Burke sent very strong message to his ‘D’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2012 (4839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The best thing that happened to the 2012 Winnipeg defence was that they got punched square in the mouth just a few weeks ago against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the pre-season.

In that game they surrendered close to 500 yards of offence, after Henry Burris, in the first half alone, threw for close to 200 yards and was nine yards short of hitting the century mark on the ground.

I was up in the booth, watching the 2012 team for the first time, and was concerned about what this final audition said about the prospects of this team. Odell Willis had been traded, Joe Lobendahn had been cut, Richard Harris and Casey Creehan were noticeably absent, Don Oramasionwu was gone, I was retired, and there looked to be consequences of these departures as the front seven gave up 235 yards on the ground.

For those of you that don’t know football very well, giving up 235 yards of rushing is the football equivalent of having sand kicked in your face, your girlfriend propositioned in front of you, and your lunch money stolen while receiving a noogie.

The run game is the most basic push versus shove aspect of football that simply tests strength on strength. And when you get bullied in the ground game, it opens up 11 other chapters of the playbook for the opponent’s offence.

Yet I was premature in my initial concern for this defence, for the one thing that slipped my mind while evaluating these players and their losses, was the fact that defensive co-ordinator Tim Burke, a man who does not preside over mediocre defences, was not going to sit there and accept this kind of showing. We didn’t have to wait long to see the consequences, and it started with his public announcement that he didn’t think, “the defensive line played very well at all.”

Dorian Smith, the most veteran, experienced and accomplished player on this front four, was cut outright. Andre Carroll, the nose tackle that was signed by the Cleveland Browns last year after he was released here, was sent packing yet again. Then the personnel move that was heard around the world, Clint Kent, the defensive captain and 2011 stalwart, was told his services were no longer needed.

There are a lot of roads you can go down to motivate a group of players that aren’t playing up to par. You can yell, scream, threaten them, punish them in practice, and demote them. Yet, nothing gets a player’s attention like watching an established veteran player, and a friend, lose his means of supporting himself. Nothing says, “I don’t care about what you have done in the past, and what role you used to play on last year’s team,” than a note to go see the coach and to bring your playbook with you.

With the roster moves this team made, that Tim Burke most certainly had a hand and influence over, the message came in loud and clear. There are no legacy positions available, and players will be evaluated on a weekly basis. You may not make many friends by shaking up your depth chart to this degree, but you do provoke a response, and the response came Friday in B.C.

After giving up almost 300 yards to Hamilton in the first half, the defensive dozen held the reigning Grey Cup champions to 16 points through three quarters of the game and only 358 yards total. They improved their run defence by over 100 yards, pressured the QB all night to the tune of three sacks, visibly frustrated Travis Lulay, and kept their team in a game they had no business being in.

Was Tim Burke ecstatic with this turnabout by his charges? Not really, as he said he thought they played reasonably well the first three quarters, then $#&$ the bed in the final stanza, which fits his coaching style to a “t”. Defensive co-ordinators like Tim are the father figures that the son so desperately seeks approval from. They can never do enough to get the gratification and approval they seek, just enough to keep trying. When they do something exceptional, they are rewarded with a single acknowledgement that leaves them wanting more. And when they disappoint, he does not hesitate to remind them how quick his favour can turn.

In one game, a season and a defensive identity does not make. But it is safe to say the tone has been set and the examples made for what will and will not be acceptable standards of defensive play this year.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays and game days in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97