Bowman staying positive despite time on sidelines; Injured Esk still able to connect with team during time off field

Chris O’Leary
Edmonton Journal

There wasn’t much spring in his step, but Adarius Bowman was in his No. 4 practice jersey and a pair of yellow shorts, delicately taking part in the Edmonton Eskimo practice on Sunday.

A knee injury likely has Bowman on the sidelines for the remainder of the season, but the team’s co-leader in receiving yards last year was having fun on the field with his teammates.
 
“The thing with us is, we want to make certain that Adarius stays engaged,” head coach Kavis Reed said. “We want to make certain that he does not divorce himself from the football team and get mentally into a funk. As much as he can be around the football team and continue to be a positive energy with his teammates, which he is, it’s a positive for us and it’s a positive for him.”

Reed said that Bowman’s recovery is ahead of schedule and that both Bowman and the team’s doctors are working hard to rehab the injury.

Looking back at the neck injury that ended his own playing career with the Eskimos in 1999, Reed said it was hard being away from the team while he healed.

“For me personally, when I got hurt, I disengaged from the team and it was not a good thing because you’re left to think too much,” he said. “The mind is very important in the healing process and, with Adarius, he’s a very strong-willed individual. If he can be around this environment, hopefully, it will help him mentally and emotionally, which will expedite the healing process.”

Wojt getting close

Injured offensive lineman Greg Wojt is on the verge of getting back to the field, Reed said. Wojt hurt his knee and went onto the nine-game injured list in early July after playing in the seasonopener.

“He practised successfully the last two days, “Reed said. “We expect that we’ll have that opportunity to pull him off (the nine-game list).”

A team can take one player off of its nine-game injured list each season. Linebacker T.J. Hill came off of the list earlier than expected in 2011, after he dealt with nerve issues in his neck.

It wasn’t all bad

While watching tape of the Eskimos’ heartbreaking 23-22 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week, Reed saw a lot of bright spots.

“Coming out of a short week – we had a lot of guys banged up and the level of execution in a very difficult environment was very high,” he said. “Obviously, we didn’t win the football game, but there were so many positives. I’d like to say that the positives in my mind as a coach outweighed the negatives.”

While quarterback Steven Jyles had the ball punched out of his hands in the dying seconds with the Eskimos having already marched into field goal range for a game-winning kick, Reed had praise for his starter.

“I liked Steven’s poise,” Reed said, pointing to a late third-and-10 situation that Jyles navigated to keep the last-gasp drive going.
 
“There was the one receiver that he was going to have the opportunity to get the ball to, based on Winnipeg’s coverage, and that was Nate Coehoorn.

“It was 3.2 seconds before the ball came out of his hand. A typical pass play is going to be 2.4, 2.5 seconds. He hung in there and he didn’t vacate the pocket, the protection was excellent. Nate ran a perfect route and we got a much-needed play.”

Reed was also impressed with how the Eskimos handled playing at a loud Canad Inns Stadium.
 
“Last year, when we went to Winnipeg, the crowd really disturbed us and our offensive line got rattled.

This game, it wasn’t the case. I was really proud of that,” Reed said, adding that the Bombers play in one of the toughest buildings for a visiting team in the CFL.
 
“Absolutely underrated (as a loud building),” Reed said. “I think it’s probably one of the most difficult environments to play in.

The fans are rabid there, they’re naturally noisy – not artificial noise, like in some places. It’s natural noise.”

Reed, like many coaches and players around the league, won’t miss Canad Inns Stadium when the Bombers open their new stadium next season.

“It’s a very difficult place to try and go in and win a football game.”

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