Courtesy Calgary Herald:

Any quarterback’s most immediate, most basic, objective is making positive yardage; moving his team downfield.

From all those years hunkering down behind centre, John Hufnagel understands this better than anyone.

And that’s what he offers this franchise right now. Another fresh set of downs.

But Hufnagel is not here merely to move sticks. He’s here to move mountains. Here to deliver on the vast potential this team has advertised over the past three seasons. Here to turn the Calgary Stampeders from coquettish flirts into clinical, cynical finishers. Here to be the final, pivotal advocate in the erect-a-statue-to-Henry Burris movement.

Here to put the Big White Horse in the Grey Cup game on its home turf in 2009, if not sooner.

On the first of the Canadian Football League’s state of the union teleconference calls — designed to cleanse brainwashed Canadian media of their insidious 24/7 hockey conditioning — the Stamps’ first-year coach and general manager talked about the newcomers, about defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones, about JoJuan Armour and Saleem Rasheed and the three-down Clark Kent, Dave Dickenson, and those two massive O-linemen hijacked in the college draft, Dimitri Tsoumpas and Jesse Newman.

About the difference fresh blood can make.

But of all the newcomers he has already locked down or intends to bring in before camp opens, one above all towers in significance.

“I’m only one of the additions,” protested Hufnagel.

Mathematically, yes. Tactically and spiritually, no. He’s far more than that.

With Charlton Heston having recently departed this mortal coil, the role of Moses is open for auditions. And in this production, John Hufnagel gets the beard, the robe, staff and sandals, whether he’s campaigned for it or not.

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