Mitchell Blair
Riderville.com

REGINA -- Saying goodbye is never an easy thing whether or you are one play away from a Grey Cup championship or a team that never made the playoffs. The 2009 Saskatchewan Roughriders gathered together for the last time Tuesday morning to put their belongings in garbage bags, exchange e-mail addresses and phone numbers and hug their fellow team-mates before heading off for the winter.

The mood in the room was more up as players start to move on from Sunday’s soul-crushing defeat in the Grey Cup. Even head coach Ken Miller was smiling, but he says there’s a good reason for that.

“You have to smile. When you think about these men and their contributions and their growth and what they achieved, you have to smile,” said a very proud head coach.  It’s tough to smile for a long time, but it brings a smile nonetheless.’’

When Miller reflects on what happened over the past six months, he has no choice but to smile considering the type of season the football team had. He acknowledged that when speaking to reporters.

“From a football point of view, from a team development point of view, from the achievement of the team, it really was phenomenal because we really grew as a football team,” Miller concluded. “We went from being a bunch of individuals to being a tight-knit and smooth-operating football team.”

Miller and the rest of the organization have some work to do in the off-season as there are 16 players who become free agents on February 15. Not all of them will be back, but one who would like to return is veteran defensive back Eddie Davis. However, he’s not sure if the team feels the same way.

“I don’t know which way the organization is trying to go right now. I know I’m in my 15th season and they may be wanting to go in a different direction,” said the 36 year old who will turn 37 in January. “I’m just going to wait and see what happens. I would hope that they think I’m one of the core guys, but as you get older that teams are going to decide to go in a different direction. I think I still have a lot of things that I bring to the table for any team. I think I make the guys around me play better and I instill confidence in the defence.”

Another player who will be a free agent is Wes Cates. He says now is the time to start thinking about his future.

“I thought about it a little bit during the season, but I don’t want to worry about it until now,” said the 30 year old running back. ”Hopefully we can sit down and talk about something. I don’t know what it will lead to. I’ve enjoyed my time here and hopefully it will continue. I hope there’s a strong desire to have me back. We’re developing a good nucleus here and it would be smart to have as many guys back as possible so we can take a good run at the Grey Cup next year.”

As for Andy Fantuz, he has verbally agreed to a new contract, but he has a desire to crack an NFL roster. He says he isn’t aware of any team expressing any interest right now, but its been a dream of his to play in the NFL so it is an opportunity he feels he needs to explore.

“Its not the end of the world if I don’t get a chance, but I think I deserve a chance to see if I can play at that level,” said Fantuz/ I don’t know if teams will look at me more as a wide receiver or a tight end. My agent will be looking at what might be the best fit for me and then I’ll decide. If things don’t work out, I’m more than happy to return to Saskatchewan and try to get that Grey Cup.

As players filtered out, Miller was asked if he could put the 2009 season into a sentence or a word. The response was “Great season, great Grey Cup, lousy finish.” One can’t argue with that sentence at all.