The news of the first African-American commissioner in North American sports welcoming Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete, to play pro football made waves worldwide. It’s not often the CFL is trending in May.
Connor Mertens, the first active NCAA football player to openly come out, detailed to me how transformative the news was. "At the end of the day all Michael wants to do is play football. I’m disappointed it’s not in the NFL but he’s still getting to play and that’s what’s important," he said. "I’m sure he will excel and do well there and prove that you can be an openly gay man and be a monster on the field. I can’t wait to watch him play."
It’s an astute proclamation by Mertens, because Sam’s potential on-field impact has been the underreported aspect of his decision to come North.
Michael Sam will thrive in the CFL, not because Montreal is more liberal than most cities in the Southern USA, where he’s spent the bulk of his adult life. Not because the "gotcha" journalism doesn’t exist in the pervasive way that it does down South, specifically around anything football. No, he’ll thrive because Michael Sam is perfect for the CFL game.
The natural comparison some are making is Cameron Wake–an undersized defensive end proving his worth in Canada before dominating the NFL. Although Sam might follow that career arch, they aren’t comparable players despite the fact they play the same position. Wake needs to play with his hand in the dirt and is a one gap player. His skills are his explosion and power, his ability to get off the ball quickly. Wake is an NFL defensive lineman stylistically, he was just too small physically for anyone to take a chance on him until he proved himself in the CFL. Both by style and stature, Sam is more of a prototype for playing the three down game.
Sam has the ability to shed blocks. His best talent is the ability to engage and disengage and use his eyes and hands to find the football, both skills are even more important in the CFL game, as the angles change as you are one yard off the ball. Pass rush moves are more like the hand combat you’d find in sumo wrestling, using your hands to buy you time to get your body in position with optimal leverage.
In the American game, on the snap of the ball the principle prerequisites are power and explosion, using your superior get off time to impose your physical will, first to get your body in a position to gain and maintain leverage. All of the finite details of line play boils down to being in an optimal body position, being able to find the ball carrier/passer, being able to get to the ball carrier/passer. Sam didn’t have the length to do that like Aldon Smith, the power or weight to do that like JJ Watt or the speed to do that like Dwight Freeney. But up here, that doesn’t matter.
Who can CFL fans compare him to? Think Ricky Foley in his prime, a high-motor, relentless pass rusher that chases down running plays from the weak-side.
He’ll also have the opportunity to contribute on special teams due to the CFL’s smaller roster size, which is paramount because if he intends on exploring NFL opportunities in the future it will be incumbent upon Sam to demonstrate he can add value on specials; something he wasn’t asked to do much at Missouri because of his importance to the team.
Montreal is the perfect spot for him because they’ve seen this type of player flourish before. All head coach Tom Higgins has to do is call his good friend, former former Als head coach Don Matthews, who converted a SEC tweener in Anwar Stewart into a hybrid edge player. Stewart was cut by the Stampeders and Matthews brought him to Montreal and converted him into a player that would rack up the second most sacks in franchise history, leading them to eight Grey Cup appearances in his decade with the team.
Stewart is on Higgins’ staff as a defensive assistant and will best be able to cultivate Sam’s athletic ability to make an impact in the CFL. He’ll likely try to keep Sam in his comfort zone, not having him in a three-point stance but standing up on the edge giving him a clearer vantage point and allowing him to use his football IQ to get cues based on receiver motion happening outside of him. Like Stewart did, Sam has the potential to periodically find shallow zone coverage landmarks and cover the flats.
It for some might be unorthodox, but Sam, like Stewart, will have the ball skills from his time as a linebacker to disrupt the quick screen passing game so prevalent in the CFL. It will provide mad scientist defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe optimal flexibility as he doesn’t need to substitute–he can use Sam’s pass rush moves and counter moves and hip flexibility to rush the passer. Although being a jack of all trades, master of none, keeps tweeters like Stewart and Sam off the NFL field it makes them unpredictable to scheme for in the CFL.
The Als have committed to defensive end as an American or "international" position, so regardless of what happens with injuries or roster decisions, Sam will be in the mix to compete to play right away. John Bowman is arguably the best defensive end in the CFL and he plays for Montreal at 6’3, 250. The hope is that despite just running a 4.99 40 at the NFL veteran’s combine, the 6’2 261 lbs. Sam can take double teams away from him. His competition in camp–DJ Roberts (6’1, 250 lbs.), Aaron Lavarias (6’03, 250 pounds), Gabriel Knapton (6’3, 263 lbs.), and Brian Brikowski (6’04, 265 lbs.)–are all around the same size as Sam.
Size won’t be an issue for Sam and neither should his celebrity status. This is a team that had Chad "Ochocicno" Johnson on the roster last year without issue. Added media and personalities will not be an issue. Khalif Mitchell has yet to play a game for the franchise and they’ve already had to manage a mini PR crisis. In relation to that, any extra apparent "distractions" as Tony Dungy once cautioned would come with Sam, and may have hindered his NFL aspirations, will be a cake walk in the CFL.
A man who figures to line up right beside Sam in the Als front four is Jeff Finley. Finley reminded me that CFL players are also football fans first, "I had a chance to watch him play in college and liked the kind of player he was. Every time you get the opportunity to add a solid pass rusher to the team is great. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the Canadian game and how he fits into our system. Overall just looking forward to meeting the guy."
The beauty of the CFL is its commonplace to have a melting pot of French Canadians, Prairie boys, Southern Americans, and Hawaiians all in the same huddle. Inclusion by necessity is the rule not the exception. This offseason they’ve augmented an already strong locker room with Fred Stamps and Nik Lewis, two guys held in high regard around the league. Anthony Calvillo also joins the coaching staff, fortifying a strong internal leadership structure. They are in a great position to absolve another dominant personality and concentrate despite the added attention.
Make no mistake, there will be lots of media. Montreal is a market with both French and English speaking media and the only other team playing in the province during the summer is the MLS’ Montreal Impact. La belle province is football crazy. Add that with the human interest aspect of Sam’s arrival and you are going to garner a level of attention that would be greater than anywhere else in the league outside of densely populated Toronto. A short drive or flight from the border means media and fans from New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut will all be able to quickly get to McGill’s campus to see Sam with regularity.
As hosts of the East division semifinal, Montreal only attracted an announced 15,107 fans, much lower than their regular season average of 20,675. In comparison, more fans showed up to watch the University of Montreal in the CIS Vanier Cup held in Percival Molson stadium two weeks afterwards. Sam will bring a unique audience out to the stadium.
On Friday, the Alouettes organization got better and Michael Sam was put in a better situation to succeed. There will be plenty of coverage from all aspects of the groundbreaking announcement but those two things must be part of the narrative.