CFL.ca
When talking with Jamaal Westerman, the Winnipeg Blue Bomber defensive end is amiable and friendly.
Put Westerman on the football field and he loses any sense of being cordial. Instead he wants to make an opposing quarterback’s life as miserable as possible.
“The biggest thing is keeping the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket,” Westerman said in explaining his philosophy that has made him the CFL sack leader.
“You don’t want him to feel comfortable. You want him to be dirty, you want to knock him on the ground. You want to push his linemen on him and have guys in his face. The sack is kind of an outcome of you trying to do those things.”
The six-foot-three, 249-pound Westerman has 12 sacks this season and looking to add. He will be looking to add onto that total when the Blue Bombers (4-10) play the B.C. Lions (5-8) at B.C. Place Stadium Saturday in a game that playoff implications for both teams.
Some sack specialists relay on strength and speed to get to quarterbacks. Others use finesse and technique.
Westerman uses a combination of both. He believes studying his opponents on film is as important as spending time in the weight room.
“This game you want to see what works for you but also what has worked against the team you are playing,” Westerman said.
“You do a lot of studying of the opponent and see what they may not handle as well (or) what other guys around the league have done and been successful. You try to implement that into your game.”
Sometimes when watching film Westerman will see a technique another defensive player has used to beat an offensive linemen. He’ll think “that’s kind of in my wheelhouse.”
As important as preparation is, a good player still must adapt during a game.
“I take what kind of comes,” said Westerman. “You may come into a (game) thinking you are going to do a certain move that worked. He (an offensive lineman) has watched film of himself so he’ll take the move away.
“Then you have to do something else. After a while you let your body and technique kind of take over.”
Some people argue sacks are overrated as a statistic. Westerman believes a sack in itself might not decide a game but it can certainly is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to winning.
“It’s kind of a culmination of all the negative things that can happen for an offence,” he said. “You lose a down, you lose yardage, you knock the quarterback down and he has to pull himself up.
“The quarterback is probably the most valuable position in any sport. You have an opportunity to hit him and knock him down. Over a game nobody like to get hit. The more he gets hit, maybe on one second down instead of throwing the ball he holds it because he’s been getting knock around. Or instead of throwing the ball he pulls it down and tries to run because he’s been getting hit.”
Westerman’s family moved from the Barbados to Brampton, Ont., where he first learned to play football. They later moved to New York and Florida.
Westerman played his college football at Rutgers. An undrafted free agent, he spent three seasons with the NFL New York Jets where he had 36 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 36 games. Over the next three years Westerman spent time with
Miami, Arizona, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland before signing with the Bombers in May.
Playing in the CFL has been an adjustment. Westerman had to get used to three downs, the yard between the offensive and defensive line and the receivers being in motion.
“There are a lot of different plays run in the CFL that aren’t run in the NFL,” said the 30-year-old, who also has 50 tackles. “There’s different blocking schemes by the offence, even the different ways the defence attack.”
Westerman credits Richie Hall, Winnipeg’s defensive coordinator, and Todd Howard, the defensive line coach, with helping him adapt.
“It’s been fun,” he said. “It was an adjustment but I got the opportunity to lean on a lot of the guys on the team.”
Westerman grew up with two brothers who also both played football. Jawann was a defensive back at Rutgers who also spent time on the Bombers practice roster. Jabar, 26, is currently a defensive end with the Lions.
“We all have different body types,” said Jamaal. “That’s the funny part. “I’m probably the taller one, I’m not as big as Jabar. Jawann was the quicker, thinner one.
“Jabar was a late-night eater. You would hear him sneaking down in the kitchen at night. Maybe that’s why he turned out bigger than us. I have to call him my little, big brother.”
The three brothers were constantly competing against each.
“There was a lot of tension in the household,” laughed Jamaal. “They would always gang up on me.
“It was always the two of them versus me. It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of competition, video games, playing outside. For me, I always feel proud of what my brother does.”
This weekend’s game will only be the second time Jabar and Jamaal have played against each. The first time was earlier this season when the Bombers beat the Lions 23-13.
Because both brothers play defence, about the only time they are on the field at the same time is during field goals. Even then they don’t usually face each other.
“I don’t know how I would like to go up against him,” said Jamaal. “That would probably be weird.”
Sometimes during film sessions Jamaal catches himself paying too much attention to what Jabar is doing.
“When I am watching film of others teams, every time B.C. pops up . . . 15 minutes into the film I have to rewind it because I have been watching him the whole time and not studying the offence,” Jamaal said. “I like watching him and seeing what’s he’s doing. He’s a distraction.”
While Jamaal has enjoyed a productive season the Bombers have struggled. He said head coach Mike O’Shea and general manager Kyle Walters have kept the time focused despite the losses.
“There has been none of the finger-pointing,” he said. “I think everybody understands things aren’t going exactly how we want them.
“We continue to practice hard, we continue to prepare. We’re still in the hunt to get to the playoffs. You want to win as many games as possible but you want an opportunity to get into the playoffs. The only way you are going to do that is by focusing on each team you have going up.”
The Bombers haven’t given up on the season. Their last two losses have been by two point or less.
“When you lose you are not happy, you’re not singing joy,” said Westerman. “You look at the films, some good things happen some bad things happen. Sometimes the games have been taken away from you.
“You just come back out there next week and put your best out there again.”
