New leaders step in among Bombers’ defensive backs

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This article was published 21/05/2019 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was an off-season of turnover for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with changes made in every area of the roster. Such is life in the Canadian Football League, where multi-year deals have become less common and where front offices are always on the lookout for cheaper options to fill out the lineup.

But nowhere will the moves made over the winter have a greater effect than on the Bombers’ last line of defence. Three starters from the secondary in 2018 — including former all-stars Taylor Loffler and Chris Randle, as well as three-year veteran Kevin Fogg — have departed, leaving both holes and opportunity.

For the returning players, the shuffling of defensive backs has created a different need: leadership. After all, Randle was the heart and soul of the secondary during his time in Winnipeg, while Loffler and Fogg, albeit not to the same degree, were also leaders on and off the field.

While it will likely take a collective effort, with each player bringing their own unique personality and style to the group, Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was quick to crown a new Don of the DBs, as Day 3 of training camp wrapped up on Tuesday.

“Brandon Alexander,” O’Shea said. “Yep. He’s the guy. Absolutely.”

Alexander, a 25-year-old native of Orlando, Fla., who signed as a free agent in 2017, is entering his third season in the CFL, all with Winnipeg. Despite his lack of experience, he is one of the more senior players when it comes to grasping the defensive playbook.

A quiet but confident speaker, Alexander is also a testament to the growth of the team’s secondary in recent years. He began his career jumping from corner to halfback, but has settled in nicely as the field-side halfback and was part of a unit last season that seemed to find it’s footing as the season went along. He was part of a passing defence that tied with the Calgary Stampeders for most turnovers forced (49) and that jumped from second last in passing yards against in 2017 to fifth best in the league last year — much of that progress coming in the last half of the season.

“I’ve always led by example, being on the field just working hard and with my dedication off the field, watching film and bringing guys in there with me. But I was more of the calm, quiet and collected leader,” Alexander admitted. “I’ll still be that person but I have to be able to speak up more because guys do need to look at somebody to go and talk to — whether it be about coverages or just anything in general — and I’m happy to be able to take that role.”

Alexander won’t be alone, of course. He’s joined by Marcus Sayles, the Bombers’ reigning most outstanding rookie. At just 24, Sayles proved to be a quick study in his first year in the league, counted on to cover some of the league’s most talented receivers while playing at boundary halfback.

Though O’Shea didn’t single him out like he did Alexander, Sayles understands he’ll also be looked at to take on a greater leadership role. He believes he’s ready, having already worked his way through the growing pains that comes with every American trying to learn the three-down game.

“That’s expected of me and me just being in my second year I feel like I have to be better as a vocal leader,” Sayles said. “I always feel like I’m able to lead by example but I feel like for me to grow as a person and for this team I need to be a more vocal leader, especially for some of the younger guys coming in.”

Sayles said he plans to pass on the lessons he took from his rookie campaign — he credits his quick progress to watching extra film and listening to his coaches — but was just as quick to point out that it’s not going to fall on just him or Alexander. There are others, including some with more experience than him, who will help pick up whatever slack is left from losing a handful of veterans.

Much like he did last year, Sayles pointed to a number of guys who spent last year with the team and are due for increased roles this season, notably Americans Chris Humes and Tyneil Cooper. Multi-year CFL veterans Anthony Gaitor and Chandler Fenner, a duo that split time at strong-side linebacker last year, are also back in the mix.

“We can’t let three guys just deter our whole defence and make us think we can’t ball like we did last year,” Sayles said. “We’re just going to keep rolling.”

While Loffler has left a giant hole at safety, the two men aiming to take his spot — Canadians Derek Jones and Jeff Hecht — have a combined 14 years of CFL experience. Much of that time has been spent battling on special teams and not as a proven starter, but that drive, O’Shea said, to put themselves in the position they’re in now should only provide motivation to be better for their teammates.

“Derek is a lot taller, longer than Jeff, but Jeff’s experience level and communication ability is very high,” O’Shea said. “There is competition, obviously, but they both have been around long enough that they understand whatever it’s going to take to win they’re going to work together to get that done.”

Hecht, who signed with the Bombers last season after Jones suffered a torn ACL, isn’t exactly shy. He’s both confident — “I don’t trust anybody in the world more than I trust myself” — and amusing — “If I was the head coach of the team there would be 12 Jeff Hechts out there and we’d go undefeated every year” — and should provide both a sense of enjoyment and leadership as he enters his 10th CFL season.

“The challenge is the communication. There’s different words in different leagues and on different teams for different things that opponents do and we need them saying it the way we say it, so we can expedite the communication alley, because this is a very fast game, it progresses fast,” Hecht said. “That’s the main problem with guys that haven’t been here, they’re not speaking our dialect and we need to get that transferred over first.”

Then there’s Winston Rose, who the Bombers signed over the off-season after he played 18 games with the B.C. Lions last year. The 26-year-old from Inglewood, Calif., has certainly made his mark through three days of camp, showing off some of that playmaking ability that led to five interceptions in 2018.

He wants to find a more permanent football home after jumping from Toronto to Ottawa to B.C. and now Winnipeg, and he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from his new teammates so far. The plan now is to bring his own identity to the group, with qualities he thinks will only strengthen its unity.

“I would say energetic. Ball hawk. Just a spark plug,” Rose said when asked to describe himself. “Bring positive vibes, bring my energy and just do what I do so we can all get to the ultimate goal.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton