Nick Temple (40)
Wanted: Middle linebacker for the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Ideal candidate must be able to process information quickly and relay it to teammates. Leadership qualities are paramount. Must love popping opposition ball carriers hard enough to rattle molars and, if possible, cause snot bubbles.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are four days into main training camp – roughly 12 hours and 35 minutes of practice time – and the most intriguing on-field battle still has observers riveted.
The Bombers are in search of a new middle linebacker with Khalil Bass having signed with the Ottawa REDBLACKS in free agency.
Each day, every one of the handful of candidates takes a turn popping off the page, to the point that the decision as to who will get the starting assignment Canada Day in Saskatchewan is, right now, as clear as Red River mud.
Veteran Canadian Sam Hurl has been working with the No. 1 defence early in camp, but some of the faces hyped as replacements to Bass – Kyle Knox, Nick Temple, George Stone, Kyrie Wilson and Thomas Miles, another Canadian and Winnipeg product – have also flashed enough skills to warrant consideration.
What follows are some thoughts on the battle for the middle linebacker gig, from those in the middle of it all.
Kyle Knox (50)
THE JOB DESCRIPTION
Glen Young, the Blue Bombers linebacker coach, who spent 13 years in the CFL and NFL with Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and San Diego:
“It’s a guy that understands the whole defence, a guy that understands what the secondary is doing on top of what the front is doing. It’s a guy that understands how to play aggressive. It’s about being smart and directing traffic.
“You have to be vocal back there, both for your teammates and, in many ways, to help yourself. It’s like when you are growing up and you always have your mother’s voice telling you what not to do. It’s reinforcing things. It’s having that voice in the back of your head telling you the right thing.
“I believe everyone we have is good enough to play. It’s just a matter of how quickly they understand what we’re doing. We’ll throw a ton at them in this first week, break it down, gear down, review. And then when they get into the game it’s how they respond to what we’ve taught them and whether their instincts show.
“We want a ‘thumper.’ This is football. You put pads on and if you play linebacker, you’ve got to be a thumper. In this league, you can’t run around guys. The offensive linemen, as big as they are, they’re athletic and you can’t run around them. At this level, you’ve got to be able to take guys on and be physical.”
FIGHTING THE STEREOTYPE
Nick Temple, middle linebacker candidate who is listed at 5-9, 210. That might seem smallish for a middle linebacker, but Temple – who joined the Bombers last year and appeared in one game – has made a habit of silencing doubters.
“I’m a versatile guy. I can cover, I can run, I can blitz. I pride myself in being a person who can do it all.
“If you make plays, you make plays and the size goes out the window. Then they don’t worry about how tall you are or how big you are. As long as you can run and play fast and do what you need to do to help the team, things will take care of themselves.
“The way I look at this, it’s a blessing. It’s an opportunity.”
Nick Temple (40)
MAKING GAINS
Kyrie Wilson, listed on the depth chart behind Ian Wild at weak-side linebacker, has been taking a ton of reps in the middle. He was spotted by the Bombers while attending a chunk of last season with the Oakland Raiders.
“It’s knowing the calls, making sure everybody is lined up, and making sure the D-line is ready to get them set because without them we’re going to be lost.
“You’ve definitely got to be the quarterback of the defence. If the Mac doesn’t know, then nobody knows.”
THE HOMEGROWN GUY
The Bombers might be tempted to go Canadian at the middle linebacker spot – putting together a lineup is not just about getting the top Canadians into the starting lineup, but also the best imports – and both Hurl and Miles, signed in free agency after three years in Toronto, are options.
Miles started games last year at both weak side and middle.
“It’s a lot of fun, first of all. I watched the Bombers growing up so it’s been great to be out here playing for them. It’s been really exciting so far. All my relatives are really happy about it and friends are asking when they can get jerseys.
“We’ve got some great competition right now at linebacker. There are a number of veterans and some new guys, too, who are really playing well, adapting well on the fly, learning the playbook and making some plays out there. It’ll be interesting to see how it all boils down, but Canadian or American, there are some good options here.
“To me, a good middle is a great decision maker and a vocal leader. Most of all, he’s confident in what he’s doing. So you don’t see the great middle linebackers hanging around looking lost. They’re out there doing something and playing with a purpose.”
THE BOSS SAYS
Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, who will be formally inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame this fall after an all-star career as a linebacker, on the battle to date:
“It’s a good battle. A lot of the guys have the potential to step in and be that guy. It’s going to come down to more than just what they do versus a counter play or a zone play. It’s going to come down to how they are in the meeting room, how they get guys to the right spot… there’s a lot of leadership aspects to that position besides the ability to run all day and enjoy it.
“It’s a good, spirited competition.”
Thomas Miles (52)
BOMBER CAMP – DAY 4
Piling on: Bombers receiver Addison Richards is out for ‘a while’ according to head coach Mike O’Shea after suffering a lower-body injury near the end of Tuesday’s practice. Richards had been working with the No. 1 offence before the injury and was in attendance Wednesday, but walking with a noticeable limp.
This is the third straight year since the University of Regina product, drafted 11th overall by the Bombers in 2015, has been felled by an injury.
“He’s a kid who has worked hard to get back on the playing field a couple of times. Now he’s got to have the right attitude and work hard again,” said O’Shea. “He will, too. I know he will. He’s a hard working kid.”
The Bombers did add two new receivers on Wednesday, bringing aboard Winnipeg product and University of Manitoba Bison Derek Yachison, who also spent five years with the Kamloops Broncos junior program, and former Missouri star L’Damian Washington, who spent time on seven NFL practice rosters before joining the Edmonton Eskimos practice roster last fall. Rahul Madan, signed on Saturday, was released.
Winnipeg’s receiving corps has been hit hard by injuries through the start of camp with Richards, T.J. Thorpe, Matt Coates and Kieren Duncan all missing practice on Wednesday.
Asked if the injury to Richards had him worried about the team’s Canadian receiver depth, O’Shea said:
“We’ve got a lot of time before our roster has to be set. So a lot of things can happen. A lot of different scenarios can play out. I thought Addison was doing well and he could have been a piece to the puzzle, that’s for sure. We’ll have to go without for a little bit.
“Julian (Feoli-Gudino) has always done good things in there. Right now, Matt Coates is down, but we’re finding some guys to come in and compete. Like I said, it’s still a ways away before we have set our roster and any concern sets in.”
More walking wounded: In addition to the receivers down, also missing practice on Wednesday were safety Taylor Loffler, OL Dominick Jackson, LB Moe Leggett, DT Padric Scott, DT Ian Marouf, DB Chris Greenwood and DB Abu Conteh. Conteh, the Winnipeg product and 2017 draft choice, was on crutches and will also be out a while, according to O’Shea.
Standing out: Players who popped off the page Wednesday included WR Julian Feoli-Gudino, DB T.J. Heath, safety Derek Jones, RB Timothy Flanders, LB Jovan Santos-Knox, OL Patrick Neufeld and DT Faith Ekakitie.
Rifles in the house: Three members of the Winnipeg Rifles coaching staff – head coach Geordie Wilson, defensive coordinator Craig Bachynski and D-line coach Kent Wood – were all in attendance at Wednesday’s practice. Four Rifles players are at Bomber camp: receivers Xander Tachinski and Brendan Naujoks, running back Michael Ritchott and defensive back Andrew Ricard.
Reviving an old discussion: O’Shea was asked on Wednesday about the possibility of getting both Flanders and Andrew Harris on the field again. It happened on a handful of occasions last season.
“That’s a scenario I’d like see, too. Once again, it depends on how the entire roster shakes out and how the designated imports are going to be placed. It depends on the opponent and a weekly analysis of what we need and how Andrew is doing and injury. That’s a pretty fluid type of roster move. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. But, how good would that be? That would be awesome to have those two guys on the roster at the same time. It really would. Timothy Flanders is an extremely good player. For limited reps, limited touches, he certainly made an impact with his opportunities.”
