June 10, 2016
His college numbers got him a look, but it’s his personality that helped him get his foot in the professional football door.
And now – after stops in New Orleans, Cleveland, and B.C. – Timothy Flanders is still trying to find a place he can call his football home.
The gregarious product of Midwest City, Oklahoma has made a solid first impression with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during training camp, and was one of many to pop off the page in Wednesday’s preseason win over the Montreal Alouettes.
Flanders finished with 15 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown, while catching two more passes for 32 yards.
“I feel like I did pretty good, other than the fumble,” said Flanders after practice on Friday. “But it got reversed (on instant replay), so I was happy about that.
“I’m blessed. It’s been wonderful out here. I love it here. I’m just trying to continue to work hard and contribute to the team.”
That’s the thing you discover quickly in any chat with Flanders, who seems to punctuate every sentence with a wide smile. Now while that might sound cornball, consider his outgoing personality was so infectious it appeared on his NFL.com draft profile back in 2014.
“Very gregarious, well-respected personality…. Has make-it qualities that could endear him to a coaching staff and add life to a locker room.”
NFL.com
Those are the types of intangibles that can separate a guy from the pack near cut-down day. Working against Flanders, however, is this: the name atop the Bombers depth chart is Andrew Harris. And, just in case you haven’t heard, he’s a proud product of Winnipeg and a Canadian. If Flanders isn’t starting, he’ll have to crack the roster as a designated import.
Asked how the ratio might impact his attempt to make the team, Flanders shrugged.
“It doesn’t at all,” he said. “I feel like they’re going to have the guys that bring the most to the table. I was with Andrew last year in B.C. and with him signing here I already knew he was their guy. I knew that coming in. But that doesn’t change my mindset to come in here and compete. I’m a good competitor.
“I know a little bit about (the ratio). But I’m not too worried. If they do decide (to keep him) they’re going to know they have a good player. That’s all I’m here to do: come here and be great and do everything I need to do.
“I’ve got another opportunity this week against Ottawa.”
That’s the perfect type of mindset, according to Bombers Head Coach Mike O’Shea. Players can spend too much time worrying about what they can’t control – in Flanders’ case, the Canadian player ratio – and in turn lose focus.
“He just has to keep doing what he’s doing. He was pretty good,” said O’Shea. “There’s no point for any of these guys to be focused on anything other than putting their best performance out there on the field. How the roster shakes out… how it looks with the various other pieces around the team… they shouldn’t worry about that stuff. They should worry about going out there and competing at the highest level they possibly can. And then the rest of it is really out of their control.
“If they’re that good, we’ll figure something out. In the end, it’s all got to fit. There are a lot of different parameters with how we set up a roster. But the last thing a kid needs to do is count and move pieces around and try to play the chess match. It’s not worth their time.”
Flanders, who began his college career at Kansas before transferring and becoming a walk-on starter at Sam Houston State, has been a battler for most of his pro football life. He did it in high school and in college – he was a three-time Walter Payton Award finalist and set 34 school records at Sam Houston State.
And as long as he has another shot to chase his football dream, he is all in, all the time.
“I’ve been like this since I got out of college,” he said. “Any opportunity that comes up for me I’m going to take it. Until my body says I can’t do it any more, as long as I wake up and can say I love playing the game, I’m going to continue to do it.
“I just love playing football. This is something new. I’ve never been to Winnipeg before.”
BOMBER CAMP REPORT – JUNE 10
REPORT FROM SICK BAY:
Bombers Coach Mike O’Shea said veteran OL Jeff Keeping, who left Wednesday’s win over Montreal with a knee injury, will be out for six to eight weeks.
“It could have been worse,” said O’Shea. “He’s a tough guy.”
The club plans to start three Canadians along the O-line in centre Matthias Goossen, guard Sukh Chungh and right tackle Patrick Neufeld, and so losing a proven vet like Keeping stings. The question now becomes whether Michael Couture, the club’s second pick in the 2016 CFL Draft, can fast track his learning curve to be an option (the team also has another draft pick in Zach Intzandt) or whether they might look at scooping up another veteran Canadian for depth.
“All that evaluation is an ongoing process. We feel pretty good right now,” said O’Shea. “There’s nobody available right now, they’re all in camp. (Couture) got a lot of meaningful reps in that game and he’s going to get more meaningful reps. It certainly speeds up his progress.”
The Bombers also announced that WR Addison Richards (hand) will be out for six weeks and not be available for the start of the season. Meanwhile, DE Adrian Hubbard and LB Sam Hurl likely won’t be part of the 55-60 players the team brings to Ottawa for Monday’s preseason finale.
ON THE JOB TRAINING:
Couture, selected 10th overall last month, hardly looked out of place in his first pro game. The Bombers drafted him because of his toughness and intelligence, but also because of his versatility: he has played guard, centre and tackle. He’ll be busy again against the REDBLACKS, now that Keeping is out for a spell.
“It’s an opportunity to step up,” said Couture. “This is Jeff’s 11th season and he’s taught me a lot in the short time I’ve been here. I’m just going to take his guidance and work with the opportunity that I have.”
Couture’s self-evaluation of his first game was also an honest one.
“It was good. My first play in I whiffed pretty good, but it was all uphill from there,” he said. “It was good to get the reps in and I got about 35 minutes of football, which was nice. I feel like I’m making decisions faster than I have before… I’m forced to because the players have been pretty quick. Just being around players of this calibre is raising my level of play.”
Couture grinned when asked what surprised him the most about his first pro game.
“Probably all the people watching,” he said. “We didn’t have big crowds at SFU so having 24,000 was wicked to play in front of.”
THE BATTLE FOR THIRD:
O’Shea weighed in again on the play of Dominique Davis and Bryan Bennett, both of whom are battling for the third QB job behind Drew Willy and Matt Nichols.
Davis was 5-for-9 for 89 yards and an interception (right through the receiver’s hands) while rushing three times for 25 yards. Bennett was 3-of-6 for 67 yards and a TD strike to Fred Williams.
“They each showed some poise. They each showed some play-making ability,” said O’Shea. “They were both able to think on their feet and react very quickly. They both showed they were athletic, they both made throws down the field. It’s a tight race.”
