Kevin Glenn 'real sharp' at Blue Bombers camp
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Kevin Glenn isn't dwelling on the freak accident that forced him to watch the team's Grey Cup loss to Saskatchewan from the sidelines.
Glenn suffered a broken left arm in Winnipeg's win over the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final.
The arm has now healed and Glenn is focusing on getting the Bombers back to the championship and playing for the win.
"It makes me a lot more hungry, I think," Glenn said after Monday's training camp practices.
"But even if I had played last year and we won or if I'd played and we lost, I would still feel the same way. I would still want another Grey Cup just as bad as I did the first one."
Glenn suffered the injury after he and running back Charles Roberts bungled a handoff.
As Glenn reached for the ball on the ground, Toronto linebacker Kevin Eiben lunged for it and landed on Glenn's arm.
The seven-year veteran, who turns 29 later this month, didn't need off-season surgery and says the arm is fine.
He even suited up for some basketball games and bumps to the arm didn't bother him.
"It was an unfortunate situation, it was just one of those things that happened," Glenn said. "That's part of life.
"You jump over that hurdle and continue on with life. It was just a stepping stone."
The injury marred Glenn's best CFL season.
He was the East Division's outstanding player after leading the league with a career-high 5,114 yards passing.
It was also the first time in three seasons he went through the regular season without missing time because of injury.
Bombers head coach Doug Berry said Glenn is having a "real sharp" camp.
"Mental, physical, he's on top of his game right out of the gate," Berry said. "He's not feeling sorry for himself or any of that.
"He's just committed to going back out and making another run at it."
Dinwiddie likely to be backup
The other quarterbacks in camp include sophomore Ryan Dinwiddie, who earned his first pro start in Winnipeg's 23-19 Grey Cup loss, and rookies Bryan Randall and Cleveland McCoy.
Randall had an outstanding college career at Virginia Tech and he spent the past four seasons on the practice rosters of three NFL teams.
McCoy graduated from South Carolina State last year and was the starter in his final three years, finishing with 4,222 passing yards and 1,919 yards rushing.
While Bombers critics have lamented the team's failure the past few years to get a CFL-experienced backup quarterback, Berry said Dinwiddie could fill that role just fine.
"I'll take Ryan Dinwiddie as any backup quarterback in this league right now," Berry said. "I'm real comfortable with him.
"I like his decision-making, I like his mechanics, I like his personality, I like his study curve, his work ethic. I think he's going to be a fine quarterback."
Dinwiddie, 27, was 15-of-33 passing in the Grey Cup for 225 yards and a touchdown.
But he also threw three interceptions and had a fumble.
The final interception came with 54 seconds remaining and the Bombers on Saskatchewan's 39-yard line.
Dinwiddie said he's watched film of the big game and examined how he can improve.
"I'm more confident," Dinwiddie said. "Just having the year experience, you take that and look forward to getting better."
A factor that bodes well for Winnipeg's quarterbacks is that the core of the offence is back.
That includes Roberts, 1,000-yard receivers Milt Stegall, Terrence Edwards and Derick Armstrong and Canadian pass catchers Jamie Stoddard and Arjei Franklin.
Stegall is rehabbing after arthroscopic surgery to his knee in early May and will miss all of training camp but might be ready for the season-opener.
"I can't think nothing less than us getting back to the Grey Cup and possibly winning it," Glenn said. "It's always tough to duplicate the season before, especially if it was a good season.
"But I think we're up for the challenge."