CFHOF Profile: Dave Dickenson
There is little doubt as to the most important position in football as the quarterback is the beginning and the end to every offensive play in football.
It is the ultimate team sport but without a quarterback everything becomes that much tougher and there is no place were that is truer than in the CFL.
As much as the NFL has changed into a passing game over recent years the CFL has been a passing league since the beginning.
The three down brand of football requires more passing as running the ball on first to only get a few downs is almost a waste.
So they need to pass more often than not and for that every team needs a quarterback that can handle that type of pressure.
Every team is constantly in search of their next great quarterback and those that can provide that stability over long periods of time find themselves where Dave Dickenson now finds himself.
It will be a great year for the current offensive coordinator of the Calgary Stampeders as he prepares for his next step in a coaching career when he takes over as head coach I Calgary for the 2016 season.
Along with that preparation, Dickenson will also enter the Canadian Football Hall of Fame where he rightfully takes his spot as one of the best in the game.
Dickenson built his great career at the University of Montana where he finished his career as one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history.
He ended his NCAA career as a record holder in most major quarterback categories both for the school and for the Big Sky Conference.
Still after a great college career, Dickenson received little interest from the NFL largely due to his stature as he only stands 5’11” weighing 190 lbs.
He was a small quarterback and as is typical NFL attitudes a small player rarely gets a fair chance to show what he can do in the NFL.
Instead he decided to move north where smaller quarterbacks are accepted with open arms.
He followed the likes of Doug Flutie who won a Heisman Trophy with Boston College but was largely ignored by NFL teams making his way to the USFL and eventually the CFL.
Dickenson was much the same type of quarterback as he was small statured but had the ability to get out of the pocket and get the ball downfield.
He signed with the Calgary Stampeders to start his career and immediately made an impact as one of the most accurate passers in the game.
He eventually helped the Stamps to a Grey Cup in 1998 as he continue to build his resume as a consistent performer.
In 2000 he had his best season yet and was named the best player in the league which he took to a new path.
After his great season he decided to test out the NFL where he signed with the San Diego Chargers spending the 2001 season as a third string quarterback.
He bounced around three different teams throughout the 2002 season but still his size made him a consistent back-up as he never got the chance to start.
After his NFL experiment he returned to the CFL where he picked up from where he left off this time for the BC Lions.
As a member of the Lions Dickenson constantly battled with Casey Printers to earn a starting spot and when he did start the Lions often found plenty of success.
That included the 2006 season where he helped lead the Lions to their 5th Grey Cup championship and Dickenson’s second.
He eventually returned to where it all began as he played his last year in Calgary before becoming the running backs coach the next year and working his way up to the future head coach.
Dickenson remains one the most accurate passers in CFL history as only Ricky Ray has a better passing percentage and still has some years where that percentage could fall.
Dickenson won games and put up great numbers and still remains one of the best to play the game and for that he enters the Hall of Fame as a deserving member of the Class of 2015.
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