July 20, 2018

Brendon LaBatte steps up once again

HAMILTON — Two days after talking the talk, Brendon LaBatte walked the walk … but very gingerly.

On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ veteran left guard joined head coach-GM Chris Jones in blistering some of the CFL team’s players for sub-par practice habits. During Thursday’s 31-20 victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats, LaBatte showed his leadership skills in a different way.

On Saskatchewan’s first offensive series of the game, LaBatte took a shot to his left knee as he blocked on a Brett Lauther field-goal attempt. LaBatte remained face down on the turf for a few minutes before leaving the field and, eventually, going to the Roughriders’ locker room.

Dariusz Bladek moved from right guard to replace LaBatte and defensive tackle Eddie Steele took over at right guard — but only temporarily. LaBatte was back in the game before the first half ended.

“(Returning to the game after speaking out Tuesday) really wasn’t that important to me,” LaBatte said after the contest. “My biggest thing was, ‘Am I more productive than the next guy?’

“I had a few talks with Coach (Jones) and said, ‘Am I doing better and being more productive than the backup would be?’ That was the thing I was most worried about. Honestly, it felt like I was just grabbing and hanging on and literally trying to survive out there, so it was nice to get the reassurance from the coach that, ‘You’re looking all right. Keep on going.’ ”

After stopping practice Tuesday and laying into his players, Jones suggested LaBatte — as one of the team’s elder statesmen — also would be frustrated by the effort level.

LaBatte subsequently agreed with his coach, using the word “garbage” to describe some of what he had seen in practices and games through the first five weeks of the regular season.

On Thursday, the 11-year veteran’s actions spoke louder than his words.

“He’s got your back no matter what. It’s amazing to see him put it on the line like that.”

“As a teammate, (LaBatte’s return after the injury) just shows you that he’s going to ride until the end with you,” Steele said. “He’s got your back no matter what. It’s amazing to see him put it on the line like that.”

“It shows that he’s a fighter, he’s a warrior and nothing’s going to hold him out unless the trainers tell him he can’t go,” quarterback Brandon Bridge added. “If he can walk and if he can do something, I know he’ll be out there.”

Centre Dan Clark is in his seventh season of playing alongside LaBatte. Clark was concerned when his teammate stayed down after the field-goal try — “That’s a brother,” the centre said of his fellow O-lineman — but he wasn’t overly surprised when the man with the nickname of Blue returned.

“Unless that leg is completely broken or that knee is torn or something like that, that man will come back,” Clark said. “But that’s what we have in our room.

“Thad (Coleman, the right tackle), Bladek, myself, Blue, (left tackle Terran) Vaughn, Eddie when he’s on the O-line — every single one of us has the mentality that we’re going to do anything for our brothers and anything for this team.”

Despite that overriding sentiment among the O-linemen, Coleman thought he had seen the last of LaBatte on Thursday.

“I was close to him on the play and I heard him yell, so I thought his knee was gone or something,” Coleman said. “But when I saw him hobble off the field, it looked better than I thought it would at first.

“The guy’s tough, man. He’s a warrior. I love having him on my side of the ball.”

The group of people who didn’t expect LaBatte to return included the man himself.

LaBatte said he thought the injury was “pretty bad,” and he was in serious discomfort as the Roughriders’ training staff examined his left knee on the sideline.

The group then retired to the locker room for further treatment. LaBatte estimated that, within 10 minutes, the pain in the joint had let up to the point where a roll of tape could be used to get him back into the action.

What may have saved LaBatte from a more serious injury was an accessory which hadn’t been part of his game-day attire in recent weeks.

“Good thing I put the knee braces on, because I haven’t worn them the last two games,” he said. “But I put them on (Thursday), just kind of spur of the moment, and it was a really good thing that it was on.

“It didn’t take away all of the blow, but it definitely deflected quite a bit of it.”

Did he have a premonition or something?

“I don’t know what it was,” LaBatte replied. “Really, I was just laying around and thought, ‘I’m going to wear them tonight.’ I decided it early in the day and then just put them on.”

A number of Roughriders required medical attention in Thursday’s game.

Defensive back Crezdon Butler and receiver Josh Stanford missed only a few plays each after they were injured, but linebacker Derrick Moncrief didn’t return to the game after injuring his left shoulder in the second quarter.

Jones said after the contest that Moncrief’s injury likely will sideline him for “a few weeks.”

As for LaBatte, further tests will be conducted on his knee in the coming days — but Jones had a feeling his star O-lineman would tough it out on Thursday.

“There wasn’t anything going to keep him out of that football game,” Jones said. “We’re certainly hoping that he’s OK and can continue on playing.”