Vontae Davis would have loved to have had Brendon LaBatte as a teammate.
Davis, a veteran cornerback with the Buffalo Bills, shocked the NFL on Sunday when he retired at halftime of his team’s game with the San Diego Chargers. After the game, the 10-year NFLer released a statement that said in part that “reality hit me fast and hard: I shouldn’t be out there anymore.”
After the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders practised Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium, LaBatte was asked how he would react if a teammate retired during a game.
“I’d say, ‘Congratulations on a good career. You do whatever you’ve got to do,’ ” the veteran guard replied. “Everybody’s in a different situation in their lives and their playing careers. If you’re going out there and you aren’t feeling it in the first half and you have to get yourself out, that’s on you and I’d almost commend you for recognizing it.”
Many NFL observers weren’t nearly as understanding as LaBatte, condemning Davis in large part for the timing of his decision. Buffalo linebacker Lorenzo Alexander told reporters after the game that the move was “completely disrespectful” to the other Bills.
Roughriders defensive back Ed Gainey noted that everybody has a reason for their actions, but he wasn’t sure if he would buy someone’s reason for retiring mid-game. As a result, Gainey agreed with Alexander’s assessment.
“To each his own, but at the end of the day, you’ve got people relying on you as far as your teammates and your coaches,” Gainey said. “I understand it’s a business and everything, but each season, you’ve got new guys in and out of the locker room so it becomes a family.
“In my opinion, I’d take (someone quitting during a game) as a slap in the face. It was pretty disrespectful from my point of view.”
LaBatte wasn’t so sure.
“(Was what Davis did disrespectful) or is it more disrespectful to be out there when you know your heart’s not in it and you’re going to give up two or three touchdowns on us?” LaBatte wondered. “If you’re not out there with the intent to win and your heart’s not in it, get off the field. So I’d commend him.”
Davis was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 2009 NFL draft. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts during his career, making the Pro Bowl twice.
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ainey felt that Davis could have handled the matter in a better way, such as waiting until after the game … or even deciding to retire in the off-season or in the days leading up to Sunday’s game.
Saskatchewan slotback Naaman Roosevelt said he had never heard of a similar situation happening.
“He at least could’ve finished the game, I thought,” said Roosevelt, a former member of the Bills. “To do that at halftime, it’s pretty crazy.
“It had to be something serious where he was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ I’ve heard about how hard he works and how he does everything the right way, so for him to do that, it had to be a situation where he thought he just couldn’t do it anymore.”
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Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones has seen a lot of football during his coaching career.
That means he has seen receivers drop passes that hit them right in the numbers, which happened a few times during Saturday’s 30-25 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks at Mosaic Stadium.
The reasons, Jones said, stem from some fundamental and technique problems as well as lapses in concentration.
“There’s a lot of things that go into it,” Jones said. “The guys who we have are good players or they wouldn’t be there. They’ve caught a lot of footballs in the past. We’ve got to continue to trust our guys to make plays that come to them.”
LaBatte noted that not all of the Roughriders consistently come to practice with the intent to get better — a concern he has raised numerous times this season — so that has to change, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“There’s nothing physically wrong with us; it’s the execution,” LaBatte said. “All our problems are in our heads and between our ears.”
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After Saturday’s loss, Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros shouldered the blame for Saskatchewan’s offensive woes.
Collaros was 10-for-27 passing for 162 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown, but his cause wasn’t helped by those aforementioned dropped passes.
On Tuesday, the veteran QB was asked why he — like other quarterbacks in similar circumstances — takes responsibility for his team’s struggles.
“In this position, like it or not, you get all the praise when you win and a lot of the blame when you lose, and praise and blame are all the same,” Collaros told reporters. “Quarterbacks have the ball in their hands, so naturally everything starts with you.
“It’s just an excuse if you put it on somebody else. It starts with the quarterback and ends with the quarterback.”
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Matt Elam, who started six games at strong-side linebacker in Derrick Moncrief’s absence and then moved to cornerback for Saturday’s game, wasn’t on the field for Tuesday’s practice.
His status for Saturday’s game against the host Toronto Argonauts isn’t known — and Jones didn’t provide much information after the workout.
“I’ll give you a status update on him soon,” Jones said.
Elam had four tackles and one tackle for a loss against the Redblacks. He has 22 tackles, four tackles for losses, two sacks and an interception in six games this season.
