Ferguson: Appreciating Russ Jackson's 4 Grey Cup appearances

I cringed hitting send on this.

Full disclosure, I’ve been trying to write this article for about a month, constantly pushing back the deadline to the annoyance of the always understanding CFL editorial staff Kristina Costabile and Chris O’Leary.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2021/05/25/ferguson-appreciating-russ-jacksons-4-grey-cup-appearances/

:+1: :grinning:

It was such a different era for a lot of reasons mostly because the hash marks were very wide so it was next to impossible to throw to the wide side of the field. And you easily shut down the short side as well. That’s why all those teams used tight ends in the 60s and early 70s.

Can you imagine having a backfield of Vic Washington and Bo Scott? Both went on to stardom in the NFL.

I was amazed to see the low percentage of passes over 20 yards. When I think of Montreal with Sam Etcheverry, Red Quinn, and Hal Patterson, I imagine the air filled with long passes for big yards. Hard to conceive the passing yards those guys accumulated with such low passing attempts and deep throws.

As to Russ Jackson, he went to the right place at the right time. I was always sorry he did not stay in Hamilton, but, now doubt he would have gotten his opportunity at QB that he got in Ottawa. Probably would have been converted to a running back or defensive back, or maybe a back-up like Frank Cosentino?