Its time to Tee it up

[allvol]

Thu, June 16, 2005


It's time to Tee it up

Glenn No. 1 QB for Bombers, regardless of how others play

By KIRK PENTON, STAFF REPORTER, Winnipeg Sun




Let's say, just for a moment, that quarterback Tee Martin throws for 300 yards and four touchdowns tonight when the ...

"It would give us a good feeling," Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Brendan Taman interrupted yesterday. "It would be a hell of a game, actually."

Hey, let us finish.

What happens if Martin lights it up in his long-awaited Bomber debut tonight at Canad Inns Stadium when the Bombers host the Edmonton Eskimos in the final CFL pre-season game for both teams (7:30 p.m., CJOB)?

Does it change things?

"No, but it gives us a lot more feeling on what he can do in a game," Taman said. "And if he struggles in the game, I don't think it's a big reflection either of what he does.

"It's just one part of an evaluation about him. We're not going to get too excited one way or another."

CRITIQUING

You just know that's not the way the pro-Martin crowd will be viewing things. If No. 1 pivot Kevin Glenn struggles in the first half and Martin shines in the third quarter, the critiquing will commence in earnest.

Taman, however, said it's way too early for that. After all, he noted, Glenn is the only Bomber quarterback guaranteed to be on the final 40-man active roster that must be declared by 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon.

"I understand where (the fans) are coming from, but the following for Tee is interesting, because there's two other pretty good quarterbacks, other than Kevin, who are not necessarily behind Tee, either," Taman said. "Those guys are right there. Now, Russ Michna doesn't have the name of Tee Martin, and some people might not know who the hell he is still, but Tee's the flavour of the day.

"And if Spergon (Wynn) goes and lights it up and Tee just does OK, Spergon will be the flavour of the day. And Kevin will be Kevin. And no matter what he does, they'll be waiting for him to screw up so they can cheer for the next guy. It's normal. Been there, done that. Seen it."

Glenn was declared No. 1 before training camp began and has lived up to that billing over the last two weeks. His goal for tonight is execution and continuity with the first-team offence, which, unlike last Friday's exhibition opener in Edmonton, will include running back Charles Roberts and slotback Milt Stegall.

Glenn, who completed five of nine passes for 65 yards and was intercepted once in last Friday's 20-20 tie, isn't worried about Martin-mania sweeping the 'Peg.

"If that's what the fans want to see, that's what they want to see," Glenn said. "I'm just going to go out and handle my business."

That kind of attitude, according to Taman, is what makes him qualified to be a starting quarterback in this league.

"He's handled it like anybody else in that position would have handled it," Taman said. "He hasn't (wavered) or fallen off or been worried or looking over his shoulder. He's been fine."

Glenn also looks right at home in a series of new Reebok TV commercials for CFL apparel. The spots feature Glenn and other prominent CFLers being fitted for their snazzy new uniforms by a football-oblivious fashion designer who appears to be a little light in the loafers -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

And not that there's anything wrong with a little quarterback competition, which Glenn has met with unassuming fortitude.

"We can win games with Kevin Glenn as our starting quarterback," Taman said. "And we will win games with him as our starting quarterback."

Yeah, but what if ...?

 

[allvol]

Tue, June 14, 2005


Tee time finally here

Young Bomber QB gets ball Thursday

By PAUL FRIESEN

Maybe it's because he followed Peyton Manning at the University of Tennessee and promptly did what Manning couldn't, leading the Volunteers to a national championship a few years back.

Maybe it's because he took the rare step of coming to Winnipeg mid-season last year, right after being released in the NFL.

Or maybe it's simply because, over the last year or two, any mention of the word "quarterback" in these parts has caused football fans to go into convulsions.

Whatever the case, it's been a long time since the debut of a relatively young, unproven quarterback in this town has been met with the anticipation of Tee Martin's first appearance in a CFL uniform.

"I'm excited," Martin said yesterday, looking ahead to Thursday's pre-season tilt with the Eskimos. "It's a chance to get hit again."

In case you're wondering, the last time Martin got hit was Dec. 28, 2003, when he came off the Oakland Raiders bench against San Diego.

Safe to say, he won't be saving the film of that one: he completed two of 11 passes for 14 yards and an interception, as the Raiders managed zero net yards passing.

HOOKED UP

Little wonder, then, that he prefers to recall his previous game in Green Bay, when he hooked up with the NFL's all-time leading receiver, Jerry Rice, a few times in a 4-for-5 relief performance on Monday Night Football.

"My biggest memory of my whole professional career is getting an opportunity to throw the ball to Jerry Rice," Martin said.

Well, if that remains the greatest accomplishment of Martin's football career, then a lot of people will have expended a lot of hot air for nothing.

Because from the Bomber fanatics patrolling the Internet chat lines all the way up to the GM's office, there's been this fascination with seeing what Martin can do since he arrived last September.

Put another way, a spring Tee time around here hasn't been this anticipated since Keith Tkachuk and the Jets left town.

"Everyone's going to have a chance to see him play, including me," GM Brendan Taman said. "It should be fun to see. I'm looking forward to it."

So what can we expect?

Far less than the buildup, probably.

Martin himself says he's not the second coming of Dieter Brock. Or Khari Jones, for that matter.

"My motto is not about winning the game as much as it is about not losing the game," explained the Alabama native. "I'm not a quarterback who's going to sit there and make a lot of gambles. You're not going to see a guy who just throws the ball up for grabs a whole lot. I don't do that.

"Sometimes it may look conservative, sometimes it may look wide open. I'll take what the defence gives me."

Bomber fans don't care what it looks like, as long as it moves the chains.

Oh, and winning wouldn't hurt, either.

Not that Martin will have a ton of say in that.

Head coach Jim Daley says the 26-year-old is scheduled to play the third quarter only.

Daley seems to be the only guy in town who's not in a hurry to see Martin throw a football in anger. He is, after all, the one who refused to let the guy play at the end of last season.

"The fixation with a big-name player, coming out of Tennessee and then the NFL, is a fan and media view," Daley said. "Our view is the football team."

Fair enough.

The view from here says this team still needs someone to grab the quarterback job the way Brock wrestled it from Chuck Ealey back in '75. Or the way Jones took it from Kerwin Bell five years ago.

It may not be Tee Martin who grabs it, but it's about time he got the chance.

 

[BeltwayVol]

So How Did He Do?

 

[allvol]

In his first, albeit brief, appearance in a CFL game, Bomber QB Tee Martin went 3-of-5 for 39 yards and scampered for another 11.

"I just wish I had gone down and gotten seven points," Martin said after Winnipeg's 23-9 pre-season loss to the Edmonton Eskimos. "It's just something we have to work on. We have to get better at that."

Although Martin played the entire third quarter, the ex-NFLer only got three series.

"All of us felt we wanted more time but there's only four quarters and Kevin (Glenn) got the bulk of it in the first half. So, you try to maintain and produce when you have the opportunity to produce. And I tried to do that. I tried to show the coaching staff and the team what I have to offer when I'm out there, and I think I did that."

He did indeed.

"Tee brought some life and spark in his quarter, and he read the defences better (than Spergon Wynn or Russ Michna)," Daley said. "But he only got 11 plays."

---------------------------

Martin's first act in a Bomber uniform, which came a minute and a half into the third quarter behind the backup offensive line, was an eight-yard run. Three plays later, on second-and-10 he hooked up with second-year receiver Gilles Colon for a 10-yard reception and a first down.

Then he hit Keith Stokes with a 25-yard strike to Edmonton's 24-yard line, and the fans were pumped.

The drive stalled, however, and Troy Westwood missed a 27-yard field goal that resulted in a single.