He is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ tower of power – part bodyguard, part silent assassin, a quiet and respected leader with a self-deprecating bent and a game as consistent as a sunrise and sunset.
And yet as Stanley Bryant and the Blue Bombers head into Calgary this week for Friday’s matchup with the Stampeders, it can often be forgotten that the 37-year-old North Carolina product first wore the red and white of our western neighbours. In fact, Bryant was twice named the Stamps top offensive lineman and won a cup there in 2014.
Then came a fateful day in the winter of 2015 – February 10, 2015, to be exact – when Bryant scribbled his name on a contract here in Winnipeg in one of the most important days not just in the Blue Bombers rebuild, but in franchise history.
“That was a long time ago now,” began Bryant Wednesday with a chuckle. “I left there, honestly, because we had just won a Grey Cup and I knew my time there was up. Business played a part in that as well, but I just felt it was time for me to go somewhere else and start a foundation with another program.
“There was never animosity. My agent at the time was having regular conversations with (the Stamps), it’s just we were never on the same page. They were willing to let me walk in free agency and so I did that. Osh (Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea) and Kyle (Walters, GM) and those guys wanted me to come here and so I chose to sign on the dotted line.
“Everything worked out, as we can see now all these years later.”
Pencil that last line – ‘everything worked out’ – as a leading contender for Understatement of the Year Award.
In Bryant’s seven years as a Blue Bomber, he has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman four times – no other player in league history has accomplished that feat – been selected a CFL All-Star five times, and the club’s top lineman six times.
Simply put, he’s cemented himself as arguably the greatest lineman in Canadian Football League history. And we say ‘arguably’ only because Winnipeg’s own Chris Walby has long been the focal point in any GOAT O-lineman discussion. But even the big man himself has raved about Bryant for years.
And so it was on Wednesday when O’Shea was asked what he remembered about the club’s pursuit of Bryant in free agency in 2015, back when the Blue Bombers were still working to restore the shine on a franchise that had fallen on hard times.
“I think we were in Vegas when we were working on that, so maybe I don’t remember much,” O’Shea said with a grin. “No, listen… Ted (Goveia), Danny (McManus) and Kyle… it was pretty easy to identify him as a top-notch tackle. He was a guy that if we were going to make some changes, which we had to, and keep building – and some of it hand to be built through free agency – he was a guy that we would have liked to have as a foundational piece.
“He has been all that and more. He’s been exceptional and still is exceptional.”
Yes, exceptional enough that it’s certainly not hyperbole to say Bryant already has a spot waiting for him in the club’s hall of fame and Ring of Honour, but the Canadian Football shrine, too.
“He is a model of consistency at an extremely high level,” said guard Pat Neufeld, who has worked with Bryant in Blue Bombers colours since 2015. “He’s what you strive for as an offensive lineman – consistent play at a high level – and he does that week in, week out.
“He’s not the most vocal guy, but when he talks everyone listens. He’s so reliable. He’s a guy you have 100 percent trust in because you know he’s going to do his job. You almost take it for granted.
“Look at the left tackles who have been in and out of our league before he came. To me, he’s the greatest offensive linemen to ever play in the CFL. There’s no other player who has won the award four times. He’s an all-star damn near every year, especially since he’s been in Winnipeg.”
We then asked Neufeld this: the average fan can see Bryant do his thing on a rush end, or work to create a gap for Brady Oliveira in the run game, but what do the O-linemen see in the film room that makes them gush about his work?
“He has an ability to take away what defenders do best against him, by the way he steps, by the way he throws his hands,” explained Neufeld. “It’s his anticipation and his knowledge of what the defenders are trying to do to him, and he attacks that himself. He’s constantly tinkering what he’s doing to make sure he’s going to win a rep, which takes a ton of skill and practice to do. We watch him on film and there’s just no mistakes.
“He’s coming up on 200 games and doesn’t miss practice for anything, despite being the oldest player on the team and in the league. He never bitches or complains; he just goes out there and does his work.”
Bryant will be the first to admit his first year with the Blue Bombers, 2015, wasn’t his best. Part of that was adjusting to a new team trying to rebuild and the pressures that come with that. But that season fuelled him, too.
“I don’t think I had a good year in 2015. I was coming into a situation where it was the worst offensive line with the most sacks,” he said. “That year (2015) the sacks came down, but we still gave up the most – 60-70 something. I wasn’t used to that, and I certainly played my part in that number that year by just not playing well.
“And so, I just reset. I went home and my family and friends were telling me to refocus and get back to doing things the way I know how. It was about being me and leading by example and let everything else follow. I knew what I was capable of, and I know what I’m capable of now. So, 2016 was a return to the way things were prior.
“It took a while. But everything turned out. It was a smart decision to basically start from ground zero again and just grind and back to where we are now. It’s special how everything played its part.”
This Friday’s return to Calgary will be Bryant’s 195th career game – and his 195th career start – with the last 129 coming with the Blue Bombers. And because he’s been so good for so long his consistency means he is almost taken for granted – although certainly not by all the quarterbacks he’s helped protect and the men he has shared a locker room with.
“You won’t hear him screaming and yelling. You’ll never hear him do that,” said O’Shea. “Over the course of time the offensive line has really gone as he’s gone. He plays to a standard that the other guys are always reaching to – and that hasn’t changed. Besides that, he’s a happy-go-lucky, fun-loving guy; I think I’ve only seen him angry a couple of times. It’s pretty fun to see that, too. He’s just very level-headed, very calm, which allows him to play with such consistency. Besides that, he’s just so damn good. Physically, his feet, his hands, everything moves in sync. He’s smart, he’s seen it all. Like I said, he’s one of the best that’s ever played in this league.”
“He’s the reason a lot of us stick around,” added Neufeld, “because he’s the anchor of the offensive line and makes playing here that much more enjoyable. He’s also an incredible human being. We’re lucky to have him on our team.”
ZACH UPDATE:
Wednesday’s Blue Bombers practice session was closed to the media, but O’Shea did confirm that QB Zach Collaros did not practise for a third consecutive day. He was injured in last week’s 38-29 victory over the Edmonton Elks, with Dru Brown coming off the bench to throw for 307 yards and four TDs in relief. Brown and Dakota Prukop have had all the reps this week, with Collaros present and mirroring their movements.
The club’s depth chart for Friday’s game will be released Thursday.
