Orange et Bleu an Rouge, Blanc et Bleu

Chris Leak has only been with the Montreal Alouettes for a few days, but Number 12 seems much more comfortable with the Als than the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. On Monday, he was still explaining why a college player of his caliber has become a nomad on the football landscape.

"We all have different stories," said Leak, who was quickly signed by Montreal after his Hamilton sojourn ended, and received clearance to start practising this weekend, after recovering from a shoulder injury.

"It's just the game of life and ball. That's how the game is," he continued. "There's always high expectations coming out of college, especially when you play at Florida and win a national title. But that's how the NFL draft goes. Teams have different needs.

"I'm excited to be in Montreal."

As was the case with Hamilton, Montreal has a crowded backfield too, with Leak making it six “pivots” on the roster, including veteran starter Anthony Calvillo and the one, the only Adrian McPherson. Just like a typical NFL rookie, it will be a struggle for Leak to get some snaps and make the team. But the kid hasn’t given up.

Leak’s mistake was not waiting to get in the CFL. It was being conned into believing the AAFL was a legitimate enterprise. You could make the case that the time Leak spent hoping that league would get off the ground actually hurt him.

By the way, the title of this post is “Orange and Blue to Red, White, and Blue” in French. Even I’m trying to be optimistic about Leak in the CFL now.