With one pre-season week of football in the books, at least we can all breathe a sigh of relief that our summer tradition is finally back. From the four games we saw to kick off the exhibition schedule, we’ve started to see a few things take shape, but we’ve also seen the door open for more answers to be provided in the second week of pre-season football coming up.
| Harris impresses |
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The Toronto Argonauts have a really good problem on their hands. In between two pre-season games and the club is seemingly no clearer on their backup quarterback position….Read More. |
Backup plans?
Wednesday’s meeting between Toronto and Winnipeg gave us the perfect backdrop for two of the more intriguing quarterback battles of the early summer.
Barring injury, we’ve got a pretty good idea that Ricky Ray and Buck Pierce will be the opening day starters for the Argos and Bombers, respectively.
Who sits right behind them on the depth chart is anybody’s guess, and the picture didn’t get a whole lot clearer from their mid-week matchup.
On the Toronto side, a crowded picture wasn’t really whittled down much when all four pivots vying for the backup slot produced at a decent clip.
Second year quarterbacks Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros saw the bulk of the action, but rookies Mitchell Gale and Josh Portis had their moments as well. Collaros and Gale threw touchdowns, while Harris and Portis made the most out of their passing attempts, both clicking at impressive rates.
So who impressed the most?
For me, in a race to back up a durable, dependable Ray, it’s less about impressing and more about cementing. If you’re going to back up one of the league’s elite guys, you’re going to have to show how calm and collected you are running an offence as opposed to pure ability.
That’s where I thought Harris shone more than the other three.
He did a good job stepping up into the pocket with confidence and getting the ball away quickly. Harris seems like the type of guy who is going to be tough to rattle, and that certainly looked like the case against the Bombers. Toronto is his seventh professional organization since leaving college, so I think Harris is pretty versed on challenges.
On the other side, it was tough to get a good read on Winnipeg’s backup situation. Pierce left after 20 minutes or so, which set up Max Hall’s 15 passes over a quarter-and-a-half. The former BYU standout didn’t look horrible, but I think it was clear that a speedier game played by professionals in a new league is going to take some getting used to. Justin Goltz didn’t throw an incomplete pass, but didn’t see a ton of passing opportunities.
| Nichols Exits Early |
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Just under seven months removed from a serious ankle injury, Matt Nichols was helped off the field in the first quarter. He finished 5 of 7 for 88 yards and 2 interceptions…Read More. |
Goltz seemed to be the frontrunner for the backup job heading into camp, but it was Hall getting more time and more looks against tougher competition against the Argos, while Chase Clement saw his time in the fourth quarter. It looks like there is much to be decided come Thursday night’s game against the Tiger-Cats.
Fingers crossed
Just another quick quarterbacking note, and it relates to Edmonton’s Matt Nichols. After suffering that gruesome injury that ended his season in the Easter Semi-Final against Toronto, Nichols was hurt blocking on an interception against the Riders on Friday night.
He’ll have his knee looked at this week, but it’s not a stretch to think Mike Reilly will be getting the ball come opening night at the end of the month.
I feel bad for Nichols, because this truly was his chance. It was an opportunity not only for him to come back after a bad injury, but it was also his first chance to fight for a starters job in professional football.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying Reilly doesn’t deserve the job. In fact, I would have given him the edge in this competition had it gotten to play out the entire way.
The fact that it wont, however, is a little unfortunate for us fans, but it’s far more disheartening for the Eskimos who could really have gained from these two pushing one another all the way to the regular season opener and beyond. Let’s hope Nichols isn’t out for too long.
This and that
Is anyone else getting the feeling that Saskatchewan runningback Kory Sheets could be in for an even better 2013 than what we saw in 2012? Maybe it’s just me, but watching Sheets against the Eskimos just got the gears in my head turning.
I know the guy put up almost 1800 yards of total offence last year, but the way he was moving made me shake my head a couple of times.
Sheets certainly got a lot of love from Saskatchewan to be the West Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player last year, and I think there’s a pretty darn good chance he’ll be the Riders team nominee once again in 2013.
He looks motivated and scary dialed in, and it’s just one pre-season game!
A report from the Calgary Sun had the Stampeders interested in Jonathan Hefney after his release from the Bombers over the weekend. I’m curious to see what the overall reaction is among fans in Winnipeg to the decision, as the team insists the move is performance based despite the recent legal issue that has popped up south of the border.
It was two seasons ago where Hefney was at the very top of his game. Just like the Bombers, he had a down year in comparison in 2012, but he’d make a nice piece elsewhere. Whether it’s the Stamps or another team, I think you’ll see Hefney on a CFL roster at some point in the near future.
Finally, it was kind of sad to see linebacker Rod Davis’s name among the Calgary cuts this weekend. It was just a couple years ago when Davis was the star for Edmonton at McMahon Stadium in the Labour Day Classic, but injuries slowed him down last year in his only season with Montreal.
Being an import in this league can be a thankless job, but for a guy who isn’t that far removed from being a force in this league, I hope he catches on somewhere.
