Blue QBs must adapt or perish

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2009 (6026 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is not officially an accredited or recognized school of higher learning. But Mike Kelly’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback school — we’ll call it QB University, or QBU — opens Sunday and the three-day session figures to be a blast-furnace intense introduction to his offence and the CFL.

 

And from what we’ve been able to gather, this crash course could best be described as Top Gun-meets-nuclear physics-meets-CFL basics and it’s where the team’s five QB candidates — Stefan LeFors, Ryan Dinwiddie, Bryan Randall, James Kilian and Darrell Hackney — will be grilled and evaluated by the new boss.

And, yes, there will be a test. Shoot, every day is a test, especially once the five pivots step on the field — first with the rookies on Wednesday and then when main training camp opens next Sunday.

"Can a guy flunk QB school? Oh yeah, you can flunk," said Kelly. "But I honestly don’t think we’ll have that situation. I want to see how the guys think, how they communicate. I want to see their own confidence level. I want to see a guy who asks questions and wants to hear what I have to say and be able to take that information and say, ‘Here’s something we did that’s along those same lines, but I’m more comfortable doing this.’ And so it’ll be ‘OK, convince me, tell me why.’

"At the pro level this is like graduate school. I want these guys to be able contribute and some of the best teachers are the best listeners."

LeFors, Dinwiddie, Randall, Kilian and Hackney are to arrive in Winnipeg at various times today and report to Kelly’s office at 9 a.m. Sunday for the first of three classes. Four of the five pivots — the exception being Hackney, who just signed on Thursday — have had his base offensive playbook for weeks and will now have the opportunity to ask questions and bone up on the thing before they begin putting balls in the air.

"They’re just going to be locked here in my office and we’ll go over every aspect of every play," Kelly explained. "They’ll know what every player is responsible for doing. They’ll know what we’re going to be faced with defensively, how we’ll call plays and how we’ll attack a defence, where their eyes need to be, the advantages of being in the shotgun or having their hands under centre, operating with a sense of urgency, the art of using a cadence and controlling tempo.

"It’s the nuances of really being a quarterback and not just playing the position."

Now, the significance of all this shouldn’t be lost on those who watched the Bombers struggle offensively last year and the nightmare that became the handling of their offensive play calling. Ex-starter Kevin Glenn opened the season at the controls, was benched and returned later with the added burden of having to handle the play-calling responsibilities.

Ultimately, it was the breakdown of communication on offence — and the lack of productivity despite a roster that featured three 1,000-yard receivers, a solid ground game and offensive line — that was big part of the decision to fire head coach Doug Berry and offensive co-ordinator Kit Cartwright.

If nothing else, expect Kelly to be w-a-a-a-y more hands-on with the offence and the QBs this season.

"Any quarterback’s got to be excited for something like this," said Dinwiddie. "It’s a chance to come in and get some extra work to get a head start on things. He’ll teach us the offence, but he’ll also have some rules for us to follow and that’s not like the past where we had to kinda learn on our own. We’re following him now."

But here’s the real benefit to QBU: given how green the Bomber crew is — LeFors’ five CFL starts makes him the most experienced — this bunch is collectively staring at a huge learning curve. So, bring your pencils, notebooks and a giant vat of java, lads, because QBU is going to make calculus seem like a kindergarten finger-painting class.

"It’s a plus, I’m excited about it," said Randall. "It will probably make the transition a little bit better than last year for me. Last year it was like we were just thrown in there and learning a lot as you go. It was hard in a short period of time. So to get up there early with coach Kelly, realizing that we need the extra work, I’m looking forward to it."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

 

 

What is it?

 

Three days of classroom teaching from Kelly, who doubles as the Bombers head coach and offensive co-ordinator, on the team’s offensive scheme.

Professor Kelly says: "I’ve always felt it was important that the quarterback be an extension of the co-ordinator out on the field. It’s important that the quarterbacks have a head start on all the other players because part of their leadership role is to have complete command on what needs to be accomplished on each play. This is where we get started right now."

 

When is it?

 

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. in the coach’s office. Then, all five QBs will be on the field for three days of rookie camp, five practices in total, before the whole squad hits the field next Sunday.

 

Why is it being held?

 

Five QBs in camp, three are new and the two holdovers, Ryan Dinwiddie and Bryan Randall, are being introduced to a new offence. CFL camps are notoriously short — they open on June 7 and the first regular-season game is just 25 days later — meaning these guys have a lot of cramming to do before the first test.

Professor Kelly says: "This gives me three days to really concentrate with the quarterbacks. And then we get three more days where the quarterbacks can go out with the rookies. So by the time we officially hit camp we’ve had six full days and they’re essentially a week ahead of everybody else."

 

Can a QB fail QB U?

 

Sure can. Every time a QB is grilled by the head coach in the classroom or steps on the field he is being evaluated. Kelly referred to a QB who attended their free-agent camp in Florida this spring and did not leave a good impression: "I can tell you this: there was a particular quarterback down in Florida who thought he knew more about the game than he did. He came off in a manner that wasn’t conducive to someone who wanted to be part of a group. That’s what I’m looking for: people who want to contribute and learn and help mould this whole thing together."

Asked if that QB in Florida was Casey Printers, the former CFL Most Outstanding Player, Kelly laughed and said: "I didn’t say any names now, did I?"

 

— Tait