Thanks to all that posted reports yesterday. Practice goes at 2 PM today, looking forward to hearing from those in attendance.

 

OShea's post practice interview - 2nd day.

 

What caught O'Shea's eye among the rookies today? -      The defensive live..they were down a guy and they persevered and gutted it out.

Showed character? -      Yep, they get it, it's a job interview.

What do like about Kenny Tate? -      What's not to like about him? …When you talk to him you understand he really loves to play football.

Any running back stand out? -    Credit to the scouting staff , we have very good competition, these guys can play…fun to watch.

Kicking position, any ideas yet, ratio….? -    It will come right down to the end..it will be a roster decision.

Anybody stand out so far? -    A few guys , def. line QBs and the RBs. they get it. They have their one opportunity and they run with it.

 

http://www.bluebombers.com/video/index/id/96465

 

Very diplomatic answer.  O'Shea seems to be learning fast how to talk without saying anything.

 

 

Agree. and a big change from the previous coach who seems like don know what to answer and always find a ways to throw his players under the bus.

Ex-NFLer Smith has all the tools to challenge at RB

By: Ed Tait

 

The rust is all but gone and the flashes are already coming more frequently now.

 

In one moment Kevin Smith has a would-be tackler grasping at air with a spin move that raises eyebrows and has even the most hardened coach whistling in appreciation.

 

And in the next he is bursting through a seam at the line of scrimmage or latching onto a pass with the soft hands of a safecracker.

 

Yes, if you were parachuted into Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp over the last couple of days and asked to point out which of the running backs has five years of NFL experience on his resumé, almost certainly all fingers would be pointing at the dude in jersey No. 35.

 

It's not that the others challengers to Will Ford's job haven't jumped out, too -- Nic Grigsby, Paris Cotton and Errol Brooks have also been impressive -- but a guy doesn't finish eighth in Heisman Trophy voting and then earn the starting tailback gig for the Detroit Lions if he doesn't have some heaven-sent gifts.

 

Even if he has been away from the game for over a year.

 

"It just feels so good to be out there, man. It feels good to have a ball in my hands again," said Smith after Day 2 of rookie camp. "I'm still learning the playbook. I'm not playing as fast as I would if I had the playbook in the back of my head, but it's coming.

 

"It's fun. I appreciate the chance to be out on the field."

 

It's here where a brief Smith refresher might be in order. A star at the University of Central Florida -- he broke Marcus Allen's single-season carries record and fell 62 yards short of busting Barry Sanders' single-season rushing mark -- Smith was drafted by the Lions and put up some solid numbers in five years in Detroit before injuries began to take their toll.

 

Released by the Lions, Smith didn't play a down last season, spurning a couple of look-see offers from other NFL clubs to heal up and look after his a four-year-old son and 20-month-old daughter. And when the Bombers called this winter about an offer to come north, his competitive juices started flowing again.

 

"I missed everything. Meeting new guys... the locker-room... everything that comes with the game," said Smith. "I missed just being a player, being out here and going to meetings. When you're on a team it's like, 'ahhh, we got meetings.' But when you're not on a team it's, 'I wish I was in meetings right now.'

 

"I've always appreciated the game, but I have an appreciation just for being on a team and knowing that any day could be my last. That makes it different for me now."

 

That hunger and passion is already showing. And according to Bomber head coach Mike O'Shea, Smith has done nothing that would suggest he is carrying that ugly 'I'm an ex-NFLer, watch me dominate' attitude so many who come north often ooze.

 

"He's been very humble in the first couple of days," said O'Shea. "He was very quiet. I had to engage him myself just to see if he was breathing. He cracked a smile one time and he's been smiling ever since.

 

"He's put a few very impressive plays on tape for us to watch. And I think he's going to get better, too."

 

That's a scary-good scenario for the Bombers, who began last season with Chad Simpson at tailback, finished with Will Ford in the backfield and were second-last in the CFL in rushing yards. After all, a guy with Smith's credentials and drive to find joy in the game again makes for a potentially powerful combo.

 

"You don't realize how fast you can get old in this game," said Smith. "Right now I'm probably the oldest (running) back in the room at 27. It seems like yesterday I was 24 and when I got in the league (NFL) I was just 20 and one of the youngest guys on the team. It goes so fast, man. You have to appreciate it. If you still love to do it and you get a shot, you take it.

 

"I still have a passion for playing football. The Bombers are giving me a shot, so I'm giving it my all."

 

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/ex-nfler-smith-has-all-the-tools-to-challenge-at-rb-261204011.html

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Great read!

A strong-arm QB is fun to watch.... we haven't had a QB that combines strong arm with an actual ability to play since Khari so it's nice to see a guy with potential.... when we see him play on June 9 his role will start to become more clear... 

Khari never had a very strong arm...he was just smarter than everyone else on the field. Fwiw...

goddamn.... Ed Tait good sports journalist

best in the city, bar none. Was just talking to him a bit today on FB...so great to have him on the Bomber beat, even for a little while. Wiecek is the shits, plain and simple...

We are fortunate to have a Tait and Penton in Wiinipeg.

Someone needs to forward that article to the Sun with the Subject: How to write a Sports Article 101

Someone needs to forward that article to the Sun with the Subject: How to write a Sports Article 101

 

Penton is good, but I really don't like reading the Sun... that would be nice if he jumped ship to the freep...

Did I see where Joe Pasucc. .? Is gone from Global?

We are fortunate to have a Tait and Penton in Wiinipeg.

 

For sure.

I have to give credit where credit is due…and that's for Penton, who may have stumbled, here and there, with some football facts, but who has turned the corner, is engaging, and seems willing to learn and push himself to be better at writing about our mighty love…the Blue Bombers.

Can't support the Sun now that they're a pay site. What kind of BS is that.

Yep Joe Pascucci is retiring.

Yep Joe Pascucci is retiring.

I remember when he started on CKND, man I feel old.

Yep Joe Pascucci is retiring.

I remember when he started on CKND, man I feel old.

It's time for him to retire. He doesn't really add much...he's just kind of there.

Can't support the Sun now that they're a pay site. What kind of BS is that.

 

I'm sure the Free Press isn't far behind.

 

Yep Joe Pascucci is retiring.

I remember when he started on CKND, man I feel old.

 

 

Me too     

 

I remember when you watched CKND on channel 12 and the dial on the TV only went up to 13.

Unfortunately the papers could the thing of the past, I get up in the morning reach for my I Pad and read the FP.SUN.BBC.CNN.TSN.CBC.GLOBE N MAIL.

I have covered the world news and it is great.

I miss these guys (about 20 seconds in)

 

Didn't Joey Gregorash used to have a show on CKND? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAfucyuZ50.

Didn't Joey Gregorash used to have a show on CKND? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAfucyuZ50.

if you're thinking of Skiddlebits, it was CTV I believe.  I was on that show a couple of times...lol

 

As for the Sun being a paysite, I totally understand why.  I think they allow you ten free stories a month.  I used to be an avid reader of both papers, then mostly just the Sun, then neither.  I can read most of the stories online and get instant, immediate updates with opinions, facts etc via my phone.  Who needs a newspaper? 

 

 

Yep Joe Pascucci is retiring.

I remember when he started on CKND, man I feel old.

 

 

Me too     

 

I remember when you watched CKND on channel 12 and the dial on the TV only went up to 13.

 

 

And before that watching the "Chiller Thriller" on KCND out of North Dakota.

Speaking of CKND, whatever happened to Phil Reimer. Wow the years sure fly by. Getting channel 12 was a biggie back in the day and you had to have a damned good set of rabbit ears or a tower for that reception. Youngsters today would just laugh compared to the technology that's out there now BUT that's the way it was. Happy retirement Joe P.

We only got 4 channels on the rabbit ears - CKND was on Channel 9, CTV on channel 7, CBC English Channel 6 and French channel 3. Then that Fox station started up on channel 12 but it was always pretty fuzzy so hard to watch. And we would wear an onion on our belt, as was the style of the time. And we only had yellow onions, because of the war.