ROBSERVATIONS: Elation over Harris situation … celebrating Charbel … and congratulations, Bernadette!
12/07/2024 10:39 AM
This grizzled gargoyle of a scribe feels compelled to point out that Trevor Harris and my career were born in the same month.
I arrived at the Regina Leader-Post on May 12, 1986 — a mere 19 days before Tom and Suzanne Harris of Waldo, Ohio were introduced to their first son.
My second career, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, began on Feb. 21, 2023. Just seven days earlier, Harris had signed with the Green and White as a free agent.
The correct term for Harris: Experienced.
The operative word for yours truly: Old. (And what's this about an operation? Gulp.)
Harris made a habit of performing surgery on rival secondaries during the 2024 CFL season.
He exceeded 300 passing yards in six of his 11 starts. Over that time, he threw 20 touchdown passes and set a franchise single-season record for completion percentage (72.4).
He conventionally placed the football in spots that would be inaccessible for many quarterbacks. Tight windows were not a deterrent.
It wasn't just my job to watch him play. It was an honour.
So, yes, I am elated that this all-star human being is back — the announcement of a one-year contract extension having been announced on Friday.
He turns 39 on May 31. That should not be of the slightest concern.
Reminder: Damon Allen and Henry Burris both won a Grey Cup at 41.
Tom Brady was a Super Bowl-winning quarterback at 39, 41 and 43.
Peyton Manning threw an NFL-record 55 touchdown passes at age 37 and celebrated a Super Bowl win two years later.
Keep in mind, too, that Harris is not a high-mileage player.
When he turned 29, he had thrown only 94 passes in the CFL. When a long-awaited opportunity finally arrived, he threw a league-high 33 touchdown passes for the Toronto Argonauts of 2015.
Factor in his commitment to conditioning and the numbers on the birth certificate should not cause any alarm. The odometer, as it were, is a better gauge — one that provides more context.
"It’s something my agent has actually brought up to me," Harris said on Friday. "I don't know that I'd only thrown 94 passes, but I hadn't taken any hits. I only missed one game in college due to injury.
"By the time I turned 30, I really hadn't played a ton of football, so there weren't really a lot of miles on my wheels, per se. Maybe that is a reason why I feel like I do now. Praise God for that."
Now, of course, there is the matter of knee injuries he has sustained in back-to-back seasons.
His 2023 season ended in the fourth quarter of the Roughriders' fifth game due to a tibial plateau fracture.
He missed six games this past season with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
Neither injury was the result of age. If the issue was a susceptibility to muscle pulls or tears, it would be reasonable to question whether depreciation was a factor.
But when somebody falls on, or rolls up on, your leg? Any quarterback, of any vintage, would feel the pain.
Keep in mind that Vernon Adams Jr. (B.C. Lions), Cody Fajardo (Montreal Alouettes), Dru Brown (Ottawa REDBLACKS), Chad Kelly (Toronto Argonauts), McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Edmonton Elks) and Zach Collaros (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) all missed at least one game for injury-related reasons past season.
There was a time, remember, when Collaros was written off as being too fragile. That was before he made five consecutive Grey Cup appearances as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' starting signal-caller and was twice decorated as the league's Most Outstanding Player.
So, please, let's dispense with the lazy narrative about injuries.
"The first goal I wrote down, just for anybody wondering: I'm playing all 18 games," Harris said.
"For me, being under centre for all 18 games is a big thing that I want to be able to provide for a team Unfortunately, I just had somebody fall on my knee last year."
When he returned to the lineup with a flourish, other teams had to wonder what had hit them.
Harris was behind centre throughout a four-game winning streak that helped Saskatchewan secure second place in the West Division and a home playoff game.
Along the way, he was named the West's All-CFL quarterback.
Factor in his attributes as a leader and why wouldn't he be welcomed back?
"I couldn't be more grateful," Harris said. "It's a privilege and an honour to be able to put on the Green and White, first and foremost.
"To be the quarterback for this franchise is something that I never, ever, ever will take for granted. The fact that they've chosen me again means a great deal."
It is a great deal for an ascendent team that can derive immense benefits from continuity.
It would be a regressive move to start over at football's most pivotal position when the emphasis should be to build on the accomplishments of 2024 and take that all-important next step.
Hence Friday's announcement.
"It's truly a blessing," Harris said. "I can't overstate that enough. I'm thankful that people have reached out and sent me messages. The amount of support is overwhelming.
"I'm telling them that whatever your expectations are, raise them even higher, because we want to exceed those expectations.
"The right people are in place in terms of leadership, as far as our president, GM, assistant GM, head coach, offensive co-ordinator.
"We have those right guys in place for us to continue to keep building something special here. My hope is that I can send this organization off correctly whenever I'm out of here.
"I know (Head Coach) Corey Mace, if he agrees to stay here, will be here for far longer than I could ever play. He'll be doing special things. I think it'll be the start of a really long, special era in Riderville. I'm just grateful to be a part of the first few years of it."
DABIRE'S DEAL
This item aptly precedes the weekly "Nice people who deserve a plug" shout-outs section.
Honestly, Charbel Dabire is one of those rare individuals who could be mentioned on a weekly basis without a second thought.
The 27-year-old defensive lineman, whose new contract with the Roughriders was also announced on Friday, is always in a cheery mood.
I approached him to say hello after a July 4 home game, unaware that he had suffered what turned out to be a season-ending injury that evening against Toronto, and he was still pleasant and approachable.
Although an ice bag was visible, Dabire's congenial comportment led me to conclude that his status was, at worst, day-to-day.
As it turned out, he missed the final 14 regular-season games (plus two playoff contests) with a knee injury.
It was a shame, too, because it looked like he was poised for a career season.
On July 23 against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Dabire had registered his first multi-sack game in five seasons as a CFLer. He also forced a fumble and made a key stop on a second-and-three running play to force a punt.
Dabire's contributions extend far beyond the gridiron. Year after year, he is among the most community-minded members of the Roughriders.
If you've met him, you know what I mean.
If you haven't met him … well, I suggest that you do.
HAT TRICK OF HOORAYS!
It was indeed a great-news Friday:
• Roughriders re-sign Trevor Harris.
• Roughriders re-sign Charbel Dabire.
• Bernadette McIntyre appointed as Saskatchewan's 24th Lieutenant Governor.
Bernadette has been a gift to Saskatchewan's sporting community and the province in general.
Her association with Saskatchewan-based Grey Cup Festivals is merely one example of her dedication to making everything better.
I marvelled at her first-hand in March of 2018, when she was the director of program sales at a Regina-based Canadian men's curling championship.
For the purposes of a column, I followed her around the Brandt Centre.
I was exhausted.
She was not.
Somehow, Bernadette knew everyone. It was like she had an arena full of best friends.
Fifty-six minutes into the fly-on-the-wall session, she performed a good deed that was perfectly in character.
She stopped to buy fudge for the ice technicians — not because she had to, but simply because it was a nice thing to do.
That's our new Lieutenant Governor for you.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Charbel Dabire, Trevor Harris, Ron Dorey, Murray Mandryk, Hallee Mandryk, Dr. Tom Robinson, Bernadette McIntyre, Cyndi Cherney, Taylor Swift, Lila Haroldson, Trevor Buhnai, Tim Iannone, Sheryl Iannone, Chris Iannone, Ava Iannone, Georgia Iannone and Carol Gay Bell.
