Players, Coaches and Management Talk
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Ryan Dinwiddie will be the starting quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when they host the Calgary Stampeders Thursday at Canad Inns Stadium. Head coach Doug Berry announced that Dinwiddie would start in favour of Kevin Glenn at the end of …
Original post by CFL
It might have been Ed Tait’s work originally, but I recall reading that teams are now planning to defend against Glenn’s quick release by dropping 8 or 9 back to defend against the pass. This would cause Glenn to force the ball into a receiver, says Tait. Only if he, Glenn, is stupid, say I.
What about other offensive options in this case? Your own rollout and run. Or a pitch to Charlie Roberts, the halfback trailing you or to your side. It does point to the advantage of having a running QB. Is it my recollection only or do the Blue always do better when KG will take off and run from time to time, keeping everyone honest. Coach Berry, maybe we just need to work with Kevin on perfecting the slide.
This was a comment I made in my mock interview with Brendan and Coach Berry below. I salute the Bombers for showing me they mean it. I’m doing some work now with a non-profit organization in Winnipeg that provides gainful employment activities for those recovering from mental illness. Just yesterday I contacted the Bombers about possible tickets for an upcoming game for our workers and volunteers, plus I mentioned that we are looking for possible spokespeople for our organization to help in fundraising. “Doug Brown, Milt, Kevin, are you listening”. However, back to tickets. Within 30 minutes the call came back from Carolyn at the Bomber office that we had a whole raft of tickets available for the July 11th game against B.C. And you should have seen the faces light up at our place, including mine. Thank you Blue!
Getting picked to go to the Grey Cup puts the big mark on your back for other teams to target you. It will test the maturity level of this team in living with the “favoured by the pundits” label when/if things go badly for a while. As any coach will tell you, a little swagger is a good thing, too much and you make the other teams want to hurt you even more. Are we starting another dominating few years for the Bombers in the league (late 50’s,early 60’s, early 90’s or are those days gone forever in a league where teams can rebuild almost overnight? (ed. comment)
It’s not often a team that a team can lose a top offensive threat and still not skip a beat. But such is the case with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers face the prospect of starting the regular season minus stellar slotback Milt Stegall. The …
Original post by CFL
The final push for a deal to build a new home for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers has opened the door to locations other than Polo Park for the proposed stadium, the Free Press has learned. The last-minute change in the game plan pitched by Canwest …
Original post by CFL
Mock interview:
Head Coach Doug Berry and GM Brendan Taman:
Gentlemen: I just looked at your 2008 schedule. We open at home on June 27 against Toronto and Kerry Joseph (late of the Green Riders and destroying us in the Grey Cup with his feet) and finish the year on November 1st against Hamilton at home. Brr. You’ve got the by week between your August 14 game and the August 31st game in Regina. Banjo Bowl here on September 7th. Maybe the biggest game of the year for fans of both teams at least.
I see we’re still in the Eastern Conference. That has to help get us back into the Grey Cup this year. I’m concerned that more often than not in this league today, teams do not repeat as Grey Cup champions. I would guess, but I will check, that it’s more likely that the runner-up will be back. Ok you’re asking what’s my question? I just need to hear myself talk a bit, I guess. A tv carryover, I suppose.
Ok question: “What are the 5 things you’ve done to make us better?” Let’s start there and then let’s go on to the 5 things that are keeping you up nights now…and then maybe even a few big issues. You know, kind of like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The Good:
1. Kevin Glenn resigning for 2 years at what appears right now to be a fair price. No uncertainty or talk during the year about contract. Focus on the game only. Our little field general.
2. See # 1. Add Ryan Dinwiddie coming back with some real big game seasoning for 2008. This year we’ll have a far better two quarterback tandem. What we we thinking last year, I ask myself. Oh well, in sports, you’ve always got next year as long as you have a job. What about a scrambler, I ask? This is Canada after all and we’ve got the big field. Put that down for the The Bad the guys say for right now.
3. Tom Canada and Dan Goodspeed sign on to chase that Grey Cup ring with the rest of their mates from last year…Well most of them. Tom decides that Winnipeg has the best looking ladies in the league and the city isn’t that bad, even though we all know it doesn’t have a Hotel California here. Milt said he wants to come back and while that took a hit on our salary structure, we know it will be great for the team in the clubhouse and in the community. Take it from me there isn’t anyone better with the fans and we do count a bit I hope. You can not do enough community. Our assistants are back.
4. Took a crash course in the salary management system and tried to learn ways to get around it as we expect everyone else will try to do. You’ve even got an SMS advisor/consultant now instead of more scouts. Ok just kidding with the last comment.
5. Resolved to learn from our mistakes in 2007. We’re going to challenge veterans in training camp or early and not create embarrassing situations later during the season. We want to have our backups ready to play in the biggest of games if necessary. We know you can’t ever have enough leaders and team people in the dressing room and we know that you need to have the Juwan Bolden types around who have been to the “show”, have that “you can’t beat me attitude”, are a force physically, and can motivate the others on our team who are playing to get there. We’re going to work harder to avoid injury and rehab faster. Our special teams have to be good enough to score too.
Enough for today, please they ask. We’ll get onto your bad and the ugly soon but we’re not negative types in any event. Well, I can preview one comment they made. ” What’s going on with a new stadium for these guys and the fans who want to watch them. Do we need to win a Grey Cup before our decision makers actually make decisions? If that’s the case, just watch us….they said almost in unison.”
“Thanks guys for part 1 of that mock interview.” As they start walking out I’m saying…”See you in Montreal for the 2008 Cup? Calgary in 2009. Can you get this team in three years in a row? Calgary’s a party for sure, especially after Montreal which will be the best. Have all the other teams improved too and are we ready for them to be better? Games will not be won with talk about last year. Brendan, I need a media pass for camp. Any chance for a sports guy with a little fan blog. Ok, it’s part of 100 site network and we get a bit of search engine love. Does that help?
They’re not listening anymore, Doug Brown walking by with wrecking balls for hands, says to me. “Do you want to talk”, he asks.
“Kevin Glenn emerged as one of the CFL’s elite quarterbacks this past season and we are delighted that he will be a fixture of this team for some time to come”
- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have locked up quarterback Kevin Glenn.
The CFL team announced Thursday it has signed Glenn to a contract extension. Terms weren’t available.
“A lot of stuff came into play,” Glenn said in a statement regarding his decision to remain with the Bombers. “One of the big things is you want to be comfortable wherever you’re playing.
“The grass is not always greener on the other side. Plus you want to play where you are wanted. We’ve also got a pretty good nucleus of guys coming back. This will be the first time I’ve played with the same guys on offence without a lot of new faces coming in. Success comes from continuity and familiarity.” Read more
Original post by The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers sign an experienced backup quarterback. Remember Grey Cup week, Santa, when all the sportswriters wrote how “improbable” a situation it was that Bomber backup Ryan Dinwiddie could actually be making his first professional …
Original post by CFL
Agreed and I said it throughout the year. Your team is only ultimately as good as the quality of your backup people. “Sh*t happens”. This is not a knock on Dinwiddie or the fact that Karma might even have allowed us to win the game in some highly improbable but sometimes it happens that way thing. “We need to keep upgrading our personnel” should be the management and coaches mantra this off season.
One answer to the question about what is one of the differences between Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Winnipeg Sun - Here in River City, tickets for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers playoff game went on sale, too, to the general public over the weekend. And how do you think they’re moving
Original post by CFL
This is the time of the year when the quality of the backup and practice roster players the player personnel staff have assembled, can prove to be critical. Especially so when injuries hit your best players at the same time.
It’s the biggest game of the year so far and we likely will have Fred Reid replacing Charlie Roberts, Doug Brown may be out with a freak eye injury, and Juran Bolden who was going to give the defence some attitude has been out for two games already. Punter Rob Pikula has another so called freak injury in practice this week and he is gone. Next thing you know we’ll see Dinwoodie playing quarterback. The personnel staff can take a bow if the team puts out a top performance on Saturday.
If they don’t however, speaking as a fan, I don’t see that we can blame injuries. Teams are supposed to be built with solid depth (read: more than one quarterback too) and with character people who can dig a little deeper when the money games start.
Go Fred. You’ve got a lot of folks talking about your talent. Protect the ball like it’s a live duck!
By the way, what really is wrong with Bolden that doesn’t allow him to play, and what actually happened to Pikula? When are the traditional media in this town going to start asking some tougher questions about what is going on behind the scenes with this team or are we just too small a town for actual reporting to work. Here’s hoping the dangerous Dominique Dorsey, and a Bomber this spring, doesn’t break one against us on special teams this week.
Original post by CFL
Here’s the Winnipeg Free Press stories from today.
Overview of Blue Bomber Stadium proposal
Bomber Stadium Fan Forum Details
Winnipeg Sun story calling the event David Asper’s soft sell
My take:
Generally positive coverage. 300-400 folks attended depending on which media outlet counted. Many were trying the new larger more comfortable seats that will be installed. (Comfortable wider seats with cupholders…bringing us into the current century in terms of stadiums…mmmm….let me tell the politicians you can spend my tax money now). The event gave the project the sense of inevitability it needed.
Asper said this morning on a radio interview that all work will be in the background now until after the Grey Cup. The focus should be on the team and their on field efforts to get into the Grey Cup and re-energized this city and province even more so about their Bombers.
The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition
“DAVID Asper will host a fan forum at the MTS Centre tonight to update the public on his $120-million plan to build a new stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
At the event — which he has titled Getting it Done — Asper will answer questions about the future ownership model and the design of the new stadium.”
I expect this should help. Politicians have been quite cool so far, as they are coached to do, when spending public money on stadiums is brought up. But show them some substantial public and media support for what is happening and they get a bit more courage.
Asper has a great reputation as a get it done kind of guy and he bleeds Bomber blue. The stakes are huge for Asper. Get public support and then political money for the stadium and he get’s control of the team. That’s the ultimate fan fantasy trip. I might suggest the carrot of another Grey Cup here as soon as the new stadium is done.
So as a p.r. advisor, this is just what we is needed right now, I say. Get the media and public behind the project and start building that “let’s get that stadium built soon steamroller”. The timing is right. The team’s season, which started with Grey Cup hopes, may go on a bit fo life support if they can’t muster a strong performance in Toronto this Saturday.
Here’s a link to David Asper’s stadium proposal site.
I’ll add my voice, we need to keep moving this forward. Fast forward that is. This province and this city needs to keep moving forward.
You can fill out his fan survey at the Blue and Gold site and get your thoughts to all the decision makers that need a little more courage right now.
The Blue Bombers go head-to-head with the Argonauts on Saturday the 27 at Toronto. Matt Dunigan, former Bomber and Argo and now TSN analyst, said on TSN on a clip aired this past Saturday that he felt that the Argos had the best of the match-up. He gave the Argo the edge on defence and on special teams and the Bombers the edge on offence. Statistically you have to agree with Dunigan. The intangibles of course are who will come up with a game exceeding recent performances. The Bombers will need their “A game” for all 3 phases…which is not something we’ve seen for a while.
The prize is enormous. A home playoff date for the Eastern Finals with an excellent shot at the Grey Cup as a result. If that doesn’t motivate the team and coaches or we don’t play our best, then it’s time to make more changes.
National Post - Barrin Simpson is happy now, but for a few weeks there, the man they call the Minister of Defence was in an awful snit. “There is just no excuse for losing,” said Simpson, the ordained minister who plays middle linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue …
Original post by CFL
