"I'm all for it. Whatever team role I can play. It's special here"

[ModAdmin]

"I'm all for it. Whatever team role I can play, I'm all for it. It's special here." | Need To Know

It's long been said there is a fine line between legend and myth and so Brad Muhammad wasn't sure what to think about all the stories he had heard about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their vaunted culture.

His Canadian Football League resume isn't particularly long, but it does feature stops in Ottawa and, most recently, in Calgary where he started 16 games last year with the Stampeders. And so, he's heard and seen some things.

So, when he sat in on a meeting with the Blue Bombers, his new squad, and did his best to immerse himself into his new surroundings he was, well, let's have him tell it...

"Oh, man. Oh, man. You ask me about that and I'm almost speechless," began the 27-year-old defensive back after practice on Tuesday. "You can see it from the way the guys communicate, the way the coaches communicate, to the players and the way they interact in the meeting room. It's just... everything. It's everything.

"It's the way they approach working out. It's the way they hang out outside the locker room. It's a complete game-changer, man. I haven't been around a locker room like this in a while, and I've been in some pretty good locker rooms."

The Blue Bombers scooped up Muhammad this week following his release by the Stampeders, hoping to add more depth and more experience to the defensive backfield. Muhammad had two interceptions last year - both against the Blue Bombers - and had 50 tackles, 10 knockdowns, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.

He had re-signed with the Stamps in late February rather than hit the free-agent market, and then dove headfirst into a rigorous offseason program that had him in prime shape for camp. The Stamps releasing him was a shocker - and we'll get to that further in a moment - but just as shocking was his first experience inside the Blue Bombers clubhouse.

"I was in the meeting room and they're doing their thing," Muhammad explained. "They're congratulating each other on plays. You have the defensive line, linebackers, everybody in the same room going over the coaches' adjustments and guys are complimenting players who covered them on such and such a play.

"I'm looking around in awe. I whispered to one of my teammates, 'This is why you guys win so much. This is the secret ingredient. And I see why you guys win so much.'

"It's hard for me to explain, but it was truly amazing to see it first-hand. That's why I feel fortunate to be here. That's why I'm saying that whatever I can do to help this team continue to win games and bring that Grey Cup back, whatever the coach needs me to do, I'm all for it. Whatever team role I can play, I'm all for it. It's special here."

The Blue Bombers have been able to successfully pluck players off the transaction wire and add them to their secondary effectively in years past. It was Nick Taylor and Mercy Maston back in 2019 after their release from Edmonton and it was Desmond Lawrence last season.

"The release from Calgary was kind of a shock," said Muhammad. "It was a character check for me, just to make sure that I stayed even-keeled even as I was being taken through some adversity. Things worked for me and I'm just so happy to be here. It's very tough going through something like that, but you have to have that mental fortitude to stay positive and continue to work. I actually went through something like this in college where I was released by FIU (Florida International University) but then picked back up. Although I was down, I knew I had to stay at it, and something would arise.

More on Muhammed, Schoen, Haba, the latest injury report and more...

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/06/13/im-all-for-it-whatever-team-role-i-can-play-im-all-for-it-its-special-here-need-to-know/

[theaardvark]

Now Kongbo's comments come into perspective... if he judged BC on what he knew here, then his comments were understandable.

[TecnoGenius]

The Blue Bombers have been able to successfully pluck players off the transaction wire and add them to their secondary effectively in years past. It was Nick Taylor and Mercy Maston back in 2019 after their release from Edmonton and it was Desmond Lawrence last season.

Exactly what I keep saying.  Not just the DBs either.  D.Adams, Darby, etc.  WPG is one of the best at "scouting" other-team "nobody" players, remembering their names, and then quietly snapping them up when other teams don't see/realize their potential.  We either snap them up when cut, or make "cheap trades" for them (a la Darby).  Once immersed in WPG team and culture and system they can become great.

Since we make at most 1 big "FA splash" acquisition per season, our secret sauce is clearly then due to the USA scouting (1-3 starter-material guys a year) plus this "CFL-sniping" (1-3 a year).  Mix in KW's amazing retention ability, and it'll be hard to dethrone the best team in the league.

(Speaking of Nick Taylor, I'm kind of wishing we still had him... the extra HB depth would sure help now.)

As for Brad, he sounds like a good fit.  Maybe he'll be the next GC-winning Maston/Taylor.

[TecnoGenius]

Now Kongbo's comments come into perspective... if he judged BC on what he knew here, then his comments were understandable.

Yup.  Even though he should have handled it differently, there's little doubt he's making a statement about the work ethic of WPG vs BC.  I bet HAM sat him down first day and said "no public statements! come to Coach O first".

[Pigskin]

Exactly what I keep saying.  Not just the DBs either.  D.Adams, Darby, etc.  WPG is one of the best at "scouting" other-team "nobody" players, remembering their names, and then quietly snapping them up when other teams don't see/realize their potential.  We either snap them up when cut, or make "cheap trades" for them (a la Darby).  Once immersed in WPG team and culture and system they can become great.

Since we make at most 1 big "FA splash" acquisition per season, our secret sauce is clearly then due to the USA scouting (1-3 starter-material guys a year) plus this "CFL-sniping" (1-3 a year).  Mix in KW's amazing retention ability, and it'll be hard to dethrone the best team in the league.

(Speaking of Nick Taylor, I'm kind of wishing we still had him... the extra HB depth would sure help now.)

As for Brad, he sounds like a good fit.  Maybe he'll be the next GC-winning Maston/Taylor.

Nick Taylor is on Calgary's 6 game injury list. So he would be no good to us right now.

[TecnoGenius]

Nick Taylor is on Calgary's 6 game injury list. So he would be no good to us right now.

Doh!  He's pulling a Nevis/Stove.  I guess KW knows when to cut 'em (sadly for the players, good for the team).

If CGY is down a DB, what are they doing cutting Brad??  They really that deep?