May 29, 2016
They’ve surrounded him with more weapons, beefed up the protection in front of him, and added a highly respected offensive coordinator to run the show.
The rest is now up to Drew Willy.
As main training camp opens today for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and across the Canadian Football League, we turn our attention to the quarterback spot for the final edition of our positional analysis series.
And while Willy’s name is written in ink atop the Bomber depth chart – he is a lock as the No. 1 pivot – he is also coming off an injury-shortened season that was shut down early last August.
He declared himself 100 per cent healthy as far back as January, but as the curtain rises on another campaign, the focus won’t just be on Willy – as it always is on quarterbacks across the CFL – but also keeping him upright and healthy.
And here’s why: over the last two years, the Bombers have gone 12-24 overall, but are just 2-10 in games in which Willy doesn’t start. A year ago the club was 3-4 and still very much in the playoff picture when he was injured and went 2-11 after his exit.
More numbers just to hammer home Willy’s importance: he was No. 2 in the league with a 106.6 passer rating (Toronto’s Trevor Harris was at 115.4) when he was injured, a figure that still ranked second best when the year ended.
Now, it’s what the Bombers have done around Willy – both at the quarterback position and beyond – that makes the 2016 season intriguing.
First, after trotting out Brian Brohm and Robert Marve for two starts each after Willy’s injury – all of them losses – the Bombers traded a seventh-round draft pick to the Edmonton Eskimos for veteran Matt Nichols. And after the former Eastern Washington star went 2-5 under some trying circumstances after being parachuted into Winnipeg, GM Kyle Walters locked him up after the season before he could hit the free agent market.
That leaves the Bombers with a solid one-two at the top of the QB depth chart and without the uncertainty they brought into the 2015 season at the position.
Two other additions from last year round out the Bomber QB spot and will be scrapping for the third spot on the roster.
Dominique Davis was scooped up by the Bombers following his release from the Calgary Stampeders last summer and started in the club’s regular season finale, a loss in Toronto. And while Davis’ numbers weren’t jaw dropping – 16 of 25 for 169 yards with no TDs and no interceptions – there were some flashes.
The fourth QB in camp is Bryan Bennett, who began his college career at Oregon before transferring to Southeast Louisiana as he was behind future Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota on the Ducks’ depth chart.
Bennett has the strongest arm of the four Bomber QBs and was a Walter Payton Award finalist in 2013.
The offseason changes that impact the QB position don’t just stop there: The Bombers have a new offensive coordinator in Paul LaPolice – a former head coach and O-boss here previously – as he returns from the broadcast booth to breathe some life into an attack that was dead last in scoring in 2015.
As well, former Bomber QB Buck Pierce will now tutor the pivots, after coaching the running backs.
Those two changes to the coaching staff, coupled with the depth behind Willy and the weapons around him, are absolutely critical for a team that hasn’t had an all-star at the position since Khari Jones way back in 2001.
And if that’s a drought that ends, the Bombers are likely closer to ending the one that really matters – the absence from the winner’s circle that dates back to 1990.
TRAINING CAMP CENTRAL
THIS IS THE EIGHT IN A POSITION-BY-POSITION TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW SERIES BY BLUEBOMBERS.COM
Missed a positional preview? Catch up below!
