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Milt Stegall is a fountainhead of opinions. He sprays them even more frequently than he catches footballs for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

His latest offering, in time for today's East Division semi-final against the Edmonton Eskimos, goes like this: Winnipeg's Kevin Glenn wants a win to prove he really is a cut-above quarterback; a gamer; someone who deserves to be included among the best in the CFL.

"I think it's safe to say he has a little chip on his shoulder," Stegall said of the Blue Bombers' beleaguered pivot, who was erratic, benched, beaten and pulled through the first 10 games of the regular season only to bounce back nicely in the final eight.

"People don't put him in the same class as Anthony Calvillo, Ricky Ray and Henry Burris," Stegall continued. "We're not asking Kevin to be a gang beater. We're just asking Kevin Glenn to be Kevin."

Kevin Glenn being Glenn has been a mixed bag for the Blue Bombers. Last season, he passed for 5,117 yards and 25 touchdowns and garnered league-wide respect for coming of age. Then he broke his left arm in the East final, all but guaranteeing Winnipeg's loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup.

Then the 2008 season began and Glenn looked as if he was playing quarterback with his eyes glued shut. Winnipeg lost its opening four games. Head coach Doug Berry benched Glenn for a time. Winnipeg's record fell to 2-8 as Glenn and the offence stumbled.

But finally, the turnabout came. The Blue Bombers traded temperamental running back Charles Roberts to the B.C. Lions for Joe Smith. The move sent a shockwave through the Winnipeg dressing room and opened the door for Roberts's understudy, Fred Reid.

With the straight-ahead power of Smith and the explosiveness of Reid, Winnipeg's revived running game allowed Glenn to polish his gamesmanship (in early August, he was given the green light to call his own plays) and regain his faith.

The Blue Bombers were 6-2 as Glenn threw for more touchdowns (14) than interceptions (8).

"It's been the whole team that helped everything turn around," Glenn said yesterday. "It wasn't just one person. It was everything, from making the trade and opening guys' eyes. ¡K It's a bunch of things contributing — myself getting back into a groove and playing well."

Winnipeg and Edmonton split their two regular-season meetings with Glenn almost matching Ray's passing numbers. In the first game, Eskimos linebacker Agustin Barrenechea crushed Glenn with a helmet-to-helmet shot that rankled the Blue Bombers, as well as the CFL head office.

That hit proved to be another rallying point in the Blue Bombers' resurgence.

"We didn't like seeing that," Winnipeg offensive lineman Dan Goodspeed said. "To get a quarterback comfortable, you have to keep him upright and let him make his throws. He has to get time to get back into his game. I think [Glenn] has done it. We want him to succeed."

Glenn said what happened last season — the broken arm, the start of his bad karma — is "in the past, over with." What most concerns him is an Edmonton defence that has experienced Glenn-like highs and lows this season and is coming off a strong performance in its regular-season finale against the Montreal Alouettes.

"I think they're a good defence," Glenn said of the Eskimos' unit. "They show you a bunch of different looks. The one thing we need to concentrate on is making sure it's not just going to rely on me. I put this on myself to make sure we get the right play called at the right time."

Glenn is not much of a running threat and, like most quarterbacks, is at his best when he's in a rhythm, throwing short, controlled passes to both his running backs and receivers. The Eskimos' defensive game plan is to stop Winnipeg's ground game cold and make the Blue Bombers wholly reliant on Glenn to win.

"Make him one-dimensional," Edmonton pass rusher Fred Perry said when asked how best to defend against Glenn. "See if he can win with his arm. He likes to quick release. He doesn't want to run much. Quarterbacks don't like to get hit in the cold. It bothers them. Does it bother the guys doing the hitting? Not at all."

Glenn's response to that, and everything he's been through, is simply that it has made him better able to deal with the good times, bad times that are likely to arise within every playoff game. For today, the Blue Bombers are counting on the bounce-back quarterback, who insists he still has something to prove.

The Eskimos? They want that chip on Glenn's shoulder to become a boulder and roll right over him.

Five keys to watch

The elements -- The weather forecast has called for possible light flurries, a high of —3 with 30-kilometre-an-hour winds. The field will be harder than the runways at Winnipeg International Airport; slicker, too.

Winnipeg's experience -- More than three-quarters of the Bombers' offensive and defensive starters made it to the Grey Cup last year. They know what it's like in the postseason. The Eskimos are making their first playoff appearance in three years.

Kicking game -- The Eskimos' Noel Prefontaine is a 10-year veteran who has kicked indoors, outdoors and in pressure-packed games. Alexis Serna is a CFL rookie from Upland, Calif.

Edmonton's quarterback -- In his career, Ricky Ray is 4-0 in the playoffs and 2-1 in the Grey Cup. Having missed the playoffs the past two years, he is eager and capable of putting his team into the East final.

Winnipeg's running game -- Joe Smith and Fred Reid can be a formidable duo. Reid totalled 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the two regular-season games against Edmonton.