Does the film tell the truth? Blue will see

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This article was published 01/03/2012 (5330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like they always do when facing a weekend of football, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will tackle the 2012 CFL evaluation camp with some film study at the start.

Led by special-teams coach and Canadian draft co-ordinator Kyle Walters, the club has already watched tape on the list of players they want to keep a close eye on at Rogers Centre this weekend. The initial research provides a nice base and is the first step in the evaluation process.

Seeing the players in person is where the second phase begins.

“The coaches have already seen some preliminary film on these guys,” head coach Paul LaPolice said earlier this week.

“One coach will say, ‘Make sure you see the size of this guy. Does he really weigh what this says and will he be heavy enough to play where we need him?’ We do have a list we’re keeping.”

Joining LaPolice and Walters in Toronto are offensive co-ordinator Gary Crowton, defensive co-ordinator Tim Burke, general manager Joe Mack and director of player personnel Ken Moll.

The group will monitor all aspects of the camp. Suspicions raised by the film are either verified or proven false, giving the Bombers a clearer picture of a player they have on their list.

Jade Etienne is an example of this methodology. Last year, the Bombers liked what they saw of the lanky receiver on film, and though he didn’t do that well in testing, seeing him up close solidified the decision to take him with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft.

“His (e-camp) confirmed a lot of the things we already liked about him,” LaPolice said.

LaPolice believes there are no absolutes at this camp; a player who scores poorly in a test could just be having a bad day or might need a little tweak to his technique to move into draft consideration.

“That said, there are certain measurables you just have to trust,” the head coach added.

“If a kid runs a 5.3 in the 40, he’s probably not going to be a receiver in this league.”

LaPolice puts a lot of stock in the 15-minute interview teams are granted with each player. That’s not a lot of time to chat, so the conversation is exploratory.

He’s searching for a spark, something you can’t see on film.

“You really want a kid who has a passion for football,” LaPolice said. “That’s near or at the top for me. Is he going to stick with it? If I’m going to spend all this time evaluating, I want someone who could pay dividends down the road.

“Some kids are great at testing. We want to find the good football players.”

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca