‘MISERABLE’ IN NFL, STARTING IN CFL
Move north to join Redblacks put fun back in football for quarterback Lindley
It was a dream come true — not only an opportunity to play in the NFL, but a chance to do it under the spotlight on a grand stage.
Three seasons after being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals, Ryan Lindley had his moment, pushed into action as their starting quarterback in a playoff game against the Carolina Panthers on Jan. 3, 2015. It didn’t go well.
Lindley completed 16 of 28 passes for 82 yards. He was sacked four times, intercepted twice in a 27-16 loss. It was an awakening, something he’s able to draw on almost three years later.
“Sometimes the dream turns into a nightmare ... it happens,” said Lindley, now 28.
On Friday night at TD Place, Lindley will start his second straight game for the Ottawa Redblacks. His first one didn’t go so well. He completed 16 of 36 passes for 151 yards in a 29-9 loss to Winnipeg.
Behind a makeshift offensive line, Lindley is hoping to give the 5-8-1 Redblacks a much-needed win over the 6-6 Saskatchewan Roughriders. With a week of reps as the first-stringer, he’s feeling more prepared.
“Last week, it was really one kind of half-full day of running around; this week having two full practices was big,” Lindley said Thursday. “I feel like we’ll be in a better place this Friday.”
The moment isn’t too big. It’s not like he’s a rookie with that “What the hell am I doing here” look in his eyes.
“Looking back, my rookie year (in the NFL) there were a few (wide-eyed moments), where you’re getting slammed to the turf by guys you’d played only with on Madden (video game) when you were 18,” he said. “When you get older, you gain that experience. A lot of that is emotional experience.”
Coming from the NFL, there’s an obvious adjustment — wider and longer field, receivers in motion, etc. And there’s a hefty cut in pay. Lindley has embraced the opportunity the CFL is giving him.
“You pay your dues, whether that’s a 12-week or 13-week span or whether it’s a couple of years,” he said. “I came in knowing you’re going to get humbled a bit. The NFL was a great time, I feel fortunate and I don’t want to seem like I’m ungrateful for that experience. But sometimes people take the fun out of it. You need to approach it as a game and your attitude will translate to your play. I’m just happy to be able to play another football game. A year ago, I thought that was over for me.
“I’m having a blast; a lot of that is this group. Honestly, I was a miserable person. I wasn’t having fun playing football. You want to do well, but you need to know it’s a game.”
Asked if he would do anything differently with a do-over, Lindley said: “I wouldn’t be a yes man, I wouldn’t feign that I knew as much as I knew. I probably was a bit of a BSer at the time, trying to be a yes man.
“The biggest thing I learned is to play this game at a high level, you have to have confidence in what you’re doing. The joke is ‘fake it till you make it.’ Sometimes you really do.”
With the Redblacks fielding a makeshift offensive line Friday (starters SirVincent Rogers, Jon Gott and Nolan MacMillan are all out), you can bet the Roughriders will try to come after Lindley, with rookie Danny Collins listed as the second-string quarterback and Drew Tate behind him.
“Football’s a violent game,” Lindley said. “Whether it’s Trevor (Harris), Drew or myself playing, (Riders coach) Chris Jones’ reputation is to dial some things up. We’ll be ready for whatever they bring. I don’t expect to stay clean for the whole game, it’s football.”
The Redblacks look to get Harris back for the Oct. 7 game in B.C., and it doesn’t look like Tate will be hurried back either.
“It’s on a day-to-day basis,” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said of Tate. “I talk to him every day; he’s definitely not 100 per cent. You can see he has more zip on the ball. We’ll see how he continues to progress (Friday).”
RETURN OF KIENAN: It’ll be the first game back at TD Place for Riders running back Kienan Lafrance since he helped dump the Edmonton Eskimos out of the playoffs as a Redblack last November with a dazzling East final effort of 25 carries for 157 yards on a snow-covered field.
“I’m super excited,” said Lafrance, who has 39 carries for 146 yards this season. “It’s going to be a little different; it’s going to bring back memories. There were so many good things that happened.”
FIXING THE WRONGS: Speaking about last week’s loss and how the Redblacks plan to attack the Riders, defensive back Antoine Pruneau said: “It’s a good week for redemption. It starts with the preparation, we’ve done a good job of that this week. Last week, it seemed to go too fast for us — we weren’t seeing things we should have seen. With the tape we watched, I’m really confident we’ll be a step ahead.”
THE END AROUND: The Redblacks are 0-7 against teams Chris Jones has coached. So what gives? Pruneau said: “He’s a great coach, he prepares his team well, but I don’t think one man can make a difference. It’s just been bad timing for us. It’s time for us to beat him. I don’t think we’re intimidated in any way. He’s just one guy.” ... In for the Redblacks Friday: DB Winston Rose, OL Zach Intzandt, WR Juron Criner and WR Dominique Rhymes. Out: DB Nick Taylor, WR Kevin Elliott, LS Tanner Doll and OL SirVincent Rogers ... Sure, the Redblacks are banged up with injuries (five players are on the one-game injured list, nine are on the six-game list), but the Roughriders have 19 players on the six-game list (including top receiver Naaman Roosevelt) and another on the one-game list ... Because of work on the stands being erected beyond the east end zone at TD Place, what’s known as Cheapskate Hill (where spectators could watch for free) will be fenced off. No more freebies.