Bob Irving
CFL.ca
It would be a overstatement to say Steven Jyles has “arrived.” One strong performance doesn’t constitute an arrival.
But, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that Steven Jyles proved he is capable of being a productive, winning CFL quarterback based on his performance during Friday’s 47-21 Winnipeg Blue Bomber victory over the Edmonton Eskimos.
Filling in for an injured Buck Pierce, Jyles not only served notice that he can manage a game efficiently in Pierce’s abscence, he also demonstrated the ability to deliver a winning effort.
The Bomber defence did the heavy lifting early in the game, harassing Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray into throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by rookie defensive tackle Moton Hopkins before the game was 5 minutes old. Winnipeg’s defensive until also forced a fumble by Kelly Campbell when the Eskimos were threatening to score deep in Bomber territory in the second quarter.
And the games pivotal play was an interception by Lavar Glover late in the third quarter when the Eskimos were on the verge of trimming Winnipeg’s lead to 5 points. On a second and three at the Bomber 23 yard line, Glover stepped in front of a sideline pass by Ray and returned it to the Edmonton 50. Jyles subsequently led the Bombers on an 8-play, 50 yard touchdown drive that put the game out of reach.
Jyles was everything the Bombers and their fans hoped he would be. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 267 yards including a 46-yard touchdown strike to Terrence Jeffers Harris who continues to make a case for rookie of the year honors. Jyles also carried the ball eight times for 63 yards and scored two touchdowns.
On the negative side of the ledger, he did throw 2 interceptions, but the good far outweighed the bad. Nobody was quite sure what to expect from Jyles, who had started only one previous game in his CFL career. That first start came in 2008 when Jyles was with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and he was pulled after throwing two interceptions in the first half.
Jyles had dressed for 76 games during his two years with Edmonton, 2 years with the Riders and his short stint in Winnipeg, but he had only appeared in 20 of those. And he played very little in most of them, throwing more than 10 passes in a game only 6 times.
He was still largely an unknown quantity when he lined up behind center Obby Khan to start Friday night’s contest against the Eskimos. But we know a lot more today about the 27 year old product of Independence, Louisiana, who shattered virtually every passing record during his time at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. And for the Bombers, it’s all good news.
Blue Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice has already stated that if Pierce is recovered from a sprained knee, he will start for the 2-2 Bombers in their next game in Calgary against the 3-1 Stampeders on Saturday night. But Jyles has let the Bombers know they have another quarterback they can depend on, which is exactly what LaPolice was counting on when he brought Jyles over from Saskatchewan with him as a free agent this year.
