MontrealAlouettes.com
The difference between work and play is about to become painfully clear to Ryan Bomben. And it had better not be painful for Anthony Calvillo.
Bomben wants to preserve his game-day ritual. He’s never run with his fellow offensive linemen, rather, his warmup routine centres around a solo performance.
He playfully, yet diligently, does duty as receiver for backup quarterback Josh Neiswander, a massive ugly duckling of a receiver perhaps, but a playmaker in his own mind.
The third-year lineman’s CFL bio entry does confirm one career touchdown among eight receptions, after all.
Trudging along with fellow members of the “protection racket” for Calvillo must seem like such drudgery.
| Flory Out for the Year |
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The Als announced on Monday that Scott Flory’s MRI results show a complete bicep tear, and that he will be out for the remainder of the season. |
But in the aftermath of serious injuries to Scott Flory and Andrew Woodruff, Bomben’s heard the call of duty at guard, the call of the herd.
Ever since his introduction to football, pigskin pitch and catch with dad, running routes has been Bomben’s happy place.
Now his place is digging in for chores beside centre.
“I’ve been debating this all week,” the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder confesses. “I think I’ll do both, warm up with the rest of the line, then do some catching for Josh.”
Offensive line changes are by definition BIG. Replacing 20 years combined experience (Flory alone has more career playoff starts than Michael Ola and Bomben’s combined regular season totals) is a weighty issue.
While changing the guards in London is tradition that goes back to 1660 AD (Alouettes fans might say “BC—Before Calvillo”) such substantial switches to Montreal’s O-line are monumental.
At Buckingham Palace they do it like clockwork. For the Als, they do it or AC gets clocked.
This is 40 per cent of what the Queen calls the “Regiments of the Household Division”. Calvillo’s new guards are not exactly household names.
Replacing big-name big men like aptly named Neal Fort, Bryan Chiu and Ozooma Okeke were smooth transitions one brick in the wall at a time over several seasons. Now the breech must be filled instantly, on a line already giving up sacks at an alarming rate, 40-year old QB or not.
“Michael Ola may have the best quick punch since ‘Uzo’,” says General Manager Jim Popp. “And Uz is a future Hall of Famer.”
(Memo to Peter Dalla Riva and all other Hall of Fame selection voters: Okeke is overlooked by media but regarded by peers as THE offensive lineman supreme of his decade. Now beyond the mandatory retirement lag for consideration by the Hall, Okeke scouts for the Alouettes. He never sought media attention, only the respect of teammates and opponents. He should grace the 2014 nominees list.)
The failings of new systems have touched off whispers the intricacies of the Canadian game may be lost on an American O-line coach, let alone one working with a “rookie” CFL offensive coordinator and head coach.
Let the record show the Alouettes have always had an American coaching the offensive line since the franchise rebirth in 1996.
“Coach Frank’ (Verducci) is my third coach here and he lets us do what’s best for us,” Bomben reassures.
Coach Frank is also a veteran of 4 NFL teams in 8 years as well as major US college programs.
“No one has to change their technique. The biggest change for me was my rookie year…a big eye-opener,” admits Bomben. “The game is so much quicker.”
“Of course you always want to be playing more.”
That’s another reason he savoured playing tight end, whether blocking or sneaking out on a route. That role faces extinction or Calvillo may not survive.
“I won’t comment on that,” Bomben says for fear of a playbook leak.
Bomben protected the blindside tackle spot at Guelph. Now he takes reps at all Montreal blocking positions and hopes switching from right to left or left to right should be seamless.
Try brushing your teeth with your wrong hand. Now do it with a 280-pound D-lineman in your face with a swim-move.
“To be honest, I don’t think you can replace a guy like that (Flory). He’s so smart about the game of football; I’m just going to do my best to fill in for him while he’s gone.”
Flory won’t vanish. He’s chatting up his brothers in arms at practice this week.
“We always call him ‘Coach Flory’ because he’s always coaching stuff, even when he was playing,” admits Bomben. “He’s always there for us.”
“I told Scott ‘this is an opportunity to find out if you really want to coach when playing days are over,” Popp confirms. “He said ‘Yeah, I want to help’ but he was still in shock over his injury.”
Ola had several starts at tackle in 2012, but is getting used to life beside centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain.
“Ola really flew under the radar,” says Popp, who rarely misses talent from his own geographical backyard. “We talked to the Schottenheimer Brothers about him and they thought he had NFL potential.”
| Related: Als Coverage |
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CFL.ca has you covered for everything Montreal Alouettes in 2013. |
With the Hampton Pirates, Ola blasted holes allowing former Stampeders running back LaMarcus Coker to become their first 1,000-yard back in years.
“He’s from ‘Hampton Row’, an area renowned for its football and basketball players. Then he signed with the UFL and that’s where Marty (Schottenheimer) recommended him.”
Sources say he could have been starting even in his CFL rookie year. Popp’s thankful no one raided his practice roster.
“We have high draft picks who have had to be patient,” Popp says. “They’ve been groomed, but sitting. How good can they be? I don’t think anyone knows.”
“Kristian Matte, Anthony Barrette…those were high picks. Bomben was a fourth-rounder with tremendous feet. His development may have been dwarfed by being a tight end, a fullback…the way he was used.”
The multi-tasking ex-Gryphon leaped ahead of the former Concordia Stingers and even won a role on defence. He’d dig in for the “no guts, no glory” goal-line stands against jumbo sets.
Now he’s a full-time guard, no “crossover” role anymore.
“When you come to Montreal it could be three or four years before you play,” Popp cautions. “Players have to be patient. Now we have to be patient.”
Patience, like Calvillo’s protection, has been wearing thin. The sack total was cut from 7 to 2 in back-to-back home losses, but even tackles Josh Bourke and Jeff Perrett need to be nastier with the changing of the guards beside them.
Shudder to think if more injuries strike in-game. Did the coaching staff have the foresight to groom a defensive lineman for emergency O-line duty in the trenches?
Michael Klassen, the former Calgary Dino from the bumper crop 2013 Draft seems a worthy candidate for “cross-training”.
Bomben has enough on his plate with a single focus at guard.
“You’re going to have to ask the coaches about that,” says Bomben, turning aside the question like a successful blitz pick-up.
