I know it’s a few years old, but he gives some cool insight into his CFL years and what it was like. Though some may enjoy it.
http://www.oyemag.com/Jeff.htmlAnd here are the CFL parts:
[b]You went undrafted in the 1994 NFL draft. The Calgary Stampeders of the CFL was your new destination where you earned a backup job behind someone whose story sounds familiar to yours, Doug Flutie. How did that relationship work out?[/b] I had a great time playing alongside Doug Flutie. In many ways, he was a major contributor to me being a better player on the football field. I watched Doug, saw how he played the game, learned from him. It was such a positive experience to be able to witness the many amazing things he was able to do. The way he leads the team, his athletic ability, his commitment to the game, his strive for excellence, they were unmatched by anyone else. I was able to take a lot from that and bring them out in myself when I got onto the field. I backed Doug up for a year and a half, and then he went down with a knee injury. It was one of those moments where you either take advantage of the opportunity or you let the opportunity pass you by. And I was not about to let it pass me by. I stepped in for an injured Doug and never looked bad. I saw that as my moment to show what I was capable of doing. Fortunately for me, I was surrounded by good players and we were able to do some great things. Doug left for Toronto and I was the starter for the next three years. [b] Tell us about your last year there.[/b] Well, I’ll tell you. I was living for the moment, day by day, really enjoying the moment. The people around me were awesome. Side by side with my teammates, we worked as hard as possible that year for our only goal, which was to win the Grey Cup. And the way we were able to do it, having the drive in the last two minutes and then to win it on the last play of the game. It was so incredible. That is what you strive for as an athlete – to be able reach the very top. At that moment, there wasn’t anything better than that. We were a team and we won it all.You were playing football in a frozen country that gave the world hockey. Are the fans as passionate for the game as they are down here?
They really are in many ways. It may not get the overall support that the NFL has down here based upon the marketing tools that the NFL has, nor the money to spread around to create the wealth. What you do have is a league that has been around for a long time. It is exciting football and brings creative and intricate rules to give a different scope and feel to the game. The fans were very supportive. Calgary was so welcoming to outsiders in the sense that here we were moving to a new country and city as far as the Americans go. The city absolutely embraced our families and us and really made us feel comfortable.What is your favorite CFL rule that is not in the NFL?
Actually, several of them. They do not have a fair catch rule for punts—talk about crazy guys returning the ball. The other nice thing is that the punter, if he recovers his own punt, can recover the ball that way, sort of like an onside kick. Also, if the kickoff goes in the end zone and the receiving team cannot return the ball out of the end zone, then the kicking team gets a point. Overall, I think the dynamics of the kicking game is more fun in the CFL. The other cool thing is that you have only three downs to get a first down. So there are more four and five receiver sets. This coupled with wider sidelines just really open things up.You won the Grey Cup in your last season in 1998 and were named MVP along with being an All-Canadian QB and West Division All-Star. Solid accomplishments. How did the NFL come into the picture again?
It was a bit unusual. Before my last year, I had come to the conclusion that I was probably not going to get an NFL opportunity. I don’t know if I became complacent, but I was really happy with where my life was at that point. I was working hard on the field with my teammates, improving on my skills, and enjoying the lifestyle that Calgary had to offer. I had no complaints. But it was shortly thereafter that Doug Flutie made a big splash with the Buffalo Bills. He played well and made the Pro Bowl his first year back to the NFL. That really opened up the eyes of the NFL to the CFL and the abilities of the players there. Scouts basically took wind of that and looked at me and saw the productivity that I had had for three seasons as a starter. There were a handful of teams that took interest in me and gave me tryouts.
