Matthew Cauz
CFL.ca
The great thing about watching football is that there is so much range in terms of how you choose to consume it.
You can immerse yourself eye brows deep in analysis; breaking down the minutia of offensive line play to your heart’s content. Or, if you don’t have the time, you can just break it down to the simplest question … “Who has the best quarterback?”
Yes, yes I understand that every now and then the lesser signal called will win. However this is usually the result of elite defensive play and timely special teams plays.
But if you are tired of reading football jargon or listening to talking heads breaking down blitz packages, just take a look at who is under centre and you will have a good idea at who is going to win each playoff matchup.
Before Alouettes fans start ruining my thesis by looking at the merits of Anthony Calvillo vs. those of Kevin Glenn, can we all just agree that the 52-44 Hamilton win over Montreal was a gift from the Football Gods and that normal rules do not apply?
Now instead of deciding who the best quarterback is, let’s look at a more interesting question: Which quarterback has the most pressure on them going into this weekend? Which one needs to win the most?
Let’s rank them from least to most pressure and throw in some well-known expressions just for gimmicks sake, shall we?
Ricky Ray
The prime source of pressure comes from his age, 32, but if healthy, Ray still has three to four more good years in him.
In what has been a nice bounce-back season for Ray, let’s not forget that he already has a win in this year’s playoffs to his credit and was also named the 2005 Grey Cup MVP. Simply put, he has been here before.
Expression: The world is your oyster Ricky, just enjoy the weekend.
Pressure level: 2.4/10
—
Travis Lulay
I feel like Travis is playing with house money. His first year as a starter saw him grow as a quarterback and a leader right in front of our eyes. The pressure squarely comes from the fact that the Lions are the #1 seed and they have a shot of playing for the Grey Cup in their home town.
Expression: Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown.
Pressure level: 4.2/10
—
Kevin Glenn
Now we’re entering into a real stressful situation as Kevin is the owner of a rather dubious record.
Only twice since the CFL adopted the crossover playoff policy has the home team lost and Glenn was the starting quarterback for the losing team on both occasions.
It’s a good thing Hamilton won last week; the criticism that would have been thrown his way would have been loud and would have come from multiple directions. Not that it would be fair.
Glenn has posted good numbers in the postseason and has won in the playoffs before. But his recent run has not been kind dating back to missing the 2007 Grey Cup and losing at home to the Lions and the Argonauts the past two seasons.
Before going into the Alouettes game, there was speculation it could have been his last appearance as a Tiger-Cat. With speculation running rampant whether Henry Burris would be suiting up for Hamilton in 2012, Glenn silenced his critics and the rumours with a solid performance.
So you can argue that there was more pressure on Kevin last week as opposed to this Sunday. The only counter-argument is Glenn is facing the team that released him at the end of the 2008 season.
He has publically stated he is not a “vengeful kind of person” but since he freely admits that he is indeed “a person” I cannot be swayed into thinking this game doesn’t mean at least a little bit more.
Imagine your girlfriend breaks up with you because you aren’t attractive enough. So you hit the gym, lose 30 pounds and stop tucking your jersey into your jeans for formal occasions. Sure, you still feel better about yourself whenever you see her, but you love when you look good in front of her.
The Bombers are that ex-girlfriend.
Expression: Revenge is a dish best served cold. (Coincidentally, the game is in Winnipeg. Everything is cold there.)
Pressure rating: 6.7/10
—
Buck Pierce
And now we come to the main course. In a lot of ways these playoffs is a moratorium on Buck Pierce the quarterback. For years, all we have ever gotten was a taste of what Buck could do. In 2008 he had a great season with the Lions, leading them to a playoff win over Saskatchewan.
But more often than not we saw Buck on the bench, Buck in street clothes and were left wondering just how good can he be?
Before this season the man had just one season where he hit the double-digit mark for starts. The funny thing is that all his injuries have actually kind of have helped the way we perceived his actual value.
It sort of created a mystique about him being this elite quarterback. Think about it, every season would start with the storyline: “Winnipeg could be a force IF Buck can stay healthy.” That line of thinking has inflated the way fans look at him as a quarterback.
Suddenly he seems better than he truly is because we get caught up in just how good the Blue Bombers could be if their mighty hero, Buck Pierce, could just stay healthy.
In the process, we gloss over what he actually brings to the table as a passer. Well after watching him start a career high 16 games I’m left wondering what all the fuss was about.
Yes, he has played well for bits and pieces in 2011 but frankly I have been left kind of underwhelmed by him and the entire passing attack. You see I expected more and I believe my expectations were raised because I also got roped into the whole Buck/health angle.
We finally got our answer to the question of just how good Winnipeg can be with Pierce remaining erect for the majority of the season.
That answer was a winning season that was more about a lethal defence, than Buck’s ability to throw. Yes, his leadership, courage and decision making has helped turn so many close games that were losses in 2010 into wins this year, but his actual passing numbers rank at the bottom among starting quarterbacks
This Sunday will be a career defining game. Pierce finally has a team and a season he can call his own. Now he has the weight of the team, a fan base and an entire city on his shoulders.
It’s time for Buck to prove he can be an elite quarterback, it’s to time for him to honour the ancient and proud tradition of Swaggerville.
Expression: To quote great poet, Spider-Man – “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Pressure rating: 9.6/10
