Bombers’ brass soak in mini-camp lessons

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This article was published 28/04/2017 (3436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After two and a half days consisting of five on-field workouts and hours spent in the classroom, Friday marked the official end to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers spring mini-camp at Investors Group Field.

Approximately 35 players, many of whom were new to the CFL game, were put through a crash-course of the league and tested both physically and mentally throughout the week as they fought to earn a spot at Bombers rookie camp May 24.

“It’s not easy. You have a bunch of guys that have never been on this size of field and we’re asking them not only to learn quite a bit of information, but also to fly around out there,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “It’s a good indicator for them though for when they go back home they know what they need to work on and what kind of shape they need to be in because once camp rolls around it’s going to be ramped up even harder for them.”

As a wrap-up, we look at what was accomplished here this week, what is up next and tap into some of the storylines heading into mini-camp.

What was accomplished?

Minus a small contingent of players — including three of four quarterbacks and a handful of other veterans — those who attended this week have reached only the first of three stages in making their CFL dream a reality. Those deserving of another look will be invited to rookie camp and from there will compete to hang on when the veterans take the field for main training camp May 28.

The main goal of mini-camp was to identify players that will create the best competition among the veteran players at camp. By the looks of it, with 11 receivers and 10 defensive backs making up a majority of the list, it would appear the Bombers feel the most need is for these positions. But O’Shea is confident that the players who come out of this week, no matter what the position, will help push at every area of the depth chart.

“For great reasons, every year is different and every year your roster is different, so you have to design your mini-camp to what you really need,” he said. “I thought the guys we brought in here are going to push and compete extremely hard at training camp, so this should be very interesting and there should be a lot of excitement around our camp.”

What now?

The Bombers currently have 87 players under contract and must trim that down to 75 by Monday in order to comply with league roster rules. Cutting a player is never an easy process for O’Shea, who said he planned to sit down with his staff shortly after his media availability Friday for a series of meetings. He views having to make tough decisions at this part of the process as a positive, the result of the all the hard work his scouting staff put into finding quality players.

“Certainly there will be good discussions, but you have those discussions pretty well every post-practice and every night you have the same discussions over and over again until you come to a good, firm opinion, and you certainly can’t judge a guy after one practice,” O’Shea said. “Five practices in there’s still stuff we’re learning about guys. We’ll watch the film and won’t make any hard decisions until after we meet. And then (Bombers GM) Kyle (Walters) and I and the scouts will sit down and look at the entire roster and how it all fits.”

Stafford feeling blue and gold

When Kenny Stafford signed as a free agent with the Bombers in January, he spoke passionately about how eager he was to join his new team.

Unwilling to wait another month, the 27-year-old receiver signed up for mini-camp to not only get an early start with a new playbook, but also to size up his new football home and, in return, show the Bombers what they were getting. An animated guy, Stafford spent the first day shaking hands with every member of the media and was often caught on camera teasing his new teammates.

“You got to have fun, man. That’s what football is,” Stafford said. “It felt good here right from the first day when we shook hands. A relationship is never fully built over the first couple of days, but once I get their trust and they trust me then that’s when we’re in a good spot.”

Stafford said he was also pleased with the talent both at receiver and with the crew of defensive backs that covered him during one-on-one and team drills. He gave particular props to a pair of DBs, including a Roc Carmichael, a 28-year-old Virginia Tech product, and Darnell Walker Jr., 22, who played his college football at Pittsburgh State. As far as receivers go, Stafford spoke highly of Cincinnati’s Alex Chisum, 24, who spent some time with the Detroit Lions before signing with the Bombers.

When O’Shea was asked what he learned about Stafford this week, he echoed what anyone within talking distance would have taken away from the encounter, appreciating also that he wanted to arrive early.

“He’s got a lot of passion,” the Bombers’ coach said. “It’s pleasing to see a guy who begs to come in so he can be a part of it and learn. He did his best to try to help everybody else out there, so it’s nice to see.”

QB 2 is… who?

With Matt Nichols having already locked up the starting quarterback role, many have wondered if mini-camp would help make a case for who his No. 2 will be.

The candidates include Dominique Davis, who is entering third year with the Bombers, and Dan LeFevour, who the team picked up in free agency. LeFevour, while being new to the Bombers, still has much more experience at the CFL level than Davis, who went without a single snap during the 2016 regular season. As for LeFevour, the Bombers are his fourth CFL team — a resumé that includes throwing for 2,449 yards and 11 touchdowns.

But for those looking for any clarity on the situation, you’re in for some disappointment.

“That’s for a little further down the road,” O’Shea said. “I think they both fared extremely well, I think they can both lead a huddle, they both have attributes that are extremely likable that will fare them well on the field. We like our quarterbacks, we really do.”

Oh Canada

While some complained about the cold prairie weather this week, John Rush, one of two Canadians to compete at mini-camp, was too busy riding a high from being back in football season to worry about the lack of sun.

He took it one step further, however, when he let this little nugget of information out.

“Even the ice tubs, as much as they suck, they’re fun,” said Rush, 23.

“It’s just the fact you’re back playing football and with the guys. When you’re in the tubs it means football is here.”

In fact, not even a position change from linebacker, where he was named the top defensive player in all of Canadian university football as a member of the Guelph Gryphons in 2015, to fullback was going to bring him down from his pigskin high.

Rush said he trusted the move and believed O’Shea, a former Gryphon himself, was only doing what he thought would make him most successful in the CFL. Plus he spent some time playing a similar role last year with the Hamilton Hurricanes of the Canadian Junior Football League.

“I really think I can make an impression. I felt that throughout this camp I actually impressed some of the coaches who were probably wondering who this linebacker is. Hopefully, I impressed them enough to keep doing it.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton