Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke seems to have a sense for the moment.
Following the B.C. Lions’ 20-11 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in his return to the CFL, the 26-year-old politely asked the media if he could begin his press conference with a personal message.
“I want to publicly apologize, that was not my best football. As a quarterback, it’s never a one-person job, but it is the position where you have the ball in your hands every single play and I didn’t make enough plays. I’m not going to sit here and make excuses in terms of it being a short week and getting into the offence again. It’s definitely a tough, tall task when you play a team like the Bombers, who have been so successful, but I’m not going to make those excuses — I know that I’m better than this,” he said.
“I’m sorry to the team who stuck their necks out for me, getting me here and allowing me to play. The rest of my teammates: effort is never going to be an issue with this locker room. They fought right until the end, battled and got into the end zone on that last possession. Teams that have less character, they’re not fighting at that time in the game — I’m really proud of them.”
“I’m sorry to the fans. I know there was a lot of excitement going into this game and I didn’t deliver. If this is the starting point, then we only got up to go from here. The good news is that we got a short week, quick turnaround. Good news is that we’re still early in the season and it’s anybody’s ball game in the West.”
Rourke completed 8-of-25 passes for 126 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions at BC Place Stadium. He admitted feeling frustrated during his first CFL start since Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, a span of 644 days between games in the three-down league for the Victoria, B.C. native.
“There were some things out there that I wish I had done differently. There were some throws that I missed. And hats off to Jordan Younger and the rest of his team for putting together a great game plan and giving us something to think about,” Rourke said.
“That’s why they’re the Winnipeg Blue Bombers: they make plays. We gotta be better. We still feel confident about the fact that if we play our game, no one can beat us and I don’t think tonight was an exception. But hats off to them, they did a great job.”
It was a fast turnaround for Rourke coming back north of the border. On Friday, Aug. 9, he played the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason game with the Atlanta Falcons. He was released on Sunday, cleared waivers on Monday, and signed with the Leos on Tuesday. Rourke had only three full practices with B.C. to prepare for his first start of 2024.
“I’m super impressed, I don’t know how he does it. I know he won’t ever say this — and I’m not making excuses for him — but the guy, I don’t know how he flew across the country and switched from four-down football to three-down football and a new playbook and all that. His work ethic and his intentions are through the roof, and he’ll just continue to get better and more comfortable as he gets back in the swing of the CFL game,” head coach Rick Campbell said.
“As painful as it is right now, I’m very thankful to the organization for giving me a chance to get my feet wet, make some mistakes, I think that’s amazing perspective from their group,” Rourke said. “Everyone’s expectations are high. We would love to be able to come back here and not skip a beat, but the reality of the situation is that, as an offence, we’re struggling. My expectations for myself are always highest, and I didn’t meet those.”
The six-foot-two, 209-pound passer wants to regroup, watch the film with a critical eye, and improve for the Lions’ Week 12 matchup with the Ottawa Redblacks (6-2-1) on Saturday, Aug. 24.
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