May 13, 2015
Mateas the right pick for Redblacks, WR Durant motivated for Stamps
TSN's Glen Suitor shares his thoughts on the Redblacks selecting Ottawa native Alex Mateas first overall in Tuesday's CFL Draft, Stampeders second-round pick Lemar Durant and the New England Patriots 'deflate-gate' scandal.
By Glen Suitor
Congratulations to the Ottawa Redblacks and to Alex Mateas, who was selected first overall pick in Tuesday's CFL draft. The Ottawa native, and graduate of the University of Connecticut, is a 6'4", 309lbs offensive lineman who many felt was the most 'pro-ready' player in this year's class.
The Redblacks scored a touchdown on this pick for two reasons. First, if the experts are right, Mateas should be able to crack the lineup in year one, which fills a need for Ottawa on the field. That is the most important factor in a 'must win' business.
However, this pick also brings a local guy home, which means the ex-UConn centre is a player the team can build a marketing campaign around. You can envision the school visit now, the towering hometown hero standing in front of an elementary school full of kids and starting his speech off with, "I grew up just like you guys right down the road."
One of the most compelling stories of this year's draft was watching the stock of SFU receiver Lemar Durant drop. Durant was in the top ten for most prognosticators when it came to the 2015 class, and most thought he was the top skill player. Yet, he remained on the board until Calgary picked him 18th overall.
As the draft continued past the first round and new commissioner Jeffery Orridge had not called Druant's name, the gifted receiver let his feelings be known on Twitter.
It was an understandable reaction for a player that had been told for months leading up to the draft that he was a top ranked prospect, however, all the players drafted this year have to remember that being picked is just the start of the pro journey.
Whether a player was drafted first overall or 62nd, it really doesn't matter. Being selected is a great honor, but it is just the first step. Durant now has an opportunity to go to camp and to make the team. He won't be treated any differently by the coaching staff, or his teammates, regardless of whether he was drafted in the first round rather than the second.
The way this unfolded, however, does make a very motivated the 6'2, 231lbs receiver the number one rookie to watch when CFL training camps open.
Speaking of surprising draft picks, time to weigh in on Tom Brady and deflate-gate. Ok, terrible segue, but everyone in football has an opinion, so here's mine.
The Patriots star quarterback has been suspended four games next year for being involved in deflating the footballs before last year's AFC Championship game, a news story that has dominated the airwaves on both sides of the border.
One aspect of this story that has been mentioned by a few media outlets, but not talked about in much detail, is the history behind the league rule involving the footballs. In 2006, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning lobbied the NFL competition committee to change a league rule with regards to the football. Prior to 2006, the home team supplied the game balls and the visiting team didn't even touch the footballs until warm up. Brady, Manning, and a petition from most of the other quarterbacks in the league convinced the committee to change the rule and allow visiting teams to bring their own footballs to use on offence. Now some may ask, how that changes this story, because the Patriots in the AFC Championship game were the home team. Yes, being the home team meant Brady could have altered the football's air pressure this year, under the old rule.
However, the rule change essentially means that every team's quarterbacks can prepare the ball the way they like it. Some may want it new out of the box, some may want to wash it, and/or work it in, before using it in a game. Basically, the rule change said to QBs, go ahead and doctor the football the way you want, because the league wants offence, so if you're more comfortable throwing the ball and it turns into more points, everyone's happy.
Does it matter at all that Brady took a little air out of the football? It really shouldn't. Who cares, maybe Andrew Luck for the Colts in that game would have wanted the ball slightly over inflated, and again, as long as there isn't a foreign substance involved, who cares?
Some of the principles in this story have been talking about legal action over this issue. Officially, and by the letter of the current league rules, Brady, the equipment staff and the Patriots broke a rule and should pay the fine, and/or serve the suspension. But let's switch the debate to the rule itself and not, text messages and "he said, they said," and for sure end this debate before it gets to legal action.
Last time I checked not one football fan in the history of the game ever said just before kickoff, "wait everyone check how much air is in the football!"
No one cares and the rule change in 2006 basically contradicts what has unfolded since the AFC Championship game.
The solutions are simple.
A. Both teams use the same ball and they don't touch them until warm up.
B. Let the quarterbacks do pretty much whatever they want with the ball so long as no foreign substance is involved.
I vote B, because, again, really who cares?