The Winnipeg Blue Bombers whirlwind three-day mini-camp is now in the rearview mirror. And with rookie camp fast approaching – scheduled to open on May 16 – it’s time to take stock of what we learned from the five practices this week.
With that in mind, here are 10 takeaways from Bombers mini-camp, in no particular order:
1.The Mystery Man is…
A few fans wondered about the identity of the hulking quarterback who watched the sessions and then threw after practice this week; some even suggesting he had the body shape to play defensive line.
For the record his name is Chris Streveler, the 6-2, 220-pound pivot from the University of South Dakota we first told you about in our Ultimate (Bomber) Guide to the Bowl Games last December.
Streveler is on the Bombers’ negotiation list and is still hoping to earn an NFL tryout, but also looking to keep his pro football options open. He is coming off a spectacular year with the Coyotes in which he completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards with 32 TDs against just eight interceptions, while also rushing for 870 yards and 11 TDs. He was selected as the QB on the 2017 Associated Press FCS All-American Team and was one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award.
The question now is whether Streveler is drafted this weekend or gets an NFL look as a free agent this summer.
2. Don’t be an early evaluator…
There is a danger in reading too much into strong performances at a mini-camp for one obvious reason: standing out against a collection of rookies or first-year pros still gobbling up the nuances of the three-down game is one thing, but doing it against veteran players when main camp opens is quite another. And so, while the consensus is this mini-camp was the most talented the current regime has held, the real evaluations of who goes where, and in what order, on the depth chart won’t begin until main camp opens on May 20.
3. All that said, some vets shouldn’t get too comfy…
Every team wants competition in training camp, and the collection of prospects the club brought into Winnipeg this past week was impressive. The Bombers targeted two areas in particular – defensive back and receiver – and it showed in the camp numbers with 17 pass defenders and 15 pass catches among the 46 players who attended. We posted a piece earlier in the week on the work Drew Wolitarsky did to get quicker, but three other receivers also popped off the page: Myles White, the Louisiana Tech product who joined the practice roster last year, former Arkansas star Dominique Reed and A.J. Coney of Akron.
The defensive standouts included Kyrie Wilson, a candidate at middle linebacker, along with defensive backs Zavian Bingham and Earl Wolff. Wilson dressed for one game last year and spent most of the season on the practice roster; Bingham was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders after first shining at a Bombers free-agent camp last year and was brought in to Winnipeg last fall after his release by the Riders. Wolff is was a draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 who played in 18 games and made seven starts over two seasons before looks from Jacksonville, Washington and Indianapolis.
4. Experience, even limited, matters…
It’s no coincidence some the players who stood out have some CFL snaps, or even CFL practices, under their belts. As much as many Americans adhere to the ‘football is football’ message when comparing the Canadian game to what they grew up playing down south, the wider field, the extra man, the motion – all those nuances – take some time to get adjusted to, no matter the talent level. Wolitarsky, White, Wilson Bingham, all mentioned above, had the benefit of that adjustment period.
5. Can’t make the club from the tub…
The old line from the late Cal Murphy, the Bombers legendary GM and head coach, is part of football gospel in these parts but applies to this day. The number of walking wounded grew as camp progressed and some of the players with the most hype coming in, including Ole Miss safety Cody Prewitt,were reduced to playing the role of spectators. This Bombers squad is deeper and more talented than even last year, and certainly more so than four or five years ago when the team might have been tempted to wait for a prospect to heal. Durability is an ability.
6. The ex-Lions could be intriguing additions…
Former B.C. Lions defensive backs Steven Clarke and Anthony Gaitor, along with linebacker/defensive back Chandler Fenner will be joined at main camp by defensive end Craig Roh. Clarke and Gaitor bring experience to the Bombers secondary with 25 and 23 games played, respectively; Fenner was one of the club’s prized additions this winter while Roh could be one of those under-the-radar free agent signings that really impact when the ball is put on the tee for real in June.
Here’s Clarke on his first impressions of his new squad:
“Great team. Great group of guys that are going to compete and push each other every day. Even being in the locker room, one of the things that grabbed me was as soon as I walked in the coaches are critiquing everything and it is detail-oriented so that you actually understand what you’re doing. They’re not just giving you a play and seeing how you react. They’re coaching you. Even today when I made some plays they said, ‘This is what you could have done better.’ I appreciate that because I’m a perfectionist.
“Usually when you change teams you don’t come over with… now that I realize it, it’s four teammates. It’s a good thing but one of the things we also saw instantly was everyone was so welcoming. It’s not like we didn’t talk to anybody or had our small little group. We made sure we branched out and talked to everybody.”
The benefit of that experience will help a Bombers secondary that started two rookies last year in Brandon Alexander and Brian Walker and was prone to giving up explosion plays on both sides of its air defence.
“It’s something I believe in. That experience is really hard to replace,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “I’ll just go to a play on Wednesday. Steven Clarke and Anthony Gaitor understand what CFL offences are trying to do and as the young guys are standing on the sideline watching, they can learn right there. But Chandler Fenner had one play (Wednesday) where he had two pieces of communication which just made a world of difference. You highlight that in a meeting and you could run that one play, talk about the two things he said and you could end the meeting and you’re going to be way better the next day.”
7. The impact of Ryan Rigmaiden…
Rigmaiden is the Bombers’ Director of College Scouting and a man who spent the past six seasons with the B.C. Lions, the last four as their Director of U.S. Scouting. The heavy emphasis on giving ex-Lions a look – Clarke, Gaitor, Roh, Fenner as well as quarterback Alex Ross, who impressed with his accuracy during mini-camp – obviously has Rigmaiden’s fingerprints all over it.
8. Dressler, Adams, Bowman, Demski, Harris…
The Bombers used free agency to add more weapons to surround quarterback Matt Nichols and give offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice even more option by signing Adarius Bowman and Nic Demski. But if even just one of the new receiver candidates morphs into a regular – whether it is White, Reed, Coney or Wolitarsky – then the Bombers are obviously the better for it. Both Weston Dressler and Darvin Adams have missed time over the past two years due to injury while both Dressler and Bowman are on the other side of 30. Whichever prospect survives and makes the roster, or practice roster, will also clearly benefit from being in the same receiver room as this crew of vets.
9. Defensive versatility…
Interesting chatting with Clarke, Fenner and Leggett this week and in the offseason as to where they see themselves fitting in the Bombers defence. To a man, they all answered with variations of ‘wherever the coaches put me.’ Coach O’Shea has already referenced defensive communication a couple of times this week and that will be massive in any defensive improvements. But so, too, will be the defence’s ability to seamlessly move pieces around.
“That’s definitely something I bring to the table, my versatility,” said Fenner. “We also have other guys in the secondary that are versatile, so we have a very flexible defence. That’s going to play a big role when we’re dealing with other offensive coordinators and quarterbacks on the football field. That’s going to muddy up a lot of their reads because they don’t know who’s going where. The pieces can go anywhere and it’s taking this defence to the next level.”
10. Leading by example…
Bombers QB Matt Nichols was three hours early for the first mini-camp session on Tuesday, arriving to find the clubhouse virtually empty. He laughed about it after Day 1, but his actions speak volumes as to why so many in the Bombers locker room call him one of the best leaders they have ever shared a huddle with in the game.
Nichols can be fiery on the field on game day and is adored as a teammate. And when the team’s starting quarterback is consistently first in and last to leave, that is also not only a form of leadership, but sets the standard for others to follow and is especially influential to the new troops who stepped into the locker room this week.
