From Rams to ’Riders – Ryan’s football life comes full circle

Jon Ryan boots a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2002.

    Jon Ryan’s most famous play in the NFL came via his arm and not his punting leg.

    On January 18, 2015, Ryan was playing for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who were trailing 16-0 in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game to the visiting Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field.

    Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Packers 19 yard line, the Seahawks sent out their field goal unit. Ryan served as the holder on the field goal team for place kicker Steven Hauschka.

    The Seahawks called for a fake. Ryan, who was born and raised in Regina, Sask., took the ball, rolled to his left and floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Garry Gilliam to cut the Packers lead to 16-7.

    Seattle rallied to win that contest 28-22 in overtime.

    Ryan is still the last Canadian born player to throw a touchdown pass in an NFL conference title game thanks to his toss on that fake field goal against the Packers, who he broke into the NFL with in 2006 and 2007.

Jon Ryan sets up to punt during Roughriders training camp.

    “It was pretty cool,” said Ryan. “It was quite the experience to be able to throw a touchdown pass and be able to do a fake, not only that but in a game of that magnitude.

    “To be able to represent Canada in that situation meant a lot to me.”

    These days, Ryan is back in his hometown playing for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. After four games, the 37-year-old has punted the ball 24 times for the league’s second highest average at 47.5 yards per kick.

    The Roughriders (1-3) are slated to host British Columbia Lions (1-4) at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

    Until the start of this season, Ryan hadn’t played in the CFL since starting his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.

    With the Bombers in 2005, Ryan appeared in 17 regular season games punting the ball 118 times for an average of 50.6 yards per kick. That average yards per kick is still a CFL record for most punt yards per kick for one season.

    After his time with the Bombers, Ryan played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the Packers and Seahawks appearing in 191 career regular season games. Over that time, he punted the ball 914 times for 40,895 yards and averaged 44.7 yards per punt.

Jon Ryan (#9) is the recognizable hometown face with the Roughriders.

    Ryan admits his days with the Bombers seem like a long time ago. He is happy things worked out that he was able to return to the CFL with the Roughriders.

    “It has been cool,” said Ryan, who stands 6-feet and weighs 217 pounds. “It has kind of been a dream, a goal for a long time.

    “It is just kind of coming to fruition now. It is fun to be out here with the guys. It is fun to be back with family and friends.

    “It is good to be back in Saskatchewan.”

    With his return to Regina, Ryan’s football days have pretty much come full circle. He played high school football with Regina’s Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in 1999 after stepping away from being a hockey goalie on a full-time basis.

    In 2000, he joined the University of Regina Rams in the U Sports ranks tabbed to be both a place kicker and a punter. The Rams were in their second season at the Canadian university level after leaving the Canadian Junior Football League following the 1998 campaign.

Jon Ryan (#15) made lots of catches with the Rams from 2000 to 2003.

    Ryan took over the Rams place kicking and punting duties on a full-time basis as a rookie. He was responsible for scoring the winning point in the Rams first ever U Sports playoff victory on Nov. 3, 2000.

    In the last play of a Canada West Conference semifinal playoff game against the U of Calgary Dinos in Calgary, Alta., Ryan booted a 36-yard punt single to lift the Rams to a 33-32 victory.

    The Rams won two more playoff games to earn a berth in the Vanier Cup, which is the U Sports championship game. They fell 42-39 to the U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2000 Vanier Cup.

    Ryan’s versatility began to take further form during that first campaign with the Rams. As that season went on, he began taking more reps at practices and games at wide receiver.

    Ryan made his most memorable offensive play as a sophomore in 2001 in a regular season game at Griffiths Stadium against the host U of Saskatchewan Huskies. After a goal-line stand, the Rams were at their own one yard line.

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the Rams in 2000.

    The Huskies came with a blitz, and Rams quarterback Marc Anderson threw a deep sideline streak pattern to Ryan. Ryan out jumped a defender for the ball, came down with it and raced down the sideline for a 109-yard touchdown reception.

    The Rams fell 34-28, but Ryan’s catch was something that would never be forgotten.

    In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter in the Canada West Conference and a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. He also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the team with 501 receiving yards, while scoring four touchdowns on receptions.

    Due to the fact many of his former Rams teammates work in Regina, Ryan has been doing some catching up on that front.

    “It has been great,” said Ryan. “I’ve talked to a lot of them.

Jon Ryan kicks a field goal for the Rams in 2003.

    “Maybe, we will have a little almost 20-year reunion from the Vanier Cup days.”
    Ryan has enjoyed catching up with his large, extended family as well. Having played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the last 10 of those campaigns coming in Seattle, Ryan’s visits fell off in frequency.

    When he wasn’t an NFL roster after parting way with the Seahawks, Ryan lived in Los Angeles, Calif., with his wife and famous comedian Sarah Colonna.

    On June 5, Ryan received an honourary doctor of laws degree along with his mother, Barb, from the University of Regina. Ryan’s father, Bob, passed away on Dec. 1, 2006 due to cancer.

    “I was living in Seattle and now I live off-season in L.A.,” said Ryan, who is serving a one-year contract with the Roughriders. “I see them (his family) once or twice a year.

    “When you have 12 nieces and nephews, a lot changes in a year when I don’t get to see them. Now, I’ll be able to see them on a regular basis. I’ll be able to see my mom and my brother and my sisters.

Jon Ryan jogs out for starting intros in 2003.

    “My nieces and nephews, I will be able to watch all their sporting events and all the things that they do. It is going to be pretty special, and it already has been.”
    On the field, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said Ryan hasn’t shown signs of losing any of his power.

    “I knew he was pretty good,” said Dickenson. “He has actually gotten better.

    “He was a little rusty the first few days. He has a big leg there is no doubt.”

    Suiting up as the hometown product for the Roughriders, Ryan is inevitably watched more than a number of his teammates.

    He has dealt with that before in the NFL.
    During his time with the Seahawks, Ryan was one of the team’s most popular players, and he was a team captain over his final four seasons with the club.

    Ryan holds the Seahawks team records for most career punts (770), most career yards (34,480) and highest career average for yards per punt (44.8).

    He is comfortable with being in the spotlight.

    “You feel like a little bit you live in a fishbowl sometimes,” said Ryan, who helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 regular season. “That is kind of how it was in the NFL too.

Jon Ryan (#9) and Jorgen Hus chat at Roughriders camp.

    “No matter what position you are, you are always kind of being watched whether it be on the field or off the field. I feel that is the same here. It is one of those things I kind of thrive off of.
    “I like it, and I’m used to it.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Patriots make last big play, take title

Iconic Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

   The talking point of the Super Bowl revolves around one play, but give the New England Patriots credit for making it.

   With time ticking down, it appeared the Seattle Seahawks were going to pull out victory after a two-minute drill drive. Facing a second and goal on the New England one yard line, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson tried to hit receiver Ricardo Lockette on a quick slant.

   Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler saw what was happening, jumped the route and made a game-saving interception to give New England a 28-24 victory in Super Bowl XLIX.

   Right after the game checking out social media in any form, a large number of Seahawks fans were expressing their shock that their team didn’t hand the ball off to running back Marshawn Lynch. He had 102 yards rushing on 24 carries and had scored one rushing major already. If he was stopped, the Seahawks had a timeout to stop the clock.

   Had Lockette fought for the ball and made a game-winning touchdown catch, no one would be second guessing Seattle’s coaches.

   Coaching staffs in the NFL put in tonnes of research time to try and hit an opponent with something unexpected. A pass in that situation on second down isn’t something you would not expect.

   With that said, Lynch is arguably the Seahawks’ best player, and normally you put the ball in the hands of your best player, when the game is on the line.

   The fact the Seahawks didn’t run the ball with Lynch shouldn’t take away from the Patriots victory.
   They made the interception play when they had to and took their fourth Super Bowl title.
   Iconic quarterback Tom Brady, who is just so pretty, rallied the Patriots from a 24-14 fourth quarter deficit against the best defence in the NFL this season. In winning his third Super Bowl MVP award, Brady completed 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards and four touchdown strikes. He made the effects of the two interceptions he threw earlier in the contest go away.

   On top of that, Brady joins Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowl titles as a starter.

   With New England’s defence coming up with the big interception to save the final outcome, the victory was a team win. During their victory celebrations, most of their players will be able to point to a play they made to ensure the final outcome came out in their favour.

   If you have any feedback about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

Seahawks’ Ryan still one of the boys from the Rams

Jon Ryan boots a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2002.

   Jon Ryan, the popular and star punter for the Seattle Seahawks.
   I still can't wrap my head around that phrase.
   The 33-year-old Regina product is has one more game to play in his seventh complete season with the Seahawks, but even with his tenure with that NFL club, it still sounds unbelievable. I will always think of Ryan as a talented member of the University of Regina Rams football team.
   During those Rams days, no one ever thought Ryan would earn a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks last year, throw a touchdown pass in Seattle's NFC Championship victory against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday and will be playing for the Seahawks in the upcoming Super Bowl against the New England Patriots on Feb. 1.
   In Canada, the biggest realistic sports dream is winning the Stanley Cup as a member of an NHL team. In football, the biggest dream is winning the Grey Cup as the champion of the CFL. If you are from Saskatchewan, capturing the Grey Cup with the Roughriders is usually the ultimate dream.
   Winning the Super Bowl with an NFL club wasn't something you dare to dream about as few Canadians have had the opportunity to play in the biggest professional sports league in North America. Super Bowl victories included finishing seasons on the video games Tecmo Super Bowl and Madden Football. Tecmo Super Bowl for the old Nintendo Entertainment System was a favourite video game in Ryan's household, when he was growing up.

Jon Ryan caught a lot of passes as a Rams receiver.

   I first saw Ryan play live in 2000 during Saskatchewan's high school all-star game for graduating players called "The Senior Bowl." He was punting and place kicking for the South Team during a clash with the North Team at a very windy Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
   During that contest won 23-9 by the North Team, I was certain Ryan would become a standout kicker in the Canadian university ranks. If he kept improving, I could foresee him moving on to the CFL, where he did play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.
   If he kept and improving and there was a break or two, he might have had a slight chance to crack an NFL roster. As a few Canadian born kickers did move on to have long careers in the NFL, you always had to think that was a possibility, but it was still a remote possibility.
   Ryan joined the Rams in the fall of 2000 for their second season in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport ranks after leaving the Canadian Junior Football League. The big story that year was the return of star quarterback Darryl Leason and his brother and star receiver Michael Leason to the Rams program.
   Both left the University of Calgary Dinos to rejoin the Rams, when the left the junior ranks. Both were stars with the Rams during their junior days.
   When Ryan came as an 18-year-old, the big thinking was the kicking game was never going to be in question, while he wore the green and gold. He was slated to be the punter and place kicker. As I was pretty active with the Rams at that time, I was pretty happy the Sheldon-Williams Collegiate grad was there.

Jon Ryan kicks a field goal for the Rams in 2003.

   Very quickly in training camp, it was easy to take notice of Ryan's booming punts. As his first season began, the Rams coaches had other plans for him.
   Growing up, Ryan was a stellar athlete, who also turned heads in hockey and lacrosse. At one time, there was a thought Ryan could become a professional goaltender in hockey.
   In football, he also played receiver, and Rams brain trust decided it would be wise to utilize his abilities on the offensive side of the ball. As his rookie campaign went on, Ryan began taking more reps in practices and in games playing wide receiver.
   This was a very bold move. Before Ryan, the Rams kickers mainly focused on their kicking duties. The team was also very deep at the time at receiver.
   At receiver future CFL star Jason Clermont, Chris Warnecke, Mike Thomas, Michael Leason and Shane Ostapowich all had stellar careers with the Rams. Also catching passes out of the backfield were with current Saskatchewan Roughriders fullback Neal Hughes, another future CFLer in Cory Olynick and Chris Briltz, who all shared in the Rams spotlight. It was common for the football to never hit the ground in a Rams practice.
   Putting Ryan in with that group was really high praise.
   During that freshman season, Ryan helped the Rams advance to their only Vanier Cup appearance, where they dropped a 42-39 decision to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. In that run to the Vanier Cup final in Toronto, Ryan played a part in one of the most memorable plays during a regular season game against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
   Trailing 31-28 with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Ryan booted up a high on-side kick. The kick was knocked out of the air by Clermont to Warnecke, who was clear of all possible tacklers and had an open path to the end zone. Warnecke charged the distance for the winning score in a 35-31 victory.

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the Rams in 2000.

   The play was a legal one under Canadian rules and one the Rams worked on in practice.
   Ryan made his most memorable offensive play as a sophomore in 2001 in a regular season game at Griffiths against the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies. After a goal-line stand, the Rams were at their own one yard line.
   The Huskies came with a blitz, and Rams quarterback Mark Anderson threw a deep sideline streak pattern to Ryan. Ryan out jumped a defender for the ball, came down with it and raced down the sideline for a 109-yard touchdown reception. Regina fell 34-28, but Ryan's catch was something that would never be forgotten.
   In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter for the Canada West football conference and a first team CIS all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. He also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the team with 501 receiving yards, while scoring four touchdowns on receptions. Ryan cemented his reputation as a standout receiver.
   During his final campaigns with the Rams, Ryan got to play alongside younger brother and defensive back, Steve, who was the holder on field goal attempts.
   Away from the field, the elder Ryan was everyone's best friend. The Rams at the time went everywhere together and did everything together.
   I still have very good memories of cruising to a few social occasions with my old white 1987 Chevrolet Capris former police car packed with Ryan and a bunch of other players. One trip I remember Ryan being pretty pumped that rapper Eminem was being cranked on my old stereo system.

Jon Ryan fires a punt for the Rams in 2003.

   It was also cool from that first year with the Rams to see Ryan develop a really super tight friendship with Jarrod Livingstone, who is a Rams super fan that is confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida. Livingstone was also the grandson of the late Scotty Livingstone, who was a key influential director in building the Rams in their junior years. The friendship between Ryan and Jarrod Livingstone has grown and is stronger than ever in the current day.
   During his Rams years, Ryan set the team's career record for punting average at the university level with 42.6 yards per kick, which still stands to this day. After his final season, hopes were high Ryan would have a lengthy career in the professional ranks in the CFL.
   In 2004, Ryan was selected in the third round and 24^th overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL Draft. The rookie punter played a key role in the Bombers prevailing 17-4 in what is still their last Labour Day Classic victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
   That contest was a huge defensive battle, and Ryan twice pinned the Roughriders at their own one yard line with two coffin corner kicks. The kicks were so perfect that the football landed both times exactly on the out of bounds spot on the sidelines right beside the one yard-line marker. The officials didn't have any trouble spotting the ball.

Jon Ryan jogs out for starting intros in 2003.

   After witnessing those kicks, you have to believe Ryan would stick in the NFL, if he could get a chance. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in January of 2006. During various Packers camps, the media covering the Packers quickly started asking questions of the Canadian kid who could boom the long punts.
   He spent the 2006 and 2007 campaigns with the Packers. The first season was tough from the fact his father, Bob, passed of cancer. The son played two days after his father's death, and the Packers teammates voted the Canadian punter as the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for his display of courage and sportsmanship.
   After being released by the Packers, Ryan quickly caught on with the Seahawks. While career punters and place kicker can be journeymen in the NFL, Ryan's identity has become tied to the fact he is the Seahawks punter.
   While he is making memories doing things in the NFL no Canadian kid would dare dream about, he will still be thought of by a number of people in Regina as a just a good bud from the Rams.

   If you have any feedback about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

Officiating always a work in progress

An official explains a blown call at a CIS football game.

            Being a referee is never easy, but it seems like fans of Canadian football want to throw the men in the stripes under the bus this year more than ever.

            During the CFL season, it has been common place to see spectators get upset at the officials, besides frowning at the fact defensive play rules the game this year. During contests, more penalties have been called than ever before, and it seems like the consistency isn’t there.

            The complaints seem to go down the ladder. At university, junior and high school games, it seems no one is happy with the officials.

            A couple of understanding coaches have said to me that a new group of younger officials is coming up through the ranks, because a number of older ones have retired. As a result, there will be some growing pains.

            Unfortunately, officiating in football has a couple of common characteristics that go along with officiating in any sport in Canada, which hamper officials from being as good as they can be.

First, more resources need to be utilized in every sport to help officials. In too many instances, officials are usually undertrained. Because of this, they hit the competitive stage at a total disadvantage.

Second, there is a feeling in Canada that officials should not have to be accountable. Part of this comes from the fact they usually go into games undertrained.

Being unaccountable also becomes a big problem. It allows one to accept a notion it is alright if officials do not get better at their craft.

As for the first point, to become a good official you need ongoing coaching and support. Athletes in their sports receive continuous coaching to become better. Officiating is the same.

            It is still common place for someone to go to a weekend course and become a referee. From there, officials get placed in a game environment, where the abuse at times does not fit the game day pay an official receives.

            Officiating also is more than just about making the right calls. The biggest skill in officiating is dealing with people. Once you have mastered the skill of dealing with people you will run into fewer situations where you have to deal with disrespect.

            In hockey, one of Canada’s top referees was Chris Savage, who had a lengthy career officiating in the major junior ranks and worked a whole host of world competitions. When you talk with him, you quickly realize how much there is to the art of being an official and how much there is to learn about being a good one.

            He approaches officiating with a real upbeat passion for the craft and the game of hockey itself. A Medicine Hat resident, Savage, who is pretty skilled as a coach, has worked with numerous officials in that geographical area.

An official breaks up a scrum at a CIS hockey game.

Those officials will all tell you they are way more confident and even more excited to do their jobs thanks to the small tips they receive from Savage. A lot of the tips are usually with regards to dealing with people in various sorts of situations, which Savage encountered as a referee. The value of the experience Savage passes on is priceless.

            You wish someone like Savage was offered a position with great compensation by a body like Hockey Canada to help with developing officials across the country. As the old saying goes, in order to be the best it helps to learn from the best.

            With that said, the WHL should be given big credit last season to having officials supervisors out what appeared more than ever, when the league was going through a youth movement in that department. They were really visible. Video is also often used to help officials.

            In the United States, more money in thrown into helping officials, because the sports culture there is just way bigger than it is Canada. In Canada, hockey can only really legitimately be viewed as a “big sport.”

            When officials in Canadian football are compared to those in U.S. football, the officials in the Canadian game always come up short. In the NFL, officials have weekly meetings where they simulate what to do in almost unheard of complex and tough calls.

            The scrutiny is also a lot bigger. All one has to do is remember the heat placed on the replacement officials, when the NFL locked out their regular officials in the 2012 campaign.       

            The tipping point came during the “Fail Mary” game, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on a Monday night contest that concluded Week 3 of the season. The contest ended when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to the Green Bay end zone, and both Seahawks receiver Golden Tate and Packers defender M.D. Jennings got their hands on the ball in the air.

            Singles of touchdown and touchback were made by the two officials nearest to the play, before a ruling of simultaneous possession occurred resulting in a Seahawks touchdown. Before the catch, Tate shoved Packers cornerback Sam Shields with both hands, which the NFL later acknowledged should have resulted in an offensive pass interference penalty that would have negated the touchdown and given victory to Green Bay.

            That was the last game worked by replacement officials, as the NFL quickly came to a new collective bargaining agreement with their regular officials to bring them back.

            To various degrees, all sports bodies in Canada can make cases about the efforts they make to help officials. Even with those efforts, strides should always be taken to put more resources into officiating.

            Also, officials should be a little more open to receiving criticism. One of the ways you get better is to learn from your mistakes.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.