Getzlaf keen to keep spotless record
Chris Getzlaf hasn’t missed a game in the past four CFL seasons and he’s not ready to end the streak now.
The Saskat chewan Roughriders’ slotback returned to practice Thursday after suffering an elbow injury in Sunday’s 30-25 win over the Calgary Stampeders. With his right arm heavily wrapped, Getzlaf took part in a full workout and afterwards vowed to be in the lineup Saturday against the visiting B.C. Lions.
“There’s no doubt in my mind I’m playing at this point in time,” said Getzlaf, who admitted the injury was “probably the most pain I’ve ever had to play through” in a CFL game. “Now it’s feeling a lot better. If it was severe enough I would have to take a week off but I think we’ll be OK.”
Getzlaf has played every contest since he became a full-time starter with the Riders in 2009. To him, it’s a badge of honour that shows he’s able to play through the pains of a gruelling 18-game season.
“It’s a point of pride for sure,” said the 29-year-old Regina native. “It’s a rough season every single year. Some of those games you’re just going to have to tough it out. I like to think I’m one of those guys.”
Getzlaf landed awkwardly on the arm Sunday after a diving attempt in the end zone during the third quarter. He stayed in the game but didn’t practise on Tuesday or Wednesday.
“He was out there (Thursday) for the whole practice so that was good to see him make it through some things,” said head coach Corey Chamblin. “I didn’t hear him moaning and groaning too much so hopefully he’s healthy enough to play.
“We’re trying to make sure these guys become tougher mentally. They get kudos from me for making it through those injuries.”
The next hurdle for Getzlaf to overcome — both mental and physical — will be to prevent the injury from affecting his ability to catch the ball against B.C. He made three catches after the injury on Sunday but dropped another and grabbed his arm in apparent discomfort after the ball fell to the turf.
“You may drop one or two,” noted Chamblin. “I think it was extreme pain and like anything else once you’ve been through anything once you should know what to expect. That was the first time he had to play with that much pain so hopefully he knows how to judge and how to catch the ball and do the things he needs to do to make it through.”
Despite some ups and downs this season, Getzlaf is enjoying another solid campaign statistically, sitting eighth in the league with 680 receiving yards on 50 catches, along with two touchdowns. He’s coming off his finest CFL campaign in 2011, catching 60 passes for 1,071 yards and 10 majors.
Getzlaf is taking the good with the bad.
“It hasn’t been what I wanted it to be but by no means has it been that bad,” he said. “I started off pretty sluggish, went through a few drops and that type of thing. I had to battle through that early on. The yards are still there. I think I’m blocking really well and I’m doing my assignments so that’s all I can do.”
As for the drops, it’s a situation Getzlaf has dealt with in the past. As time goes on, he’s learning how to better cope with it.
“The biggest thing you have to do is try to flush it from your mind and move on,” added Getzlaf, who also lost a fumble on the Riders’ first offensive play Sunday. “A couple happened early on and I think I focused on them a little too much. That made it a bigger issue rather than getting rid of the issue. You have to wash it from your mind, yet still in practice do the things you need to do to make sure it’s not going to happen again.”