Mark Stephen
CFL.ca
He enters the game a decade-plus less experienced than his rival. He is also 70-some thousand passing yards behind. But is Calgary Stampeder quarterback Drew Tate overwhelmed with the possibility of facing a no-doubt Hall of Famer?
Tate seems to relish the challenge.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” smiled Tate as Calgary checked into Montreal for their Sunday afternoon game against Alouettes. “What he’s done in his career is awesome and it’s awesome to face him.”
While Tate is aware and respectful of the achievements of his rival, he is aware that he has a bigger task ahead of him. That challenge would be to ensure the Calgary offence is a smooth-operating machine with the playoffs looming.
“I’ve never won here,” said Tate, a Stampeder since 2009. “It’s going to be exciting to play. Montreal’s a pretty place and I’m just looking forward to get at it.”
The Montreal game represents the second career start for Tate and even he acknowledges that he is still growing and working with the offence.
“It’s also probably a comfort level for everyone in the offence. Little things like pick up my cadence,” said the fifth-year CFL player. “This is a process that we’re going through right now.”
Tate’s arrival in Calgary signals a changing of the guard in the Canadian Football League’s quarterback fraternity. With Tate starting, Henry Burris will be on the sidelines in a backup role. Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo has had many stirring battles with Burris, but hasn’t through much about Calgary’s change at quarterback.
“I haven’t put too much thought into it,” noted Calvillo. “Henry’s been a great competitor for many, many years and I’m sure he’s going to continue playing. But for me, it’s something I try not to pay too much attention to.”
Calvillo has more pressing matters than his opposing quarterback as he attempts to rebound from an uncharacteristically poor outing in Winnipeg.
“We took a step back last week in the game,” said Calvillo. “There are a lot of expectations in this dressing room and we have to get back to those standards.”
Calgary heads to Montreal after an unusual string of struggles on the road. The Stamps have lost their last three road games (two on last-play field goals) and need to start building momentum for the post-season if they want a shot at sipping out of the Grey Cup at the end of November.
“We have two important football games left against today very good teams,” noted Stampeder head coach John Hufnagel. “We want to finish with as high a seed as we can.”
Stampeders will debut a new defensive halfback as Quincy Butler will step onto the field for the first time. Butler was recently added to the practice roster and takes the place of Greg Fassitt.
The steady Fassitt is sidelined for the year with a hamstring injury.
Butler will likely see plenty of Montreal’s high-flying slotback Jamel Richardson.
While this game is Butler’s Canadian Football League debut, it is not his first exposure to the league. He was with Calgary in 2008 on the practice roster, but left when the Dallas Cowboys came calling.
This game is Calgary’s final regular season road game. They will conclude the season in Calgary on Saturday against Winnipeg and depending on the outcome in Montreal, next week could mean everything – or nothing – in terms of playoff positioning.
