in Saskatoon, SK, June 1, 2017 Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
SASKATOON — After what he went through earlier this week, Dariusz Bladek should be able to handle anything that’s thrown at him during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ mock game Saturday.
During dinner the other day, the first-year offensive lineman had to stand on a chair and sing (he rapped a song by Migos). The rookie initiation was Bladek’s welcome to the CFL moment.
“That was definitely a nerve-wracking thing,” the 23-year-old said with a grin after Friday’s training-camp session at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. “You learn fast that you’re a rookie here.
“No matter if I’ve been out of college ball for a year already and spent some time with the (NFL’s Baltimore) Ravens, I’m still a rookie here. (Being forced to sing for his supper) was the ‘You’ve still got a lot to learn’ thing.”
The lessons Bladek and his fellow rookies have learned since camp opened Sunday will be put to the test during Saturday’s mock game at SMF Field. Game time is 4 p.m.
Veterans will play in the contest too, but the first-year players will be the ones with their eyes wide open. They’ll see just how fast the CFL game is played and what their more-seasoned teammates can do in game action — simulated or not.
“They need to understand they’re playing pro football and not high school or college football,” head coach-GM Chris Jones said of the younger players. “When they keep making the same mistakes over and over, then you have to go a different direction.
“(Deciding who to cut) is never something that’s easy to do — and sometimes guys don’t understand the finality of pro sports.”
Bladek, whom the Roughriders selected in the second round (11th overall) of the May 7 CFL draft, has been doing his best to learn the ropes.
He has a number of CFL veterans in his position group on whom he can lean — players like guards Brendon LaBatte and Peter Dyakowski, centre Dan Clark and tackle Thaddeus Coleman — so the rookie out of Bethune-Cookman University has been trying to watch and learn.
After six days of practices and meetings, Bladek feels like he’s finding his groove. The proof will be in the pudding Saturday.
“You don’t have any of your coaches right behind you and you don’t have anyone there telling you, ‘Watch out for this. Watch out for that,’ ’’ Bladek said of playing in a mock game. “In a scrimmage, it’s all about everything you know.
“It’s just you and your offensive line communicating. You’ve got to be on your game, know what you’re doing, know what you’re talking about, know where your help is coming from and know what the whole offence is working toward as a group.”
Receiver Desmond Reece was one of the players who stood out during the Roughriders’ mini-camp in Florida in April. Things have been different for Reece in Saskatoon, however; he has been facing CFL veterans instead of newcomers to the league.
“It has been an eye-opener,” he admitted. “They’re a little bit stronger and they also have pretty good technique.
“At the end of the day, it’s still football, but it has been different and I’m still trying to find my way. For motivation, I think about my little boy (two-year-old Desmond Jr.) back home. I know I have to feed him, so that’s my motivation.”
Reece, a 22-year-old out of Tuskegee University, is trying to crack a roster that’s laden with receiving talent. A solid showing Saturday — and in the pre-season, if he gets that far — could help his chances.
And he’s planning to have a solid showing Saturday.
“I’m expecting a big day tomorrow,” Reece said. “I didn’t have a good day today because new plays were installed and it was all just a rush in my mind. But with a couple of extra hours of studying the playbook, I feel like tomorrow is going to go smoothly for me.”
Like Reece, defensive back Zavian Bingham was a standout at the Roughriders’ mini-camp.
He admittedly got off to a slow start during training camp, likely because he was moving from halfback to cornerback to safety to strong-side linebacker. Now that he has learned all of those positions, he hopes things will get easier.
He’ll find out Saturday.
“We’re going to play a lot of man-to-man so it’s going to show me a lot because I’m inexperienced,” said Bingham, a 24-year-old product of Jackson State University. “As a rookie, it’ll help me a lot.”
The help he has received so far has come from coaches, veteran DBs and the Roughriders’ receivers. Facing the likes of Rob Bagg, Caleb Holley and Naaman Roosevelt every day in practice hasn’t hurt Bingham’s cause — or his confidence.
“I’ve got a lot of speed so I can keep up with those guys, but it has been very challenging,” the rookie said. “They’ve been helping me out and as they help me, I get better and better. I go against the best receivers here, so I know there’s nobody in this league I can’t defeat.”
Raw rookies aren’t the only players who will be tested Saturday. Even an NFL veteran like 34-year-old quarterback Vince Young knows he has to be prepared to face any and all situations.
“I know (the coaches) are going to be evaluating myself and the entire team, so I just want to make sure as a team, as team players and as athletes, that we don’t have too many mistakes tomorrow,” Young said.
“It’s mostly going to be like a game situation, so you want to go in there showing the coaches that you know what you’re doing, you’re paying attention in your (play)book, you’re getting some work behind the scenes and things like that.
“I’m not expecting too much (different). I just want to do the same thing I’ve been doing every day at practice and try to take one step forward.”
