The positives in having the QB: Call his own plays. (Football).

I TRULY BELIEVE THAT A quarterback who is allowed to call his own plays can become as good, if not better, at it than a coach. I know because:

1. I've been there.

2. Coaches coach and players play.

3. You learn more when you become accountable.

4. The man behind the center is in ideal position to analyze the defense.

5. I feel very strongly about this, though I know that most coaches feel otherwise.

I was very fortunate to have had several outstanding coaches throughout my career, plus a genuine (CFL) legend in Jackie Parker. He coached me at Edmonton from 1984 to 1987. Jackie had been there himself as a QB and I always knew, without even asking, how he felt about play-calling -- "Let the QB call the game!"

Jackie gave me the ball. He let me run with it, pass it, fumble it, and throw it away. He gave me the opportunity to learn the game by playing the game.

He had a slow, easy way about him, a never-get-frazzled approach that carried over to his players and, more importantly, his QB. (God knew how much I needed someone to have a calming effect on me.)

There were other factors that helped forge my beliefs on play-calling. You just don't go out there and start calling plays based on instinct or gut feeling. You also have to be prepared. That was the job of Jackie Parker's offensive coordinator, Steve Goldman, who taught me the game, how to prepare for it, and call plays.

That meant I had to know everything about defense, everything about each and every player's responsibility on any given front, stunt, or coverage.

Coach Goldman molded my thought process, gave me the tools to work with, the ability to pick up and go anywhere with them, and how to put a game plan together.

We would spend hours watching film, then come together (Steve, myself, and my QB colleagues, Damon Allen and Tracy Ham) and formulate a game plan based on defensive tendencies in every part of the field, on every down and distance, left, middle and right hash.

The most difficult exercise Steve made his QBs endure was having them explain why they liked a particular play in a specific situation. This was his sure-fire way of checking the QB's understanding of the game. It was always a special thing behind closed doors between the QBs and the offensive coordinator. The youngest of the group (usually a rookie) would grab the chalk and put everyone's thoughts up on the board.

You could really have fun with the young signal caller in all sorts of ways, usually pinpointing his lack of understanding and showing him how much there actually was to the construction of a game plan. All this was done in good spirit and brought all the quarterbacks closer together.

I incorporated this teaching method in my coaching habits and I believe it can teach anyone the game of football. How come? Because everything comes into play from both sides of the ball. All the defensive tendencies on each down and distance, front, stunt, blitz, coverage, personnel match-ups and, most certainly, every offensive responsibility must be understood and diagrammed.

Once the game plan was established, it was time to play. It was now up to the QB to go out and call the game according to the plan. ("Coaches coach, players play.")

Adam Rita, my coach with the Toronto Argonauts, was a pure genius when it came to offensive ingenuity. He was always one (make that two) steps ahead of the competition. He believed in getting the most out of his players by utilizing each one's unique abilities.

Adam's thought was this: Why have your QBs do things that are difficult for them? Why not put them into more comfortable situations? So, in any given game, we might have three special game plans based on each QB's comfort zone. All in keeping with Coach Goldman's philosophy

Mike Kelly was another CFL offensive coordinator who brought this approach to the play-calling task. Being an ex-QB, he was extremely helpful in understanding the dynamics involved with the position.

I'm not saying you have to be an ex-QB to call a game. But Kelly's experience gave him a critical edge.

Between Mike Kelly and another coach of mine, John Jenkins, no stone was left unturned in my QB education.

Jenkins was the most eccentric offensive coordinator I've ever seen. He was a 20-7 football addict - in bed at midnight, up at 4:00 a.m., and then 20 hours focused on scheming offenses. He had to be awesome to get me to operate the run-and-shoot offense in the 13th and 14th years of my career.

Two other coaches I might mention are Jack Clark, my high school offensive coordinator in Dallas, Texas, and Larry Dauterive, my offensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech.

Coach Clark introduced me to the importance of film study. He gave me my first look at offensive game planning, play-calling, and dissecting defenses.

Coach Dauterive was the most dynamic coach I ever played for. He taught me how to pull the trigger and to trust my eyes and instincts. Larry is currently coaching his Cajun butt off at a private Catholic school in southern Louisiana. I smile thinking of him making such a difference in the lives of so many young QBs.

All these coaches had their own particular styles, but they all had one common conviction: They believed that the QB should be accountable for his actions, both on and off the field.

Accountability is the ultimate motivator. When a QB is saddled with the responsibility to call the plays, rest assured that he will do the little things to prepare him for the task. He will watch extra film. He will communicate more with his receivers, running backs, and offensive linemen. He will make sure he times up routes with his receivers during practice.

When you are a leader or in a position to lead as a QB, you can motivate others and try to make them as accountable as you are.

In the CFL game, you have only 20 seconds to get off a play. Time becomes of the essence. When you have a QB calling his own plays, you will be giving him an opportunity to look over the defense longer -- enabling him to audible at the line.

As a QB, you must call what you see. You must trust your eyes. I tell my QBs to get their eyes into the game. That means looking at the defense and picking up your R's and I's. Reads and Indicators.

By calling your own plays, you can get in and out of the huddle much faster and establish a rhythm, which is essential to offensive success.

When plays are sent in from the sidelines, the QB tends to become too mechanical. He almost goes into a robotic state, just running plays. In this situation, he seems to lose his edge as a leader and the offense appears to lose its tempo.

More importantly, the interaction among players in the huddle, which is key for cohesiveness, is lost. When this happens, no one benefits.

When a QB can look his teammates eye-to-eye in the huddle, play after play, while calling his own plays, he will improve the entire offense. The players in the huddle will be able to detect the conviction and passion with which the plays are called and will interact with the QB.

The QB will have the chance to look into his teammates' eyes and study who's into the game and who needs a slap in the helmet to get locked back in.

It's all part of football and working together as a unit ... monitoring the offense's abilities based on who's hungry for the ball, who's hurting just a bit here and there, who wants the ball to run behind them, etc., etc., etc.

When a QB has the opportunity to call his own plays, he can utilize all his resources and is forced to be more cerebral.

While doing this, the QB will be growing and learning the game.

"Ready ... break!"

EDITOR'S NOTE: After a legendary career at Louisiana Tech, during which he passed for 7,010 yards, breaking the school record held by a fellow named Terry Bradshaw, Matt Dunigan moved up into the Canadian Football League and maintained his legendary status over the next 14 seasons with six different teams. He passed, he ran, and maybe most impressively, led his teams to two Gray Cups and one runner-up finish. His current job: Football Analyst for The Sports Network. His passion: Allowing every quarterback to call his own plays.