Khan pines for starting job, gets his wish

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/11/2011 (5432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AFTER riding the pine for the last two regular-season games, Obby Khan is back on the ball.

“It was really tough,” the veteran said after reclaiming his centre spot on the offensive line for the East final. “The first week, it’s more a shot to your ego and your pride, but after a couple days you realize you’re still there to help the guys out.”

Khan was removed from the starting lineup prior to the Oct. 28 game against Toronto. The reason: Simply put, he was struggling. The coaches felt his tired knees and back weren’t allowing him to get low enough in his stance so he was replaced by Brendon LaBatte at centre, while second-year O-lineman Chris Greaves started in LaBatte’s spot.

Khan said he wasn’t sure if he’d get back into the starting five along the line this year, so he’s happy to get another chance.

“I feel like it’s the first day of training camp — my knees are good, my back is fresh,” he said. “If anything, I think those weeks helped me.

“It’s amazing. My knee’s unbelievably good right now and I’ve gotten lower (in my stance) than I have all year. I wake up in the morning and I have that little hunger to get out there. It’s like it’s been an off-season for me.”

Head coach Paul LaPolice downplayed the notion that the two weeks off (three if you include the bye week) was some great battery recharge for the 31-year-old. “I don’t know about rejuvenated, he actually fell down on a blitz pickup (during Tuesday’s workout),” the coach said. “He tripped over one of the guys and fell down.”

LaPolice said the change back to Khan gives Winnipeg the best protection group for the quarterback, adding Khan needs to be a lot more physical than he had been before he was taken out of the starting lineup.

— KITO A GO-GO: Roster decisions, as always, won’t be made official by the coaching staff until the day before the game.

One move that will be apparent at practice today, Thursday, or Friday, though, will be the status of rookie receiver Kito Poblah. If he’s playing in the East final — a real possibility now that his injured shoulder is fully healed — he’ll be with the first-team offence.

“I’ve been good for a couple weeks now but they (the coaches) just wanted me to get well and see where we landed in the playoffs,” the non-import said Tuesday. “Now I’m practising so it’s all up to (the coaches).”

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Poblah, Winnipeg’s top selection in the 2011 supplemental draft, did work with the first-team offence Tuesday but don’t read anything into that. He was merely taking the place of veteran Terrence Edwards, who typically doesn’t practise the first day of the practice schedule.

If he does get the green light, the athletically gifted Poblah would replace fellow rookie Jade Etienne on the active roster and would probably supplant wideout Aaron Hargreaves in the starting lineup.

The 24-year-old has no issues with making his return to action under the pressure and scrutiny of playoff football, either.

“Big players make big plays in big games,” he said. “It’s not really what happens in the season that people remember; it’s when it really matters.”

Poblah isn’t the only player hoping to get back on the roster for the East final. Starting safety Ian Logan looks to be completely healthy after having his appendix removed earlier this month, while fellow Canadian Brady Browne says he’s fully recovered from a torn biceps suffered earlier this month.