A Cup of Coffee with Ricky Ray
Snap decision: Uncertainties of the Jet-set life leave Ricky Ray weighing his options
Vicki Hall
The Edmonton Journal
Ricky Ray is not a Canadian. He's a California boy. But ask any of his fellow New York Jets, and they'll tell you this quarterback is as Canadian as Wayne Gretzky.
Ray's teammates congratulated him whenever Canada won a medal during the Summer Olympics. He was razzed when Perdita Felicien crashed into the hurdle. The guys consoled him about the NHL lockout even though Ray is not a hockey fan.
Heck, even head coach Herm Edwards calls him "that guy from Canada."
Citizenship issues aside, the former Edmonton Eskimo quarterback sure sounds homesick for the land of the chill these days. At least he did during a recent chat over hot chocolate at a Long Island Starbucks.
"I'm still the guy who doesn't run like Michael Vick," says Ray, 25. "I'm still the guy who doesn't have an arm like Brett Favre. I'm still that guy whether I won a championship up in Canada or not. I still have to prove I can play down here.
"And that's the toughest thing for a guy like me. I can't do that in practice. I can't just go out there and throw an 80-yard pass or scramble around in drills to impress them. I've got to go out and do it on the field."
Over his two years with the Eskimos, nothing seemed to rattle Ray through his fairy-tale climb from third-string nobody to all-star quarterback. Completion or interception, sack or touchdown, win or lose, Ray was calm and even-keeled. But spend a little time with him today and it quickly becomes clear a season of standing around in the NFL -- and the decisions he's facing in the coming months -- have Ray unnerved.
As the fourth-string quarterback with the Jets, he's on the edge of a dream that may never be realized.
"I've got my foot in the door, a little bit," he says. "I need to find, whether here or somewhere else, the chance to make it or not. And then I'll know. Maybe there is no opportunity for me down here.
"I don't know if I can play in this league. I don't know. This is a tough league. Not everybody makes it."
Ray arrives at the coffee shop wearing a Billabong T-Shirt, a blue baseball hat and blue jeans. He has bulked up since he left Edmonton, thanks to a rigorous off-season weight-training program. (The Jets strength coach is the only one on the team who calls him by his CFL nickname, Frito Ray.) Otherwise, he looks like the same quarterback who stole the hearts of Eskimo fans -- same braces, same sideburns, same gentle laugh.
As soon as he takes his seat, Ray is full of questions for his Edmonton visitor: How was the Grey Cup? Why weren't the Eskimos there? What prompted Tom Higgins to resign as head coach? Which players are eligible for free agency?
"Last year, with winning the Grey Cup, it finally felt like I was settling down and feeling comfortable where I was at," he says. "It was tough to leave that to come down and start all over again, to earn your stripes and prove yourself."
Ray takes a swig of hot chocolate and looks out the window. "I could have probably stayed back in Edmonton and built on the career that I started up there."
Still, he says he has no regrets about trying his luck with the NFL. "I didn't want to be sitting around when I was 40 years old wishing that I had given it a shot while I had the chance."
The way Ray saw things last February he had a legitimate chance to compete with Brooks Bollinger for the No. 2 job with the Jets. He exercised the escape clause in his CFL contract with the Eskimos to sign in New York. During training camp, the Jets decided they needed more depth at quarterback in case starter Chad Pennington got hurt, so they signed Quincy Carter.
Pennington eventually did get hurt and in his absence, Carter has been the starter, Bollinger was No. 2 and Ray the clipboard holder at No. 3. But now his playing status is even more precarious.
With Pennington's return to action Sunday, Ray could be demoted back to the practice roster as early as today but he must clear waivers first.
If he finishes the season on the practice roster he'll be a free agent on both sides of the border. If he finishes the year on active roster, the Jets will retain his rights for another year.
"He's got a lot of talent." says Jets assistant coach Jim Hostler, who works primarily with the receivers but also with the quarterbacks. "He's a fearless player. He showed that in Canada. It's just a matter of opportunity now."
But will that opportunity come in New York or elsewhere?
"If he doesn't make it with us, we'll see in the the long run if he's got what it takes," Hostler says.
Every morning, Ray watches game film with Pennington, Carter and Bollinger at the Jets training facility. He throws the ball to Santana Moss and Justin McCareins. He listens to empassioned pep talks delivered by Edwards, considered one of the NFL's master motivators. But then Ray stands around on the sidelines during games, not knowing whether he'll ever take a regular-season snap in the NFL.
The culture shock he's fighting extends beyond the football field. Ray grew up in Redding, Calif. (pop. 130,000) so adjusting to the city that never sleeps has been a bit daunting. After nine months, Ray has learned to cope with the Manhattan traffic, although he still wonders aloud why someone decided to put so many people on "that dinky little island." He's already toured Times Square and seen many of the sights, and he's taken in two Broadway plays with his wife Alison.
"The city is amazing," Ray says. "Cars are honking, there's people all over the streets. It's crazy."
Of course, there's also the four-star treatment in the NFL to get used to. The Jets are accompanied by a police escort any time they travel to the airport. Upon arrival at the team hotel, hundreds of fans wait in the lobby for autographs.
"I tell them I'm not a player, I'm one of the coaches," Ray says. "They don't want an autograph from the fourth-string quarterback."
Ray and his wife pay $1,900 US a month to rent a studio apartment in Glen Cove in northern Long Island. They paid $660 Cdn for a similar suite in downtown Edmonton. Not that Ray is hard up for money. The former potato chip delivery man received a $162,000 US signing bonus with the Jets, over and above his regular annual salary of $230,000.
"Financially, it was good this year to get my feet on the ground and not worry about whether I had enough for the off-season," says Ray, who earned $40,000 Cdn plus bonuses his last season with the Eskimos.
If the Jets make him a decent offer and want him back, he'll likely return for one more shot at his ultimate goal. If they don't -- and if he can't find another serious offer in the NFL -- Ray will return to the CFL where Edmonton remains his first choice.
"It's a definite possibility," he says. "I enjoyed playing up there. I loved my time there. Being an American, I grew up dreaming of playing in the NFL. So if the opportunity is here, I've got to give it a shot. But if I end up in Canada, I'll be happy with that too."
Vicki Hall
The Edmonton Journal
Ricky Ray is not a Canadian. He's a California boy. But ask any of his fellow New York Jets, and they'll tell you this quarterback is as Canadian as Wayne Gretzky.
Ray's teammates congratulated him whenever Canada won a medal during the Summer Olympics. He was razzed when Perdita Felicien crashed into the hurdle. The guys consoled him about the NHL lockout even though Ray is not a hockey fan.
Heck, even head coach Herm Edwards calls him "that guy from Canada."
Citizenship issues aside, the former Edmonton Eskimo quarterback sure sounds homesick for the land of the chill these days. At least he did during a recent chat over hot chocolate at a Long Island Starbucks.
"I'm still the guy who doesn't run like Michael Vick," says Ray, 25. "I'm still the guy who doesn't have an arm like Brett Favre. I'm still that guy whether I won a championship up in Canada or not. I still have to prove I can play down here.
"And that's the toughest thing for a guy like me. I can't do that in practice. I can't just go out there and throw an 80-yard pass or scramble around in drills to impress them. I've got to go out and do it on the field."
Over his two years with the Eskimos, nothing seemed to rattle Ray through his fairy-tale climb from third-string nobody to all-star quarterback. Completion or interception, sack or touchdown, win or lose, Ray was calm and even-keeled. But spend a little time with him today and it quickly becomes clear a season of standing around in the NFL -- and the decisions he's facing in the coming months -- have Ray unnerved.
As the fourth-string quarterback with the Jets, he's on the edge of a dream that may never be realized.
"I've got my foot in the door, a little bit," he says. "I need to find, whether here or somewhere else, the chance to make it or not. And then I'll know. Maybe there is no opportunity for me down here.
"I don't know if I can play in this league. I don't know. This is a tough league. Not everybody makes it."
Ray arrives at the coffee shop wearing a Billabong T-Shirt, a blue baseball hat and blue jeans. He has bulked up since he left Edmonton, thanks to a rigorous off-season weight-training program. (The Jets strength coach is the only one on the team who calls him by his CFL nickname, Frito Ray.) Otherwise, he looks like the same quarterback who stole the hearts of Eskimo fans -- same braces, same sideburns, same gentle laugh.
As soon as he takes his seat, Ray is full of questions for his Edmonton visitor: How was the Grey Cup? Why weren't the Eskimos there? What prompted Tom Higgins to resign as head coach? Which players are eligible for free agency?
"Last year, with winning the Grey Cup, it finally felt like I was settling down and feeling comfortable where I was at," he says. "It was tough to leave that to come down and start all over again, to earn your stripes and prove yourself."
Ray takes a swig of hot chocolate and looks out the window. "I could have probably stayed back in Edmonton and built on the career that I started up there."
Still, he says he has no regrets about trying his luck with the NFL. "I didn't want to be sitting around when I was 40 years old wishing that I had given it a shot while I had the chance."
The way Ray saw things last February he had a legitimate chance to compete with Brooks Bollinger for the No. 2 job with the Jets. He exercised the escape clause in his CFL contract with the Eskimos to sign in New York. During training camp, the Jets decided they needed more depth at quarterback in case starter Chad Pennington got hurt, so they signed Quincy Carter.
Pennington eventually did get hurt and in his absence, Carter has been the starter, Bollinger was No. 2 and Ray the clipboard holder at No. 3. But now his playing status is even more precarious.
With Pennington's return to action Sunday, Ray could be demoted back to the practice roster as early as today but he must clear waivers first.
If he finishes the season on the practice roster he'll be a free agent on both sides of the border. If he finishes the year on active roster, the Jets will retain his rights for another year.
"He's got a lot of talent." says Jets assistant coach Jim Hostler, who works primarily with the receivers but also with the quarterbacks. "He's a fearless player. He showed that in Canada. It's just a matter of opportunity now."
But will that opportunity come in New York or elsewhere?
"If he doesn't make it with us, we'll see in the the long run if he's got what it takes," Hostler says.
Every morning, Ray watches game film with Pennington, Carter and Bollinger at the Jets training facility. He throws the ball to Santana Moss and Justin McCareins. He listens to empassioned pep talks delivered by Edwards, considered one of the NFL's master motivators. But then Ray stands around on the sidelines during games, not knowing whether he'll ever take a regular-season snap in the NFL.
The culture shock he's fighting extends beyond the football field. Ray grew up in Redding, Calif. (pop. 130,000) so adjusting to the city that never sleeps has been a bit daunting. After nine months, Ray has learned to cope with the Manhattan traffic, although he still wonders aloud why someone decided to put so many people on "that dinky little island." He's already toured Times Square and seen many of the sights, and he's taken in two Broadway plays with his wife Alison.
"The city is amazing," Ray says. "Cars are honking, there's people all over the streets. It's crazy."
Of course, there's also the four-star treatment in the NFL to get used to. The Jets are accompanied by a police escort any time they travel to the airport. Upon arrival at the team hotel, hundreds of fans wait in the lobby for autographs.
"I tell them I'm not a player, I'm one of the coaches," Ray says. "They don't want an autograph from the fourth-string quarterback."
Ray and his wife pay $1,900 US a month to rent a studio apartment in Glen Cove in northern Long Island. They paid $660 Cdn for a similar suite in downtown Edmonton. Not that Ray is hard up for money. The former potato chip delivery man received a $162,000 US signing bonus with the Jets, over and above his regular annual salary of $230,000.
"Financially, it was good this year to get my feet on the ground and not worry about whether I had enough for the off-season," says Ray, who earned $40,000 Cdn plus bonuses his last season with the Eskimos.
If the Jets make him a decent offer and want him back, he'll likely return for one more shot at his ultimate goal. If they don't -- and if he can't find another serious offer in the NFL -- Ray will return to the CFL where Edmonton remains his first choice.
"It's a definite possibility," he says. "I enjoyed playing up there. I loved my time there. Being an American, I grew up dreaming of playing in the NFL. So if the opportunity is here, I've got to give it a shot. But if I end up in Canada, I'll be happy with that too."
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