CALGARY – He’s been here before, of course, as Dru Brown has certainly taken critical snaps in critical situations before for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Still, the first moments after being called from the bullpen came instantly bring a tsunami of emotions, both good and evil thoughts, and the pressures that come with all of it. Those moments can be revealing, too. And yet, there was Brown last week stepping into the huddle after the injury to Zach Collaros and staring into a bunch of familiar faces looking back at him not just for confidence and to lead them out of the wilderness, but to do so with authority.
We know how that turned out, with Brown throwing for over 300 yards and four TDs in relief as he helped rally the squad from a 22-0 hole to a 38-29 victory.
“When Dru came in he said – in the most composed voice I’ve ever heard – ‘Let’s ride, fellas,’” began Nic Demski earlier this week. “At that moment it was like, ‘OK, we’re good.’
“Sometimes a guy is talking too much or is jittery or you can’t make out his sentences and you’re like, ‘OK, take a breath, take a breath.’ Dru was made for this. He’s made for those type of moments. He did a great job last year and I know he’s just trying to build off it this year.”
“I could just tell by looking him in the eyes,” added running back Brady Oliveira of that moment Brown stepped into the huddle. “He was just poised and calm. It was like a cool, calm swagger to him. It was super cool to see. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s ready.’ And then you see him going out there doing his thing and coming back to the huddle and there was still that poised look on him, even when there was an incompletion, or his eyes were wrong. He comes back and, again, he’s just poised.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, this is what I want in my huddle right now.’ Zach is the same way – just poised all the time. The highs, the lows, he just knows how to keep everyone together and Dru did that in Edmonton.”
The critical question now is, can Brown make the same magic all over again here in Calgary? The Blue Bombers made official today what had been speculated all week – Brown will start for Collaros against the Stampeders Friday night as the CFL’s two-time reigning Most Outstanding Player takes another week to heal a neck injury. Collaros is here with the team, but head coach Mike O’Shea said during the team’s media availability that he would not dress, leaving just Dakota Prukop to back up Brown.
This will mark Brown’s second career start, his first coming last October – and with the Blue Bombers resting some players for the playoffs – in a game that saw him throw for 325 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions in what was a 40-32 loss to the B.C. Lions.
“It’s good, man. I’m excited,” Brown told a media throng in the club’s downtown hotel. “We’ve got a good plan. I’m excited to just go compete.”
We’ll all have to take the ‘excited’ part on Brown’s word here, for during his session he calmly and assuredly answered question after question politely and thoughtfully, but with all the emotion of an automated answering service.
‘Press 1 to ask me about potential nerves heading into Friday.’
‘Press 2 to inquire about how this game might impact my future next winter in free agency.’
And so on and so on and so on…
Still, let’s say this about Brown’s handiwork over the last week: if he can be thrown into the fire and come out hardened steel last week in Edmonton, he can certainly handle the media responsibilities and all the pressures of being QB1, even if it’s just temporarily… for now.
Brown does find himself at an ideal crossroads of opportunity. His job, as he stated, is to keep the Blue Bombers offence rolling against a Stampeders defence that, despite the team’s 3-6 start, can still be scarily stifling. But also consider the CFL’s current QB landscape: Calgary’s Jake Maier has made just 21 starts; Ottawa’s Dustin Crum has five starts to his name; Hamilton rolled out Taylor Powell (three starts) vs. Edmonton’s Tre Ford (five starts) this week, while Toronto’s Chad Kelly has nine career starts to his name.
Translation? There could be all ton of opportunity for him in next year’s open market.
“You play this position, it comes with it,” he said with a shrug. “Depending on the type of person you are, you either like it or you don’t. As far as the future and all those things, I haven’t really paid attention to it because I’m not really concerned about it right now.
“It’s my job to go out there and execute our plan and make plays and do whatever it takes to win, so that’s where my mind’s at.”
That’s Brown in a nutshell. He’s living in this moment, not what it might mean to him somewhere on the horizon. His job is right here and right now. And asked if there was any difference between preparing as if he was going to start – as athletes so often say – versus actually starting, he offered this:
“I don’t think there should be. If anything, I think it feels a little bit better because that anxiety that you feel, or whatever you want to call it – that feeling in your stomach – goes away as soon as you run on the field. Whereas when you don’t know, or you’re probably not going to play that stays with you the whole game because you don’t want anything to happen to the guy (the starter).
“So, it’s one of those things… you don’t treat it any differently, but in my opinion, it’s a little bit easier on the stomach.”
More on what to watch for when the Blue Bombers meet the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium in this week’s edition of THE PLAYBOOK…
THE FAITH IS REAL AND THE RESULTS ONLY BUILD IT
Brown will be making just his second CFL start, but one of the most intriguing things about the last week or so is the club’s faith in the young Hawaii/Oklahoma State product.
“Dru’s been leading us great all week,” said right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick. “I’m excited to see him go. He’s one of those guys who is quiet, confident, but has a lot of fun with us in the locker room and outside of football. Dru is one of those guys everyone loves and everyone is excited to see.”
“It’s tough to replace a Zach Collaros, of course – back-to-back MVP and you can’t get much better than that,” said Demski. “But at the end of the day, when he came into the huddle, he commanded it very well. It was one of those moments where it was, ‘We’re going to be OK.’ I have all the trust in Dru, for sure. It’s just the way he is communicating and making sure he’s on top of everything in the film room and out here the field. He’s definitely a leader, probably a more quiet leader than I’ve met, but he gets it done with his play as well.”
The comparisons in demeanour to Collaros have been plenty, too, this week — although teammates will tell stories of how Collaros can get super fiery when needed.
“We have total belief,” added Oliveira on Brown. “The biggest thing is seeing how he approaches every single day even when he’s not the starter. He comes in early, he takes care of his body, watches so much film… him and Dakota and Zach all work so well with each other. Speaking about Dru, he eats, sleeps, and breathes football. He’s a football junkie and he absolutely loves the game. So, when you have a guy that is a student of the game, he’s going to go out there and he knows what the pictures look like on the field, he’s going to execute that play that’s called.
“We’ve got total belief in him knowing that he loves this game. He truly does love this game and he’s going to give it his all.”
NO MORE EXPLOSIVES
The Elks scored on the first play of the game last week, as running back Kevin Brown gashed the Blue Bombers defence for a 65-yard TD. Winnipeg is averaging exactly 100 yards rushing against per game, so look for the Stamps to try and ground and pound behind Ka’Deem Carey and Dedrick Mills.
“Getting Carey back is huge for them,” said Blue Bombers defensive tackle Ricky Walker/ “He’s one of the top backs in the league. I’m sure they’re going to try and come out and run the ball. We’ve got to stop them on first down. They’ve got him and Dedrick Mills and so we’re definitely ready to try and stop the run.
“It’s a copycat league. They’ll see (the Brown TD run) on film and will definitely try to mimic that. That was more a mistake on our end. It’s up to us to be ready to play physical.”
Winnipeg’s defence ranks third in points allowed (21.1) and in net offence allowed (311.1), but sixth in big plays against.
“We’re really just scratching the surface,” said Walker of the defence at the halfway point of the season. “We’re not there yet as a team and as a defence. We’re definitely capable. We’ve had some glimpses. We know we’re capable. We have to all get on the same page and have the same mindset.”
