Mitchell Blair
Geroy Simon caught his first pass in the CFL as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1999 from Kerwin Bell. 14 years later, he is expected to catch a pass from Darian Durant this weekend to put him in a place where only 11 others in the history of professional football have been.
The soon to be 38 year old goes into Saturday’s game with 998 career catches meaning he is two away from the magic mark of 1000. It’s a level that only Terry Vaughn and Ben Cahoon have reached in the CFL and he does acknowledge it will be very special when he makes that historical catch, but he goes into Saturday’s game realizing he has to help his team get back on the winning side of things after they lost their first game of the year to the Calgary Stampeders last week.
“I’m coming out here trying to get this team back on track,” Simon said. “We didn’t do what he had to do last weekend so it’s time to start playing the type of football we know we can. That being said, it will be a very special moment and its one I will cherish.”
Simon, who by the way can recite all the quarterbacks that has completed a pass to him, is thankful for the fact that he has been able to grind through the CFL wars for many of a season and be able to contribute the way he has over the years.
“I’ve been truly blessed to have a career this long and be given the opportunity that I have,” Simon confesses. “I’ve been lucky to stay healthy for most of my career. I’ve been able to take care of my body and I’ve been able to stay consistent and get the confidence of the quarterback. I certainly didn’t think when I first came up here that I would have the career that I have had and like I said, I’m truly blessed for being able to play as long as I have.”
Cahoon holds the CFL record for most catches in a career with 1,017 which is a number Simon should pass before the year is over if he can stay healthy. While he doesn’t have the most catches in CFL history, he does have the most yards receiving in CFL history having set that last year. As he approaches the 16-thousand yard mark which he is 19 yards away from going into Saturday’s game. He says to have a career average of over 15 yards a catch is something he does treasure because it means he has been a contributor.
“Catching the ball and having a good average has been something I’ve wanted because it shows when I catch the ball that I’m productive. There are a lot of guys out there who have caught a lot of balls, but their average is right around 10 yards a catch.” Simon said. “To have an average of over 15 yards a catch, especially in this league, shows how effective a lot of those catches have been.”
When Simon did break the all-time yards record last year, there was some emotion to a guy who is pretty calm, cool and collected when on the field. As he approaches 1000 catches, he doesn’t know how much emotion will be shown when he makes the historical catch, but he does say it may not mean as much as the yards record because there are still some players ahead of him. With 1000 catches on the horizon, Simon will look to break Cahoon’s record before 2013 is over and when he does that, he will truly cement himself as perhaps the greatest receiver the CFL has ever seen.
Simon and the rest of the Riders will return to Mosaic Stadium for the first time in almost a month as the Montreal Alouettes bring their 2-4 record into town in a 2 o’clock start.
