Asked, they might receive

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/09/2009 (5852 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It used to be such a popular corner of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker-room the carpet around the area was worn to the threads from all the traffic.

It was a place where rookies sought out sage advice from a greybeard like Milt Stegall. It was where you could hear Derick Armstrong playfully trash-talking a teammate, where Arjei Franklin would oblige interview requests in both official languages and where guys like Romby Bryant and Terrence Edwards would soak it all in with a wry grin on their faces.

It was where the Bombers receivers held court every day during the season. And it was the epicentre of the club’s locker-room.

And now many of the faces are gone and some of the nameplates have been replaced with white tape featuring a last name scribbled on in blue marker.

Yes, welcome to the days leading up to the Bombers’ biggest game of the 2009 season, a game the head coach admitted Wednesday is a must-win and a game they’ll play without leading receiver Terrence Edwards and with a swack of newcomers in key places. Dudley Guice Jr., meet Titus Ryan. Jabari Arthur, this is Adarius Bowman. Brock Ralph, you remember Otis Amey…

"It’s football. Sometimes there’s a revolving door," starting quarterback Michael Bishop said with a shrug. "Whoever comes in, you hope they can come out there and be ready to play. You hope they run the right routes, catch the ball and be able to turn it on after they make the catch.

"We could take the angle and say, ‘We got new guys in, so we may continue to struggle.’ But that’s not my case. My case is these guys come here to work. It’s an opportunity for those guys to step up and make plays, so why not seize the moment?"

The Bombers, 3-8, meet the Toronto Argonauts, also 3-8, in a battle of East Division bottom feeders that is critical to both. But without Edwards, Bishop will be playing pitch-and-hopefully-catch with Ralph, who returns from a hip injury; Guice, who is suiting up for his second CFL game; Bowman, who began the season as the fourth-best import on the squad behind Edwards, Bryant and Armstrong; and either newcomer Titus Ryan or Otis Amey, who has been here for more than a month but has yet to suit up for real action. Canadian Aaron Hargreaves, who has seven career catches, would be the fifth receiver.

Oh, and get this: Combined, that crew has 61 receptions for 894 yards and one touchdown. Worth noting here is that Calgary’s Jeremaine Copeland, who leads the league in receiving, has 52 catches for 829 yards and 11 scores.

Hello.

"It’s a young group of guys. But what a lot of people don’t understand is you just can’t expect guys to gel over night," Guice said. "It takes time, but eventually it’s going to happen.

"It’s an opportunity for all of us. It’s an opportunity every time you step on the field, whether it’s practice or game time. Hopefully, everybody has the right mind frame to go out there and compete and do all the little things right. That’s what everybody’s been doing in practice."

That’s the silver lining here. But this is an offence that has struggled this year to move the ball even with healthy veteran bodies dotting the depth chart. This is an offence that didn’t get a single catch from Armstrong before he pulled the chute in Week 1 and that made Bryant so ineffective he was shipped out after registering just 20 catches in 11 games.

And now without Edwards it’s hard not to wonder not only about the Bombers’ chances — Vegas bookies have listed the game as a pick ’em — but if there’s another Stegall or Armstrong among the new recruits. If there isn’t, the nameplates in receiver corner will undoubtedly continue to change.

"When you’ve got all these new guys in here, it’s hard to throw volumes at them all at once," said head coach Mike Kelly. "We need to take baby steps before we can take strides.

"I like the energy the guys are bringing right now and the fact that I have to look up to our receivers now and they’re all looking at each other eye to eye… they’re excited about the opportunity.

"I can never question these guys’ effort. They were in here last night on the chalkboard trying to accelerate their learning curve as much as they can. Am I expecting them to just go out there and blow it up and throw the ball all over the field? No. I still think we have to stay by the model of play good defence, be solid on special teams and run the football and hope we can throw it well to keep them off us."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca