Addition brings intrigue

Another twist in Bombers pivotal saga

Is it just coincidence? The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have brought in quarterback Tee Martin, just one week after being teed off by a Khari Jones tee time.

Well, yes it is, actually. But how could we resist word-play like that?

Jones' decision to play a game of golf last week, despite his shoulder injury, may not have sat well with Bomber management. But it had nothing to do with the decision to sign Martin, the former University of Tennessee star who was on the practice field for the first time yesterday.

This is all about somebody too good to pass up becoming available, even though it might not be the ideal time for the Bombers.

"I never really thought we'd get him this quickly," Bomber GM Brendan Taman was saying yesterday. "We've been dying to get a chance to bring him up here."

When the Oakland Raiders cut Martin Wednesday, the Bombers got their chance. And Martin surprised everyone by putting his NFL aspirations on hold and accepting Winnipeg's offer 24 hours later,

What's the big deal, you ask?

Martin led Tennessee to a national college championship in 1998, something his predecessor, a guy named Peyton Manning, never did accomplish.

Back then he was on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats negotiation list. But Taman coveted him so much, he traded the rights to receiver Craig Yeast to get him.

You may have noticed Yeast streaking under a few Danny McManus passes this season.

Don't count on Martin making that kind of impression. At least, not in the short term. The guy not only has a new playbook to learn, he's got a whole new game to pick up.

Besides, with a 2-2 record under new coach Jim Daley, this team isn't in desperation mode right now.

But the addition of this 6-foot-2, 225-pounder -- whom Taman compares to B.C.'s Casey Printers, without the dynamic scrambling ability -- creates a very interesting situation.

It was only seven weeks ago the Bombers signed Jones, Kevin Glenn and Stanley Jackson to contract extensions, Taman calling the triumvirate the best stable of passers he'd assembled in six years here.

Since then, of course, Jones has struggled mightily, then gone down with a hard-to-pinpoint shoulder ailment, while Glenn is coming off a critical, Labour Day victory over Saskatchewan.

All three have stuck together, though, and you can't help but wonder how the addition of Martin will affect the chemistry in the locker-room.

To that, we'd say get over it. At 4-7, you've given up the right to gripe about pretty much anything, short of the brutal summer we've had.

Taman said as much yesterday.

"We're not trying to put those three guys into a hissy-fit," Taman said. "Hopefully, we'll have four that work well together. If this is something that p----- them off into winning the next nine games ... I'll do it at every position, if that's needed."

By the way, Taman says Martin would be here even if Jones were healthy.

Which brings us to what will no doubt be the question on every Bomber fan's lips this morning: is this the beginning of the end for Khari Jones?

"The beginning of the end for Khari is when he goes on the field and proves he can't throw anymore," Taman said. "When he does become healthy, he enters the mix again quickly."

"Entering the mix" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for the CFL's outstanding player in 2001.

But with Glenn, 25, coming off a big win and Martin, 26, on the scene, Jones, who's 33, faces a very uncertain future for the first time since he was the young guy waiting for a chance.

We're about to find out if his gas tank is, indeed, empty.