May the best punter win

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This article was published 03/06/2013 (4502 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bring it on.

Noting he also had to turn back a challenge for his job in training camp last year, Winnipeg Blue Bombers punter Mike Renaud said Sunday he welcomes the presence of three other punters in this year’s training camp.

“The coaches are obviously pushing for more production out of that position,” Renaud said. “And it’s a win-win. It’s going to be a win for whoever is the last man standing for that position and it’s going to be a win for the team, obviously, to get the best man for the job.”

An East Division all-star in 2010, Renaud’s struggled at times with consistency over the last two seasons — a nightmare for coaches who want to be able to count on their punter doing pretty much the same thing pretty much every time.

“Mike obviously has the leg to be a good punter and can directionally kick. It’s just being consistent at it,” said Bombers head coach Tim Burke.

Renaud agreed his principal task will be to eliminate the occasional shanks that have dogged him.

“I don’t think the coaches are disappointed in what I’m doing. They just want me to be more consistent.”

LAMBEAU LEAP MEET (FANS CAN INSERT CLEVER NICKNAME HERE): Add Chris Matthews to the long list of those eager give two thumbs up to the new Investors Group Field.

“The Jumbotrons are looking great, the seats and the fans in the seats is looking even better,” said the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie on Sunday. “I’m amazed with everything. The locker-room, the training room, the weight room. Everything is A-1, top of the line.”

Matthews was asked about the close quarters in the end zone, where the concrete walls are not too far from the end line, and whether he could make the jump up into fans should he score a touchdown — a la the Lambeau Leap in Green Bay.

“That’s the plan I had in the back of my head: to start a tradition of jumping the wall like they do in Lambeau Field,” said Matthews. “That’s exactly what I plan to do for my first touchdown. Me and Darren (Cameron, Bomber director of communications) were talking about that, thinking about a name. Darren’s pretty creative. We’ll come up with something.”

LOUD AND PROUD: If 2,000 diehards can serve as a test run, Bomber head coach Tim Burke is convinced more than ever IGF is going to be a raucous joint once the season starts. Approximately 2,000 fans took in the first day of Bomber training camp and Burke came away impressed with the way the noise they generated travelled in the new stadium.

“The fans are a lot closer to the field,” Burke said. “I was looking up into the second deck today… I figured if I look up there, how small that person would look is how small we would look. And they don’t look small. I can see facial expressions even on people way up in the second deck.

“So people are so much closer to the field, it’s going to be really loud in there. The energy level is going to be extremely high. I know the players already talked about it.”

“This stadium is just amazing,” added Buck Pierce. “It’s a great day for the city of Winnipeg and for the tradition of the Blue Bombers I think this is a huge step to show what this organization is about and what it means to the province.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait, @PaulWiecek