Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
“It’s a fact of life: you play in bad weather”
The Ticats endured a rare day of rain and wind at Ivor Wynne on Tuesday, and Head Coach George Cortez indicated that his team will continue to play through such conditions.
He confirmed that so long as his players performed at outdoor venues on game days, they would be drilled on the very same in practice.
“Most of the places that I’ve coached, there’s no place to practice except outdoors,” said Cortez on Tuesday.
“I don’t like it any better than anybody else, but it’s a fact of life: you play in bad weather. Unless there’s lightning or a blizzard, we’ll keep doing it.”
“Even with the (Buffalo) Bills, where we had a wonderful indoor facility, we went outside for one day a week, because you play outside.”
Colclough opens his Ticat account
Recently-acquired defensive back Ricardo Colclough enjoyed his first workout with the Ticats on Tuesday.
The ex-Eskimo was inserted at several positions in the backfield throughout the morning practice as the Ticat coaching staff took an initial look at his skill set.
Cortez suggested that Colclough looked and felt well prepared as he worked through his assignments, including the high-pressure situation of defending no-huddle offence.
“I thought he mixed in pretty good and didn’t seem out of place,” said the coach of Colclough.
“He was in there in no huddle, which is kind of like being the corn on the fire, because it’s going really fast and there’s not a lot of time to get help from the guys around you.”
“He’s a confident guy and he’s looking forward to getting on the field.”
Cortez cautioned though that the precise nature of a defensive back’s duty brings with it a longer adjustment period to new schemes and teammates.
He warned that fans and media members should not expect the immediate impact on Colclough’s part that defensive line additions Torrey Davis and Brandon Peguese managed to have against Edmonton on Saturday.
“It’s like apples and oranges,” said Cortez of any comparison between the linemen and Colclough.
“There’s a lot more communication going on in the back end. No offence to the defensive linemen, but if they line up five inches the wrong way, nobody throws a touchdown pass over their head – and that sometimes happens in the secondary.”
“You’ve got to have confidence that the guy understands everything that’s going on when he’s back there playing for the first time. This was the first practice and I think it went okay, but we’ll see how it actually went when we watch the tape and we’ll see how it goes again tomorrow.”
Campbell’s award is well deserved
Ticat rookie linebacker Brock Campbell was named the CFL’s Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, after a seven-tackle performance against the Eskimos on Saturday.
Campbell – whose fourth game as a Ticat also included a sack of Kerry Joseph – was praised by Cortez in the wake of his award. The coach remarked that the winners of the weekly award are typically self-evident on the strength of their performances.
“He had six or seven tackles and he had a big play,” Cortez recalled on Tuesday. “I think he was the guy with the tackle when they (Edmonton) went for it on third and one.
“I know that usually if a guy runs a punt back for a touchdown, for example, he’s got a pretty good opportunity to be the Special Teams Player of the Week, and if you throw for 400 yards you have a good opportunity to be the Offensive Player of the Week.”
Cortez credited Campbell’s attitude for his success and the award that has followed it. He pointed to the linebacker’s first action on special teams as an indication of his willingness to do whatever the team asked of him.
“I think the first game that he played in, he did well on special teams and didn’t play much on defence,” said the coach.
“That’s an indication of a guy who wants to do well, because it’s not a glamorous spot if you’re not returning kicks. It’s hard work to be completely honest.”
“He’s trying to understand the game and all the power to him for winning the award.”
