Justin Dunk
Ticats.ca
After a slow start to the season, Kevin Glenn has calmed the harsh and quick-to-judge pundits and fans who thought the pivot should of been relegated to clipboard duty by leading the Ticats to four wins in five games before the bye week.
Glenn was the driving force behind the Tiger-Cats four wins, which has the team sitting above .500 on the season with a big inter-divisional contest on deck with Winnipeg this Friday.
Glenn’s stat line, one could argue, coincides with the final result on the scoreboard this season. When he throws one interception or more the Ticats are 0-3. When he doesn’t the Ticats are 4-0 — if only football was so simple.
Obviously there are many factors that decide each and every Canadian Football League match-up, but Glenn’s play, in Hamilton’s four victories, has been stellar. In all four wins Glenn has led the offence to 30 points or more and he has thrown for 1142 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 64 per cent of his passes, quieting the early-season doubters.
“I think he’s just relaxed and feels comfortable with what we’re doing,” offensive coordinator Khari Jones said after Monday’s practice.
Glenn, who is crafty when he decides to pull the ball down and run, seems more comfortable in games where he takes off and poses another threat to the opposing defence. Glenn has rushed for 58 yards on nine carries during the Tiger-Cats four wins in 2011, compare that with just four yards rushing on three attempts in the three losses.
“He’s in tune with the game plan and he knows where to throw the ball and how to get it out quickly, and he’s giving the receivers a chance to make plays by using his legs,” Jones said. “Put all those three factors together and I think he is going to continue to play great football.”
Rhythm, especially early in games has been a focus for Jones as he tries to get Glenn some early completions to get him into the flow of the game right from the opening possession.
“You always like to get your quarterback into a rhythm and get him going. Once a guy is playing well, then it opens a lot of things up,” Jones said.
Defences have had trouble with Glenn of late because he has done well attacking all areas of the football field.
“We’re able to throw the ball downfield, throw intermediate, throw short, we’re able to do all those things. He’s making all the throws,” Jones said.
With Jones being a former quarterback and a former teammate of Glenn’s, plus spending time as his quarterback coach for the two previous seasons, the relationship between quarterback and play-caller is very strong.
“He and I have always been solid, we speak the same language, we think about the game in similar ways,” Jones said. “I work as an advisor to help him see different things out there and ways to make plays and use his talents most effectively.”
“Much of playing quarterback is about feeling comfortable and feeling confident in the people making the calls and what we’re doing.”
If being comfortable is the key, Glenn has performed as if he is lounging in a nice leather lazy boy.
The back and forth between Jones and Glenn is what makes the relationship so special. If Glenn doesn’t feel comfortable with a play call he lets Jones know, and the two constantly work to find the comfort zone.
“People think that just because there is a 4.5 hour rule for football players — that’s the mandate with our CBA — that we only spend 4.5 hours here, but we don’t. I’m at the office at 6 or 6:30 in the morning watching film,” Glenn said. “We spend a lot of time together.”
“He lets me know, and I want him to, I think we have that kind of relationship where if he doesn’t like something then he needs to come to me and tell me,” Jones added. “That’s something that comes with being comfortable with somebody.”
The pair of like-thinking minds will look to continue solving opposing defences, with a test against the league’s best unit coming on Friday, as their relationship continues blossom.
