Saskatchewan Roughriders slotback Weston Dressler receives a hand off from quarterback Darian Durant and then laterals the ball back to Rob Bagg (unseen), who ran up the ball while playing against the Edmonton Eskimos during the second half of CFL football action in Regina, Saskatchewan July 17, 2010.DAVID STOBBE/Reuters
He just doesn't come off as your typical pro football player. At 5-foot-7, he hardly looks the part. He doesn't brag, doesn't talk back to his opponents. Even his name seems out of place, as if it should belong to a butler - "Weston Dressler, at your service, sir."
But put Dressler in a helmet and shoulder pads, tell him to run a pass pattern and he can take any CFL defensive back to the cleaners. To hear some tell it, the Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver may be the most underrated player in the Canadian Football League, an interesting opinion considering Dressler has already been the league's most outstanding rookie and a West Division all-star in his first two seasons in Canada.
What rivals believe is that as good as Dressler has been, he'll be even better in the seasons ahead. It's pretty heady stuff for a guy who showed up in Regina in 2008 and had other players joking, "Who brought their kid brother to training camp?"
Reporter: "How many times have you been told you don't look like a football player?"
Dressler: "Way too many times to count. It happens on a daily basis."
What the speedy Dressler does on a daily basis is the essence of his past and future success and why the Calgary Stampeders are bracing themselves for Saturday's showdown against the undefeated Riders. Every day of every week after every game, a most diligent Dressler takes to the practice field with a plan to work on one aspect of his game until it's as good as he can make it. Think of a bodybuilder concentrating on a different set of muscles every day until finally he's bigger than a dump truck.
For the Mini-sized Dressler, it's about conditioning himself to expect the best, then expecting even more 24 hours later.
"Maybe there were a few dropped passes from the previous game, so I'm making sure I'm catching the football," explained the 25-year-old import. "I take one thing and try to perfect it - my blocking, my mental approach. Then I throw all those things together and hope to show it in a game."
Dressler has had to push himself hard this season after breaking a bone in his right leg and spraining an ankle late last season. The injuries sidelined him for the Riders' final four regular-season games, the Western final and the 2009 Grey Cup, which Saskatchewan lost to the Montreal Alouettes on the final play.
At one point during rehabilitation, it didn't appear as if Dressler would be ready for the start of training camp. And yet there he was in the season opener against the Alouettes, making 10 catches for 154 yards and a killer touchdown. Coming off last week's showing (two catches for 21 yards in a win over the Edmonton Eskimos), Dressler insisted there's still more recovery work to be done.
"I'm a little rusty in my route running. I want to sharpen up those skills," he said. "It's a process."
Dressler has made a habit of maximizing his skills. A high school running back in Bismarck, N.D., he switched to receiver to play at the University of North Dakota. Despite his impressive offensive numbers, he wasn't expecting to be taken in the 2008 NFL draft. He was, however, hoping for a few free-agent offers. He didn't get any.
Crushed, Dressler learned his CFL rights belonged to the Riders. He signed quickly and went about earning respect through his attention to detail and ability to play beyond his size.
"Every coach wants a six-foot, 200-pound guy who can run 4.4 [seconds over 40 yards]" said Saskatchewan general manager Brendan Taman. "You look at Weston and say, 'He can't play.' But he goes against the grain. He does so many things well. He's special. … Finding him is like finding gold under a stone in Regina Park."
True enough, but it hasn't saved Dressler from teammates taking shots at his size and sensibilities.
"The guys here call me Canadian all the time," he said with a laugh. "I remind them where I'm from."
They also like to remind him about the kid brother line. On a daily basis.