — it doesn’t matter what Winnipeg does or tries to do, we’re going to win this game. And when you win a couple games like that, that thought in your mind becomes a truth. And when you can turn a thought into a truth, it’s over at that point.

Wiecek: And that’s one of the things they want out of you here, isn’t it — to instill that kind of winning attitude in this franchise. Can one man do that?

Dressler: Absolutely not. One guy can’t change a room with 70 or 80 people in it. But one guy can change one guy. And two guys can change two guys. And so on. If you can get one guy to buy in and believe in himself and the guy next to him, everything else falls in place. That’s the challenge and I’m up for the challenge and I want to play with guys who are up for the challenge.

Wiecek: I interview a lot of pro athletes. They’re always taller than I am. But you’re just 5-7. I wonder how much of the athlete you are today is a direct result of having to prove yourself your entire life because you’ve always been the smallest guy in a sport dominated by physically imposing men?

Dressler: That was especially true early on. Because I was always smaller and shorter than 99 percent of the people I played against or with, I always felt like I had to do something more or something extra. And I think that’s definitely helped me along the way — I think my size has helped me a lot more than it’s hurt me.

Wiecek: Explain that.

Dressler: It’s given me a mental advantage. The first time I signed up for football I was told I was too small. And it was the same thing every step of the way — high school, college and the pros. I always had to do something extra to stand out.

Wiecek: Would a 5-11 Weston Dressler be playing in the NFL today?

Dressler: Probably not. I don’t know if a 5-11 me would be playing pro football at all, to be honest. For all the reasons I just explained.

Wiecek: You got a look a couple years ago from the Kansas City Chiefs. Is your NFL dream behind you now?

Dressler: Yeah. That was one of those lifelong goals — from the first time I stepped on a football field, I wanted to play in the NFL. It was a dream and as you get older, you realize just how close you are to actually achieving it. But unfortunately for me, my opportunity came when I was 29, instead of 22 or 23 like most rookies in the NFL. And I’m okay with that now.

Wiecek: Growing up in Bismarck, were you a Vikings fan?

Dressler: Yes I was.

Wiecek: My condolences on that.

Dressler: Yeah, that was a tough loss.

Wiecek: You’re going to turn 31 during the upcoming season. How much longer can you play at the level to which you’re accustomed.

Dressler: There’s no saying. You watch football — you see guys who are playing well into their mid-30’s and then you see guys fall off at 28. All I can say is that as long as I’m still motivated to play and enjoying it, I’m going to put in whatever effort is required to have my body prepared to play at a high level.

Wiecek: How big was having a former teammate in Drew Willy and a former coach in Paul LaPolice here with the Bombers in your decision to come to Winnipeg?

Dressler: It was huge. I learned a lot from coach Lapo in my first two years. I’ve said before and I’ll say it here again — I’m not sure I’d still be in this league if he hadn’t been my first receiving coach. He taught me that much. It’s tough as an American learning all these new rules and techniques up here. And the way he taught it just worked for me.

Wiecek: You’ve taken a huge paycut to come here — about 70 grand less to play in Winnipeg than what you were set to make in Saskatchewan this season before they released you. I’d be resentful. Big time. Are you?

Dressler: I’m really not. And the reason is because I’ve seen it so many times in this business. I’ve seen young players come into the league who signed even a league minimum contract and they think that’s their money. And by the time training camp is over, they’re released and they realize they get nothing. Guys get released, guys get cut, guys get their contracts renegotiated. I’ve seen it all.

Wiecek: Welcome to Winnipeg, man.

Dressler: Thanks. It’s great to be here.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek