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This article was published 27/2/2017 (1299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

They are one of the most accurate and accessible tools in the workshop of free agency that are wielded by general managers — yet, rarely are they cited as a reference when a deal is done.

Every team in the CFL has its own scouting department, and different divisions of this department specialize in identifying Canadian and American prospects that could potentially benefit their team. Yet when it comes to selecting active players in the CFL through free agency, there is often no better source of information than a team's own athletes.

There is more to sizing up a prospective free agent than simply counting the number of awards or accolades they’ve won, seeing how they would fit under the salary cap, and whether they've received or rushed for a century mark against your own team.

You may be surprised to learn that a number of GMs have extended, in-depth conversations with their own players about potential free-agency prospects and, in fact, sometimes consult with them before they even fine-tune their off-season wish lists.

Over my 11 years with the local football club, not all of the four GMs who were employed with the team solicited my opinion on which offensive linemen were worth taking a look at, but interestingly enough, the ones that were the most accomplished in the league and had the longest running tenures, had zero qualms about putting aside their own egos and both asking for and listening to the opinion of their own players.

It’s an interesting approach, and an interesting reveal about one of the top positions in professional football — for to solicit the opinion of some of your own employees about a prospective recruit is to acknowledge that your own information and evaluation is not absolute or infallible; a task more difficult to accept for some than others.

In fact, I'd suggest that the best analysis on any player, and what they bring to the table, would be a compilation of as many sources as possible. Varied opinions from various perspectives can only help provide a fuller picture and more complete understanding of the talents and attitude you may be bidding on.

For instance, when it comes to making a buy or sell call on a single offensive lineman whose contract is expiring, a GM may first want to speak with a player either on his existing team, or that used to play with him to figure out why he is getting to free agency in the first place.

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No player is indispensable or irreplaceable in pro football, but for the most part, teams do everything in their power to prevent critical pieces from walking out the door, so there is usually a back story. Talking to a former position coach, or co-ordinator, as well as a former teammate, will definitely reveal bias, but most likely also some repeatable — and therefore likely accurate — characteristics.

While watching game film can unearth much about a player, you will never find out more about a prospective employee than actually sitting down with someone who competed against them, and especially if it happened on multiple occasions throughout the year. At the field level, you quickly learn about the will, strength, skill and competitiveness of your opponent. You also quickly pick up on their effort levels, temperament, conditioning and attitude — things that don't always jump out at you in the film room.

Using film alone as an evaluation can also be limiting because it is the job of a co-ordinator to put all of his players in the best position to succeed. This means limiting their exposure and covering up their shortcomings in game plans. So what you may see on film, and on the stat sheet, is not always the best true representation of a player, because someone behind the scenes is actively trying to accentuate their strengths and hide their weaknesses.

Some GMs do indeed think that their own eyes and ears will tell them everything they need to know about a prospective recruit, and how they will mesh and perform on their own team. The eventual long-term winners of free agency in any year, though, will most likely be those teams that have front offices that augment their own talent estimating abilities, with the resources that already play for them.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears weekly in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97