Matt Smith/CFL.ca
It’s been 10 months and the play still gnaws away at Ed Gainey.
Ten years from now the Saskatchewan Roughrider defensive back will probably still be bothered by what happened in the dying moments of last year’s CFL East Division final between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa REDBLACKS.
Gainey was a Tiger-Cat then and Hamilton looked to be on the way to its third consecutive Grey Cup. But with less than two minutes left veteran Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris threw a 93-yard touchdown pass to Greg Ellingson for a 35-28 REDBLACKS’ victory.
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After the heartbreaking ending to the season last year, Ed Gainey is looking for redemption in Saskatchewan (CFL.ca)
Gainey, who was in coverage, fell on the play. He was one of the Hamilton DBs who chased Ellingson into the end zone.
“It eats me up every day,” said Gainey, the pain and frustration still evident in his voice. “I’m a competitor so I will never forget that play.
“That was the last play of my season last year. The whole off-season was kind of rough for me. It gave me a better sense of direction to where I really wanted to put myself. I wanted to be at a higher level. I trained pretty hard this off-season.”
Learning to cope with what happened taught Gainey some lessons about himself as a player and the kind of person he wanted to be away from the field.
“There were a lot of things that weren’t allowing me to reach my fullest potential last year and I realized that,” he said. “I just came in with a better attitude, a different attitude.
“I know God has my back and he’s going to do some things for me. It taught me to keep my faith and keep grinding. Not one thing ever defines you as a person.”
Gainey signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in February. He’s been part of a renovated Rider team that stumbled like a drunk for the first part of the season but seems to have found its feet with back-to-back wins over Edmonton and Hamilton to improve to 3-10.
“We needed that as a team,” said Gainey. “It’s never fun when you are losing. We were putting in so much hard work.
“I’m pretty sure there is no CFL team out there that works as hard as we do. It’s just finally good to get a chance to see the results of all the hard work. It’s a blessing now.”
Gainey had three tackles and an interception in Saskatchewan’s thrilling 20-18 win over Hamilton last weekend. The 26-year-old from Winston-Salem, N.C., said losing 53-7 to the Tiger-Cats back on Aug. 20 gave him some extra motivation.
“I felt I let my team down,” he said. “I made a lot of mistakes in that game and they beat us pretty good.
“The second go around it was a moment I needed in my career. I’m glad the coaches were able to see me perform like that, not just our coaches but Hamilton’s coaches and everyone around the league.”
After the game Orlondo Stenauer, Hamilton’s defensive coordinator, told Gainey he was having a great season.
“Just to hear that from him, that was real big,” he said.
The Riders have been on the short end of some close games this year – three of their losses have been by a touchdown or less – and have suffered some blowouts.
“It eats me up every day, I’m a competitor so I will never forget that play.”
Ed Gainey
Losing can be like sandpaper in a locker room, scratching away confidence and stability. Gainey said the Riders have managed to stay focused and united.
“When you’re losing (sometimes) everyone is kind of walking on ice,” he said. “It hasn’t really got to that point. I’m very thankful for that (because) it’s no fun when it gets like that.
“All the young guys have been buying in and all the older guys have been trying to figure out every way we can communicate with them. We’re trying to reach the same goal. We are trying to win and that’s what it’s all about.”
Gainey has his own reasons to be exciting about going to work each day. He’s expecting a son next month. He also loves living in Canada and being given the opportunity to play football.
“I’m just blessed to be here and do what I love every day,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going.”
The five-foot-11, 195-pound Gainey played his college football at Appalachian State University. In four years he had 168 defensive tackles, five interceptions and 59 pass breakups.
He signed with the Montreal Alouettes in 2012 then moved to Hamilton in 2014.
In 12 games with Saskatchewan this year Gainey has 41 tackles, two interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles and returned one fumble 51 yards for a touchdown.
Saskatchewan’s playoff hopes are slim at best, but Gainey said the Riders are still playing for pride and jobs next year. Also, stranger things have happened in the CFL.
“There’s always that one team each year who is doing bad at the beginning of the season and then towards the end finds a good run and makes the playoffs,” said Gainey.
“I’m keeping the faith and I know everyone around here is keeping the faith. We’re just taking it a day at a time. Hopefully we can win out for the rest of the season and see where it takes us.”
The Riders had the bye this week. They play next against Ottawa on Oct. 7, a game Gainey is already looking forward too.
“I want to make some plays against Greg Ellingson,” he said.
