Courtesy Winnipeg Free Press:

CASEY BRAMLET called an old teammate from Wyoming the other night, dialing up Brock Ralph for the 4-1-1 on Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers and what kind of opportunity awaited him should he venture north to the CFL.

What he may not have known –

at least until his arrival Wednesday

afternoon — is any time a new

quarterback arrives in town it sparks

debate, it draws cameras and reporters

to the scene and makes the incumbents

nervous.

Most of all, in Bomberland it always

prompts this question: has the organization

found the man who can help

end an 18-year Grey Cup drought?

“You don’t bounce around as many

NFL teams as he has without somebody

thinking, ‘Hey, there’s a skill

set there that we need to see,’” said

Bomber head coach Mike Kelly of

the newest pivot. “And, obviously, he

played very well in (NFL) Europe

and was MVP of the World Bowl. We

want to take a look at some people as

we’re going down the stretch here and

we felt that he fit some of the criteria

we were looking for. And so, we get

him in here and take a look. Nothing

is better than seeing a guy first-hand,

rather than watching film.”

Bramlet’s arrival comes after a

Labour Day Classic loss to Saskatchewan

in which starter Michael Bishop

threw for a season-high 329 yards and

one score, but was also intercepted

three times. It also comes a day after

Stefan LeFors had his non-throwing

shoulder examined and was very limited

in practice amid speculation he

may have his season shut down and be

placed on the nine-game injured list.

“I’m excited to be up here,” said

Bramlet. “I know a couple guys on

the team… Brock Ralph and I played

with coach (Manny) Matsakis before

and so when they called I jumped at

the opportunity to learn the game and

see what happens. I’m more of a passing

quarterback. I like to get out and

throw the ball and that’s another good

reason why I think the CFL could be

a good fit for me. I’m excited to come

out and show them what I can do.”

A three-year starter at Wyoming,

Bramlet holds a handful of school career

passing records. He’ll spend the

next few days cramming about the

CFL and the Bomber offence and, depending

on LeFors’ immediate status,

may even be in uniform on Sunday for

the Banjo Bowl rematch against the

Roughriders.

“I’m coming in right now and just

doing everything I can to get an opportunity,”

said Bramlet, 28. “And if

they give me a chance I’ll do everything

I can to take that opportunity.

But if not I’m here to learn the game

and improve as a quarterback.

“I’m not a guy that’s going to come

in

and try to cause controversy. But

I’m going to come in and do everything

I can to be as good a player as

I

can so that if they do call on me I’ll

be ready.”

Meanwhile, LeFors confirmed Wednesday

after practice that he did have

an

MRI on his right shoulder earlier

this week. The club is still waiting for

the results, but LeFors said he was

still experiencing some pain which

first appeared after the season-opening

loss in Edmonton.

“I just woke up the day after and it

felt funny,” LeFors said. “I just thought

it

was one of those things were something

went wrong and that it would

go away. But it just continued to stay

the same. The Hamilton hit (where

he was lit up by Tiger-Cat linebacker

Otis Floyd) may have worsened it. We

rehabbed it. We’ve taken all the steps

we could have taken and it’s not getting

any better so we’re going to keep

working on it and see what this MRI

says and go from there.

“If it’s something that needs to be

fixed… obviously, I want it to be fixed.

I don’t want to keep going on with

pain in my shoulder. If it affects my

everyday life I need to get it fixed and

move on and if that means I’m done

for the season, I’m done.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

The straight goods on Bramlet

On Wednesday we gave you the SI.com scouting report on Bramlet prior

to the 2004 draft (he was selected in the seventh round by Cincinnati). Today,

an insider’s view: Brock Ralph played four years with Bramlet at Wyoming

before the two took different routes to pro football. Ralph came to the

CFL, Bramlet bounced around NFL Europa and a number of NFL teams.

Brock’s take:

“He’s a big, tall, strong quarterback. He moves pretty good for a 6-4

guy. He’s got long limbs, long arms… that’s one of his strengths, his arm

strength. He can really whip that thing, he’s got a great deep ball which

suits the big field. He’s smart quarterback who makes good decisions and

reads well. I haven’t seen him for a couple of years so I’m interested to see

how he’s grown and I’m sure he’s improved.

“He’s always been a guy who had the raw tools to play at the next level

and that’s why he’s continued to play all this time. We’ll see how he adapts

to this game and how long it takes him to figure out the differences here. I

was trying to get him up to Hamilton two or three years ago (when Ralph

was with the Ticats) but he wasn’t ready to do that. I got an unexpected

phone call the other day and I guess he thought the time had come.”

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