Mr. Electricity

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/06/2015 (4070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He threw for a touchdown and ran for another. And, just as he always does when he steps into the huddle for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Robert Marve provided a power surge to the evening that was both kinetic and contagious.

Blue Bombers fans have seen this all before, of course. This is a dude who runs around the football field with so much energy it’s impossible not to wonder if his heart rate isn’t measured by amperes and not beats per minute.

Interestingly, in a business where the most-popular player in town is often the second-string quarterback, the Bombers have a different twist to the standard script: Marve, the third stringer, is the man many faithful are pushing to be the first summoned from the bullpen in relief of Drew Willy and before Brian Brohm.

And it’s here where things get more than a little awkward for the Bombers.

Marve, who started games for two big-time college football programs in Miami and Purdue, has made it clear he would kill to take one more kick at the NFL. He’s 26, maybe a teeny bit undersized by NFL standards at 6-1, 212 pounds and has a ginormous injury red flag after suffering three ACL tears.

But this window really only stays open for so long and a guy who grew up in Tampa — and was Florida’s Mr. Football in 2006 — wants to take that shot when his contract expires after this season. And so, one of the personnel debates the Bombers must be having these days is what to do with the QBs lower down on their depth chart.

Typically the third-stringer is a project — a prospect with lightning in his arm, maybe, or an athlete who needs tutoring on the position’s finer points.

In Marve and Josh Portis, who turns 28 next month, the Bombers have a pair of pivots who are past the expired date for being patient with their careers. They need to play more, but have their paths blocked by Willy and Brohm. Neither is going to be content being third on the depth chart and whoever is asked to stick around as the fourth will do so reluctantly.

That’s a juicy development for the Bombers in terms of depth in the short term, but also potentially problematic beyond the next few days. All of which, not surprisingly, was moot to both men in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s pre-season tilt.

Marve was four-of-nine for 42 yards with a TD strike to Lavasier Tuinei while rushing three times for 41 yards, including the 21-yard TD run. Portis was three-of-seven for 37 yards and also moved well outside of the pocket with three rushes for 16 yards. Both played with passion. Both played with a level of urgency/desperation that comes with the career clock ticking.

Portis dressed for three games a year ago, but never threw a single pass in anger. He was thrilled just to get out there and “sling it around and move around a little bit.”

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What Marve might have on Portis — and Willy and Brohm, for that matter — is his ability to run a variety of different offensive packages. And the notion he provides a different look is what fascinates so many inside the coaches’ office and outside in our world.

“I’ve always been an energy guy my whole career,” Marve said. “Going through the three ACLs (injuries) has really showed me it’s a blessing to be out there on the field no matter what. This is the healthiest, by far, I’ve felt. I was watching myself last year and I didn’t feel I was all the way back yet.

“My speed is back. I’m still working on my game as much as I can to be a pocket quarterback and keep learning. But making guys miss and trying to throw the ball around is something I’ve always done. I’m still working on my game a lot.

“It’s a blessing. You keep getting older and older and you start to realize that in life you’ve been playing this game since fourth grade. I’m happy.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait