Stamps’ Jorden faces his mistake head on
Calgary Stampeders receivers Kamar Jorden and Marquay McDaniel have yet to speak. They insist they won’t have to. The man who fumbled away the Grey Cup lead and the teammate who openly criticized him agree the former’s careless play was “stupid football.”
McDaniel didn’t apologize for publicly flogging Jordan, nor has anyone in the locker-room suggested the veteran did anything wrong by speaking out.
Honesty, coach Dave Dickenson said, is what he wants — what it takes to be as consistent and accountable as the Stamps are.
A solemn, apologetic Jorden admirably owned it after the game and reiterated at locker cleanout Tuesday that he understands the magnitude of a mistake players discussed repeatedly on the sideline not to make.
Yet there he was, in the final five minutes of a 24-16 game, fighting for seven more yards before three defenders popped the ball loose for a 109-yard fumble return many will remember as the moment the Stamps coughed up sure victory.
“It’s going to be a play I’m known for — I’m willing to accept that,” said Jorden, demonstrating a class and poise beyond his 28 years. “That’s one of the first things that came into my head when the game ended. But I’m also willing to grow from it.”
Jorden said he began the healing process Monday by facing the world’s response head on.
“I had over 100 text messages and 100 notifications on Twitter and Facebook, and I read everything — the good and the bad,” said Jorden, who said he hopes and plans to be back next year. “I felt like I’ve got to embrace it. You can’t hide from it. The sooner I can look at it in its eye and learn and grow from it will be the best situation for me in the future.”
He hadn’t looked McDaniel in the eye since the 33-year-old receiver told the world after the game, “it was just a dumb play. It changed the whole game.” No need to rehash, Jorden said. “I don’t really want to add no fuel to that fire,” said Jorden, when asked if a meeting between the two was imminent. “The one thing I’ll say is that I agree with what he said.” Powerful. “We won’t talk about it — there’s nothing to talk about,” McDaniel said Tuesday. “The media and fans will make it more than what it is.” They sure have. “I’m an honest guy — I think I did a good job holding back,” said McDaniel, who later needed several minutes to compose himself, still hurting. “I’m glad I didn’t say more than what I did. We hold ourselves to the same standards, so I haven’t heard anything from any of my teammates.”
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said ball security was stressed.
“’Quay’s not wrong — it was stupid football — it was not smart,” said Mitchell, who took his own heat for the game-ending interception. “It’s because we had been harping on ball control so much on the sidelines, guys were so frustrated and feelings came out because of that. I’m proud of the way (Jorden) owned up to it, but he doesn’t have to take the blame for it — that’s not why we lost the game. We still had a chance.” Dickenson preached honesty. “I’d really rather if a guy has to say something he says it out loud,” the head coach said.
Fullback Rob Cote says he backed McDaniel for speaking from the heart, as did defensive back Josh Bell. Asked if he thought the issue would linger, Bell scoffed. “We family,” he said. “We ain’t got to worry about all that.”