BERGMAN BACK IN THE MIX FOR STAMPS
Offensive lineman’s bout of vertigo still a mystery, writes Danny Austin.
As long as he doesn’t experience more vertigo, Shane Bergman is good to continue practising and playing.
The Calgary Stampeders left-guard was forced out of his team’s loss against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday because of vertigo caused by … well, nobody’s entirely sure.
It might have been an ear infection, a common cold or something else.
It was definitely not a hit to the head, though, and Bergman appears to have recovered.
“Feeling a lot better than I was on the weekend, that’s for sure,” Bergman said Wednesday after participating in the Stamps’ first practice of the week. “On the Friday before the game, I had a bit of a throat and ear ache, and then it went away.
“On the Sunday, I was feeling dizzy so I got myself out.”
While there was a little confusion after the game with regards to what forced Bergman to exit early, both he and head coach Dave Dickenson have clarified there was no head injury.
There are any number of things that could have caused Bergman — who has been one of the league’s best offensive linemen this season — to experience vertigo, but for now at least, he appears to have recovered.
“There’s a couple reasons why vertigo is caused, so we’re not really sure, but it got better pretty quick,” Bergman said. “As long as I’m symptom-free, I’m good to go.
“I was symptom-free (Tuesday) and today I thought I’d fully go and did everything. It was great.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Bergman will play this week, though, as the Stampeders coaching staff will be monitoring how he’s feeling throughout the week.
Given Bergman’s importance to the team, though, it was obviously encouraging he was back out on the field.
“I got some work out of him today and that’s a positive,” Dickenson said. “I don’t want to talk for these guys, but it was a positive to have him out there. Most of our guys who are even questionable (for Saturday’s game against the Bombers) were trying to get some work.”
ALMOST ALL THE WAY BACK
After nearly two months being sidelined by an ankle injury, Tunde Adeleke returned to game action this past weekend against the Roughriders.
On Wednesday, the Stamps’ 23-year-old starting safety was considerably more involved than he had been during practice last week, and while Dickenson wasn’t rushing on Wednesday to commit to starting anybody on Saturday against the Bombers, it does appear Adeleke is getting awfully close to being fully back.
“He’s certainly closer to being back to full strength,” Dickenson said. “Played quite a bit (against the Riders) anyways, and mentally a good hurdle needed to be overcome. I thought he overcame that little bit of fear that he might re-tweak it.”
In Adeleke’s absence, Adam Berger has filled in admirably at safety for the Stamps and they can feel confident that they’ve got Canadian depth at the position moving forward.
BODIES BACK
Both running back Don Jackson and corner Tre Roberson were practising with their teammates on Wednesday and, considering both were close to being in the lineup for Sunday’s loss to the Riders, it’s likely they could return this weekend.
Both rookies have been impressive so far this season and would be welcome additions to the lineup, but the Stamps are very much in wait-and-see mode at this point.
“Both kind of took it easy today, as far as they did some stuff but didn’t try to push it,” Dickenson said.
“We’ve just got to be smart on that. If they’re healthy, try to get them back in there.”
After practice, Jackson didn’t give a straightforward answer when he was asked whether he expected to be in the lineup.
“Definitely getting closer, just trying to stay the course and do everything people tell me to do,” Jackson said. “Just keep jumping through all those hoops this week and make sure I stay on top of all my workouts and all my activation stuff.”
Jackson, by the way, was unimpressed with the selection of slower country music that soundtracked the opening 15 minutes of practice at McMahon Stadium.
“(Country music) is OK, just not for practice,” Jackson said.
EXTRA DAY
Micah Johnson didn’t practise Wednesday, but it’s probably best not to read too much into that.
The Stampeders coaching staff is always cautious with their players, and after a gruelling fight against the Riders they were willing to give one of their more established veterans a little more time to recover if that’s what he needed.
“Not a vet-day, it was a rough game, a tough game, so we had three or four guys who needed a day,” Dickenson said. “I’d like to think they’ll practise tomorrow — obviously certain guys get a longer leash than others, though.”