From the comfort of the press box, where this grizzled, gormless gargoyle of the media habitually Hoovers halftime cookies with Joey Chestnut-like efficiency, the game of football can look rudimentary.

It is comparably easy for someone to watch a game on television and wonder why, oh why, the ball was not thrown to a certain receiver at a certain time.

“Oftentimes, there is somebody open,” Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris acknowledged. “It’s just hard to find sometimes when you’re back there as a quarterback.

“I know a lot of times my son will be watching film and he’s like, ‘Dad! That guy’s open! We should throw it to him!’

“My mom can tell me he’s open when you watch the film, but go stand back there when these dudes are trying to kill you and make that decision.”

That is the foundation of the “my mama” rule, which was created in 2016 by Harris and Danny O’Brien when they were CFL quarterbacking cohorts with the Ottawa REDBLACKS.

“It’s like, ‘My mom could watch the film and tell me that guy’s open,’ ” Harris reiterated.

“Of course, he is wide open, but what was the coverage? What was the defence they were playing? Can you draw up an over-front Cover 2 for me real quick?

“Everybody can see that (a receiver is open), but a lot of people don’t understand the intricacies of the game in terms of what the coverage is, what the blitz is, how quickly I got the ball out, or whether a coverage dictated a certain progression.”

There is also the matter of spotting an open receiver and releasing the ball on time, and on target, while perusing the options from the pocket — where three seconds is a luxury and four seconds is an eternity.

“It’s probably one of those things where you have to stand back there and watch (Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman) Folarin Orimolade come at you and destroy your chest while you try to make a throw,” Harris said during a recent media scrum, leading up to Saturday’s road game against the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., TSN, CKRM).

“You’ve got a split-second to make a decision whether to fit it behind him or check the ball down underneath. You make that last-second decision and you extend yourself and leave yourself exposed.

“It’s one of those things where it takes courage sometimes, but it’s a fun thing. You get to go back there and just compete and play football. It’s what we’ve done our whole lives. But when you’re up in the box, it’s different.

“I remember in ’23 when I had my leg broken, I was up there and I was like, ‘Man, this looks really easy!. Why don’t you guys just do that?’ When you stand back there, it’s a little more difficult, but so is life.

“I couldn’t do you guys’ jobs.”

WELCOME HOME

BC Place and Corey Mace go way back.

The Roughriders’ Head Coach, who was born in Vancouver, attended Lions home games as a youngster.

Mace also celebrated a Grey Cup victory at the facility on Nov. 20, 2014, when he sacked Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Zach Collaros to help the Calgary Stampeders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20-16.

“Playing in the CFL, there were some big ones that were over there,” the former Stampeders defensive tackle and defensive line coach said.

“It was also an important place for grassroots and high school games. You’d make it to the playoffs and you’d get to play in the dome. It was the same thing for community football.

“There are lots of fond memories, no doubt. It’s always fun going back. It always kind of pops in your head, just the experiences that you had there.

“It’s a special place.”

That sentiment applied when Mace starred on offence and defence in the minor football ranks of Coquitlam, B.C.

“In one of those championship games, for whatever reason they decided to let me play running back,” he recalled.

“I scored three touchdowns against Richmond. I do remember that. I think it was the last time I did anything athletic.”

To this day, Mace has infinite respect for the early-2000s Richmond Raiders.

“That was a good game and a tough opponent,” he said. “I remember they had a kid named R.C. Esteban. I don’t know where you’re at, kid, but, man, you were a monster back then.”

That is not surprising, when you consider that Esteban played bantam football for the well-named Richmond Roughriders before joining the Raiders.

CANNON FODDER

An obscure anniversary passed this past Monday.

The arrival of July 14 marked 50 years since one of the goofiest plays in Roughriders history.

Near the end of a home pre-season game against Edmonton, Randy Mattingly launched a perfect pass in the direction of future SaskTel Plaza of Honour inductee Rhett Dawson.

“If you went to a computer and looked for the perfect pass under those conditions, that was it,” Dawson told the Regina Leader-Post’s Bob Hughes after the game.

There was only one snag — that being the lack of a snag, through no fault of the receiver.

Seasoned fans will remember a cannon that used to be ignited whenever the Roughriders scored a touchdown.

On this occasion, though, the detonation was a tad premature.
“The ball was three feet from Dawson’s hands,” Terry Jones wrote in the Edmonton Journal. “The official was actually bringing his arms up to signal the obvious touchdown.”

BOOOOOOOM!

“Dawson was scared out of his skin,” Jones continued, “and dropped the pass.”

It would have been a game-winning touchdown. Instead, the Edmonton side left Taylor Field with a 26-22 victory.

Dawson followed up with a stellar 1975 regular season — catching 69 passes for 1,191 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to earning his first of two All-CFL selections.

PRE-SEASON, PART 2

One week ago in this space, I wrote about two Roughriders regular-season games that ended prematurely due to the elements.

Oct. 25, 1954: A game in Vancouver was

terminated with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter because thick fog had enveloped Empire Stadium. The Roughriders won, 17-7.

Aug. 9, 2019: With Saskatchewan leading the host Montreal Alouettes 17-10, the game was suspended at 12:19 due to a lightning storm. The game was eventually called, with the Roughriders winning by seven points.

Those flashbacks prompted an email from Saskatoon’s Keith Willoughby, who pointed out that a July 19, 1974 pre-season home date with the Toronto Argonauts ended with 6:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

A power outage on a rainy night plunged Taylor Field into darkness. The decision was made to end the game and award Saskatchewan a 36-15 victory.

“Dad and I ventured back to Melfort after the game,” Willoughby recalled, “but only made it as far as Southey before we had to seek hotel accommodations.”

It was the rare game in which three different Roughriders quarterbacks — Mattingly, Ron Lancaster and Jim Lindsey — threw a touchdown pass.

The Argos’ quarterbacks, Mike Rae and Sonny Sixkiller, both went 5-for-12.

Later that year, Sixkiller was a technical advisor in the hit movie, The Longest Yard. He provided some pointers to Burt Reynolds, who played the role of a quarterback. Sixkiller also had a minor acting role in the movie.

Another quarterbacking note: Two days after the shortened Roughriders-Argonauts game, Lindsey was traded to Toronto for George Wells.

Wells was named an All-CFL defensive end in 1974. He earned divisional honours in each of the next two seasons.

ROLL CREDITS …

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Craig Smith, Lenni Lee Ehrmantraut, Sarah Jones, Doug Russell, Angela Buztynski, Keith Willoughby, Rhett Dawson, Phil Habig, Jaxon Ford, Kim Gallagher, Gregg McSherry, Drae McCray, Logan Ferland, Claire Hanna, Amanda Delparte, Keith Willoughby, Ian Hamillton, George Wells and, once again, R.C. Esteban.