If you work in a big enough office, there's likely a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan in the workplace. That means by quitting time today, you very well might know all there is to know about Drew Tate.Riders fans are a bit different. Most people who follow the CFL could rhyme off a handful of their favourite team's players, give or take how many work as part-time school teachers in town during the winter.. Riders fans, though, always have an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire organizational depth chart, right down the ball boys and cheerleaders.
Call it passion, the end result of being cooped up indoors during a long winter, or a defence mechanism against being razzed over having the coach and the quarterback from a Grey Cup-winning team in the space of a few months, but Rider fans make it their business to know this stuff cold. They're probably already whispering, "keep an eye on that Tate." (He's even got a sweet Hail Mary on his resume.) The former Iowa Hawkeyes star has yet to throw a CFL pass, but that only means no one has any proof that he's not destined to dominate the league for years to come -- but not come close to making them forget Ronnie Lancaster.
Oh, serious analysis, the Argos with Kerry Joseph probably still don't win the East, but at least they score a few more points.
Related:
Joseph traded to Argos (Allan Maki and Matthew Sekeres, globesports.com)
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2 comments:
Rider fans are freaking out, but this might not be a bad trade for Saskatchewan. Yes, Kerry Joseph had a great regular season last year, but did you see him in the Grey Cup? Yikes. He looked like the guy many Renegades fans remembered. The Rider defence kept giving him the ball with a short field, and couldn't do a thing with it. You also have to look at his age (35), and figure that he is rapidly closing in on the age where Father Time starts taking his toll on QBs.
Of course, the biggest factor in this trade is money. Joseph is still sour about being forced to take a pay cut last year, and after winning the Grey Cup he wanted to negotiate that money back into his contract. The Riders said no, and he was sulking. I can't figure out how a CFL QB making 225K thinks he is underpaid, as there is no other league on the planet that would pay him that much, but regardless KJ was pouty about not feeling the love. Unhappy QBs lead to unhappy dressing rooms, so it was best he be shown the door.
Say this about Eric Tillman - he's not afraid to take bold risks, and he won't be pushed around by prima donna players or agents.
This is tongue-in-cheek, of course, but in a couple days Riderville will have calmed down ... wasn't it basically a decision to pay Joseph or pay four players who could contribute?
My tongue-in-cheek is that they'll be all about the Drew Tate by next week.
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