The oft-advanced notion of football as a game of inches could be dismissed as a fallacy.
How about a game of millimetre(s)?
That was the barely discernible distance between Mitch Picton’s toes and the sideline while the Regina-born receiver made the most graceful of catches on Day 1 of Coors Light Riders Training Camp.
Slumped over a bench on the opposite side of the field, this scribbler could not fully or immediately appreciate the brilliance of the play, nor could its difficulty be grasped.
That all changed on Monday night, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ wonderful and talented social-media squad posted a video that was captioned “Toes down.”
Upon further review, the belated conclusion was reached here that Picton’s deft demonstration of timing, tight-roping and technical prowess was worthy of explanation, elaboration and commendation.
“One thing we work on in the off-season is those tough sideline catches,” the former University of Regina Rams standout said after Monday’s session at Griffiths Stadium. “It’s nice to make plays in the pass skelly (eight-on-eight drills) and get some rapport going with the quarterbacks, so it was good.”
Great, actually.
Honestly, how was Picton’s field awareness such that he was able to remain in-bounds by such a minuscule margin?
“It’s a good guess,” he said with a chuckle.
“You have a good idea of where you are on the field, but you just try to reach back as far as you can and keep those toes in.”
Toes down.#CFLTC | #ALLINGREEN pic.twitter.com/rY35XxbI38
— Saskatchewan Roughriders (@sskroughriders) May 15, 2023
That is one part of the equation. The other: Simultaneously making a clean catch.
It helps that Picton is a textbook “hands” receiver. Seldom, if ever, is the ball cradled against his body — not before it is tucked away during the yards-after-catch portion of the play.
Consider his fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown catch in a 26-16 victory over the Edmonton Elks on June 18 at Commonwealth Stadium.
From 28 yards away, a wide-open Picton looked the ball right into his hands with 4:12 remaining in the fourth quarter to snap a 16-16 tie.
That play should be mandatory viewing for every receiver who strives to master the rudiments of the most fundamental aspect of the position — catching the football.
“I think it’s just repetition,” said the 27-year-old cousin and erstwhile teammate of former Rams and LeBoldus Golden Suns star Noah Picton. “I’ve always been a receiver and I’ve always been catching the ball. With Noah being a quarterback, he was always throwing and I was always catching.
“I think it’s just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of reps over the years. Catching the football is something that I’ve become quite comfortable with.”
Although Picton is most amenable to being coached and appreciative of all tutelage, a lot of the refinement has been self-driven.
“It’s kind of something that I’ve started doing on my own,” he said.
“I was talking to (Roughriders slotback) Jake Wieneke about catching the ball and where your hands should be and stuff like that. We’ve kind of come up with the saying of ‘catch it as you catch it.’ Whatever feels good and whatever feels natural for you, just go at it that way and catch the ball.”
To this seasoned observer, Picton’s technique is comparable to that of ex-Roughriders receiving standout Andy Fantuz — a “hands” catcher of the highest order who played for the Green and White from 2006 to 2011.
In watching Picton, is there evidence of a Fantuz influence?
“I don’t know if I pattern myself after people, but he was certainly someone who I watched, especially in that area when there was himself, Chris Getzlaf, Weston Dressler, Rob Bagg and the Canadian Air Force,” Picton responded.
“I always admired those guys and tried to model my game a little bit after what they do. I was just looking up and kind of watching them from afar and trying to pick up some of the nuances that they have in their game.”
FROM MITCH TO MICHIGAN …
Shea Patterson was delighted to meet and mingle with some ardent fans of his alma mater.
The former University of Michigan Wolverines star — the team’s starting quarterback in 2018 and 2019 — could not miss the giant “M” flag that was draped over the fencing at Griffiths Stadium.
“I was just getting my sprints in and my extra throws in after practice and I looked over and saw a big, black M — all the way out here in Saskatoon,” Patterson marvelled after Day 2 of training camp. “That’s crazy. That’s amazing.
“It was so cool. You feel like you’re so far away from home and then you see your college sign sitting right there.
“It’s a special feeling and I’m grateful for it.”
So grateful, in fact, that Patterson seized the first opportunity to make a beeline for the fence to meet with the Roughriders/Wolverines fans.
“They said they were from Regina and were the biggest Michigan fans ever,” said the 26-year-old signal-caller, who autographed the flag, posed for photos, and chatted amicably. “I know Michigan fans are all around the world.”
And even around the Roughriders’ dressing room.
Defensive back Jeremy Clark played his final season at Michigan in 2016, two years before Patterson joined the Wolverines following a two-season stay at Ole Miss.
EYES PEELED
Asked on Monday to provide shout-outs, Head Coach Craig Dickenson complied by making special mention of linebacker Kolby Harvell-Peel and defensive back Jaxon Ford.
Harvell-Peel, from Oklahoma State, registered an interception early in Monday’s first of two eight-on-eight sessions.
Ford, a Rams product who was chosen in Round 2 of the 2023 CFL Draft, “is doing a good job every day,” in the appraisal of Coach Dickenson.
Another defensive back, La’Andre Thomas, made two especially impressive plays on Monday. He stripped the ball from a receiver and, on a subsequent play, knocked down a pass.
Other defensive bouquets: To Julius Faulk (tight coverage), Jayden Dalke (interception) and Devin Jones (pass knockdown).
Offensively, the nicest catch of Day 2 was made by veteran receiver Derel Walker, who made a leaping grab of a Trevor Harris aerial down the left sideline.
Also in good hands on Monday: Footballs thrown to Shawn Bane Jr., Mario Alford and, of course, Mitch Picton.
SHORT SNORTS
- The Roughriders’ players delivered robust happy-birthday wishes to quarterback Noah Pelletier, who turned 21 on Monday. Pelletier, from the U of R, is at camp with the Roughriders as part of the CFL’s quarterback internship program. “The guys are really enjoying having Noah here,” Dickenson said.
- Two practices are to be held, back-to-back with an intermission, on Tuesday. The first workout is to begin at 9 a.m. The second session is expected to end around 12:30 p.m. “We’re going to put the pads on tomorrow,” Dickenson said on Monday, “and I think we’ll see a different level of intensity.” Especially with the looming imperative of making 10 cuts. “It’s going to be hard,” Dickenson said of passing judgment on players at such an early juncture of camp, “but that’s what we have to do.”
- My alleged forearms were extremely sunburned after Monday morning’s practice. Frequently asked question: “Did you apply sunscreen?” Rote answer: “Lots of it.” Unsuccessfully, as it turns out. After getting back to my dorm room after practice, I checked the expiry date on the sunscreen. DEC 2022. Oh. Ow!
