Stampeders sign Tate to extension ...

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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.cfl.ca/article/stamps-ink-ta ... ease-lemon
Stamps ink Tate to new deal, release Lemon

CFL.ca Staff

CALGARY -- The Calgary Stampeders announced a pair of transactions today, as QB Drew Tate has signed an extension with the club, while DL Shawn Lemon was released in order to allow him to sign a contract with a National Football League club.

Tate, an eight-year veteran who has spent six seasons with the Stampeders, led the CFL in 2014 with 10 rushing touchdowns. Serving as Calgary’s short-yardage quarterback, he scored two majors in the Stamps’ 20-16 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup game.

The 30-year-old Texan made four starts during the 2014 regular season and led the Stamps to three victories including back-to-back wins over West Division rivals BC in Week 14 and Saskatchewan in Week 15.

For the season, Tate completed 66 of 111 passes for 823 yards and five touchdowns. He carried the ball 42 times for 129 yards and 10 scores.

“Drew has performed very well for us when he was on the field,” said GM/Head Coach John Hufnagel Hufnagel.

“Drew and Bo Levi Mitchell are important players for us regardless of who was named the starter and that certainly proved to be the case in 2014. It’s very important in the CFL to have quality and depth at the quarterback position and so I’m very pleased with Drew’s decision to make this commitment to the Stampeders.”

After two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in which he did not see any action, Tate signed with the Stampeders in 2009. In 75 career regular-season games for the Stamps, he has completed 325 of 492 passes (a 66.1-per cent completion rate) for 4,093 yards and 29 touchdowns. He has 148 career rushes for 595 yards and 23 touchdowns.

“It’s been an honour and a privilege to represent the white horse for the past six years and I’m very happy to have the chance to continue to do so,” said Tate. “Winning a Grey Cup with this group of guys last year was a dream come true and I am stoked to get back at it and try to do it again.”

Lemon, meanwhile, was scheduled to become a free agent on Feb. 10.

“Shawn has an agreement in place with an NFL club and we are granting him his release in order to allow him to sign a contract immediately rather than waiting until February,” said Hufnagel.

“We wish Shawn the best of luck and thank him for his contributions to the Stampeders.”

Lemon led the Stampeders with 13 sacks in 2014 and he tied the CFL single-season record with eight forced fumbles. He had 31 tackles, including five tackles for loss, and one interception.
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WestCoastJoe
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Good signing for the powerhouse Stampeders, obviously. A bit surprised Tate did not seek a starter's role with another team.

Kind of a hot head. But talented.
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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Sir Purrcival
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Well, there is no guarantee that Tate will be a Stampeder for long. Huff knows QB's, he knows that Tate is likely a desirable asset and I wouldn't be surprised if he locked him up both for depth and as a possible asset for trade. In the meantime, Huff will continue to look for good new QB talent and if someone emerges in that vein then Mr. Tate will probably be sent somewhere else in exchange for something the Stamps may need (my thoughts may be Olineman or something like that). That Huff; didn't just fall of the turnip truck gosh darn him. He knows esp. that teams like BC, Ottawa will likely be needing a QB sooner rather than later. I wonder what ole Wally has to offer Huff that might tempt him?..
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WestCoastJoe
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Sir Purrcival wrote:Well, there is no guarantee that Tate will be a Stampeder for long. Huff knows QB's, he knows that Tate is likely a desirable asset and I wouldn't be surprised if he locked him up both for depth and as a possible asset for trade. In the meantime, Huff will continue to look for good new QB talent and if someone emerges in that vein then Mr. Tate will probably be sent somewhere else in exchange for something the Stamps may need (my thoughts may be Olineman or something like that). That Huff; didn't just fall of the turnip truck gosh darn him. He knows esp. that teams like BC, Ottawa will likely be needing a QB sooner rather than later. I wonder what ole Wally has to offer Huff that might tempt him?..
Huf is for sure a sharp operator. Tate knows that he can easily be trade bait now. And yet he signed, probably for less money than would be available elsewhere. And there is no way, one would think, that he can move ahead of Mitchell on the depth chart.

Is Huf concerned that the NFL might come calling for Mitchell? IMO, the NFL should be doing that. When Bo's CFL contract allows that window.

Tate is a most valuable asset. As noted, a surprise that he chose to extend with Calgary so quickly and easily.
............

BTW, it was not all that long ago, that a QB such as Russell Wilson would be plying his trade in the CFL. Doors have opened. The NFL finally took off the blinders. Good for the athletes. Good for the NFL. A bit of a drain on the talent that once came only to the CFL. Not a problem, though, IMO. There is such an abundance of amazing athletes out there for the recruiters to find. For every position. Great for the game of football, both CFL and NFL.

Wilson's will to win is pretty much supernatural. Mesmerizing. He cast a spell over the Packers, and over all the viewers.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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WestCoastJoe wrote: ...Wilson's will to win is pretty much supernatural. Mesmerizing. He cast a spell over the Packers, and over all the viewers.
Kinda like Flutie
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Well that's a shame. There goes my dream of seeing Tate in a Leos uniform (most likely).
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Honestly. A QB trade?? Not likely in the CFL. No one trades big in a 8 team league.

They want a back up who can play and who wants to be there in case their #1 QB gets hurt - I can't see it any other way in the CFL.

Kevin Glenn coming back to them would not be a move in the right direction either if they let Tate go and likely Glenn would like to go back to Calgrary where he had respect and success.
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Sir Purrcival
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Tate is really a starter. At least as much as Glenn was. At age 30, he should be just coming into his prime. With Burris really pushing the age envelope and the questions we have here with Lulay's arm and a pretty starkly bare cupboard behind him, you can be sure that at least these teams would be willing to talk some kind of trade for a QB like Tate. We traded for Glenn did we not. The Esks, traded Ray. We also believe that they traded Maas. Ottawa took our backup in the exansion draft as well as Calgary's. If Calgary were to come up with a younger, no doubt cheaper viable QB to serve the B/U role for now, you can be sure that Calgary would be more than willing to at least look at a trade. A good national Olineman is always a desirable acquisition. The Stamps could be in the market for a top flight receiver as well with Price gone and Lewis aged out. It is always about making your team better. If holding on to a legitimate starter means leaving some holes in your team in other area's, then it could happen.
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I don't think Tate was going to be on BC's radar. It totally flies against Wally's modus operandi which is to develop QBs from within. Yes he dealt for Glenn last year but I think he did that with great reluctance. There were two major factors in play that forced him to deviate from his normal path.
1) Their normal QB development path was blown up when they lost Reilly to free agency and 10 months later DeMarco to the expansion draft.
2) They had the added pressure of being as competitive as possible in a GC hosting season.

As much as 1) hurt I think they wouldn't have dealt for Glenn if not for 2). When you look at Buono's 25 history just about every Stamp of Lion QB has entered the CFL into those organizations. The only notable exceptions are:
1) 2014 - traded for Glenn
2) 2003 - Signed Dickenson as a FA when he returned from the NFL
3) 2001 - Acquired Marcus Crandell when Dickenson bolted for the NFL
4) 1992 - Traded for Doug Flutie (who wouldn't?)

As much as Wally has been credited for developing QBs he's never had the combination of QB development tools at his disposal that respected QB guru Jeff Tedford and presumably George Cortez provide. Cortez also has a solid rep for working with QBs (12 years as QB coach between SMU, Calgary, Cal and Buffalo Bills). We know Tedford is here for 2 years. I think BC has to take advantage of the opportunity to allow Tedford to identify, work with and develop a young QB who can be BC's solution for a decade. It would be totally counter-productive to recycle someone like Tate and inject him into the depth chart at the expense of valuable reps for the likes of Partridge, Rodgers or whomever else they bring in. Without the pressure of hosting GC I think Buono is willing to bite the bullet and suffer through the growing pains of a young up and coming QB should Lulay's shoulder not respond as hoped.
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Sir Purrcival
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I don't disagree with any of that but you kind of hit the nail on the head when you said the "normal QB development path was blown up". Sad to say, it takes time to develop QB's from within (even with great coaching) and we have lost two potential replacements with a short time frame. We are left with a complete unknown for the most part in Partridge, a career backup in Beck and starter who everybody wonders if he will ever play again. If you are trying to build a team today, what would be the course of action you would take? I don't get the big bucks but I would try to get a good QB either through FA or trade. Let him be the QB for the time being and restart your development process. Otherwise you might be condemning the team and the fans to 3 or 4 years of marginal football while you try to develop your next starter. In contrast, you might get tempted to stick your future #1 into the fray before he is ready. That has been the ending of more than a few QB's throughout history. I don't think it would be the ideal solution but we aren't talking about normal circumstances or an over the hill QB. Tate is still relatively young in QB years, has proven game experience and put him in the right situation with an offensive minded coach, he could really shine. He is as least as capable as many of the QB's currently starting including Burris, Willy, Crompton, and so on. His big knocks seem to be that he might be a bit of an attitude and possibly injury prone. For all his attitude issues (supposed) Huff certainly didn't seem to be reluctant to resign him and in that fashion, he is much like Wally. He doesn't have much truck with stupidity. As I recall, there was a lot of scuttlebutt that Arland Bruce was an attitude issue as well but when someone actually took the time to look into it, you couldn't find a player anywhere to support that assertion.
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Hambone wrote:4) 1992 - Traded for Doug Flutie (who wouldn't?)
Just to set the facts straight, Buono and the Stampeders did not trade for Doug Flutie in 1992. He was signed as a free agent when then-Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman made an offer he couldn't refuse which then-Lions owner Murray Pezim was unwilling to match or surpass. Buono then traded Danny Barrett to BC for Rocco Romano and Jamie Crysdale who became long-term Stampeders while Barrett was shipped away again in two seasons. No doubt at all as to which team won the trade.
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Sir Purrcival wrote:Well, there is no guarantee that Tate will be a Stampeder for long. Huff knows QB's, he knows that Tate is likely a desirable asset and I wouldn't be surprised if he locked him up both for depth and as a possible asset for trade. In the meantime, Huff will continue to look for good new QB talent and if someone emerges in that vein then Mr. Tate will probably be sent somewhere else in exchange for something the Stamps may need (my thoughts may be Olineman or something like that). That Huff; didn't just fall of the turnip truck gosh darn him. He knows esp. that teams like BC, Ottawa will likely be needing a QB sooner rather than later. I wonder what ole Wally has to offer Huff that might tempt him?..
I don't think that a team signs a QB to keep for trade bait, they are just too knowledgable of the teams playbook to consider that. I do find it surprising that Tate did re-sign as he isn't going to get starts unless Mitchell misses time. Stamps could have treated Tate similar to how the Lions dealt with Reilly and traded him to the Esks.

As for the Lions cupboard being bare, when they counted on DeMarco to start, the cupboard was bare then. Since that time, with Lulay's injury the Lions were forced into securing Glenn, a stop gap measure that didn't work out. That cost Partridge development that he and the Lions could have used to understand where his level of play was. IMO, the Lions QB situation failed when they stuck with DeMarco as the second string QB, he wasn't going to be the next guy ever, better to move him out and find the pieces that do fit. Thankfully Ottawa did the Lions a favour by taking him in the draft, otherwise last season would have been even worse.
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Robbie wrote:
Hambone wrote:4) 1992 - Traded for Doug Flutie (who wouldn't?)
Just to set the facts straight, Buono and the Stampeders did not trade for Doug Flutie in 1992. He was signed as a free agent when then-Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman made an offer he couldn't refuse which then-Lions owner Murray Pezim was unwilling to match or surpass. Buono then traded Danny Barrett to BC for Rocco Romano and Jamie Crysdale who became long-term Stampeders while Barrett was shipped away again in two seasons. No doubt at all as to which team won the trade.
Yikes! Thanks for refreshing my remembry Robbie. I was thinking Flutie and Barrett were part of the same deal but they weren't. Always felt for Barrett. He was in a no win situation trying to make Lions fans forget about Flutie here.
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Rammer I have absolutely no doubt that they signed him for more than just trade bait. He is a terrific 2 punch but at the same time you know that Huff is going to be very aware that he has an asset that he isn't using much and would be worth quite a bit in return if it ever comes to that. I'm sure Tate must be getting paid some decent money or he likely would have strutted his stuff elsewhere. I'm just saying that Huff is looking to the future in more ways than just having a good #2 QB. One thing we all know for certain is that no player is irreplaceable or beyond trading if the right deal comes along. It just depends on how Calgary is doing, where they may have weak spots and how easy it is to fill those spots. As I suggested, a good national Olineman or prospect of same might be very tempting as they are hard to come by.
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Hambone wrote:
Robbie wrote:
Hambone wrote:4) 1992 - Traded for Doug Flutie (who wouldn't?)
Just to set the facts straight, Buono and the Stampeders did not trade for Doug Flutie in 1992. He was signed as a free agent when then-Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman made an offer he couldn't refuse which then-Lions owner Murray Pezim was unwilling to match or surpass. Buono then traded Danny Barrett to BC for Rocco Romano and Jamie Crysdale who became long-term Stampeders while Barrett was shipped away again in two seasons. No doubt at all as to which team won the trade.
Yikes! Thanks for refreshing my remembry Robbie. I was thinking Flutie and Barrett were part of the same deal but they weren't. Always felt for Barrett. He was in a no win situation trying to make Lions fans forget about Flutie here.
Let's also remember that Pezim was right: the Lions could not afford Flutie and neither could the Stamps as Ryckman still to this day owes Flutie several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid wages. Then the Argos paid Flutie big bucks, won a Grey Cup, and lost money.

So Flutie for most of his CFL career was paid based on his level of play on the field but was overpaid based on the revenue that he and his teammates could generate at the time.
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