We swear that we’re not taking the easy way out by only talking about quarterbacks in this column. In fact, if you were to go back and look at the last two seasons of this CFL.ca contribution, you will see plenty of talk about every position on the field. It just so happens that the 2013 season has given us nonstop stories at quarterback, and here at the Monday Morning Quarterback just don’t have a choice. We’re also well aware that it’s Wednesday.
Musical chairs
Is John Hufnagel really lucky? Or is he really unlucky? It depends on how you look at it. The Head Coach of the Calgary Stampeders has seen his starting quarterback go down with injury this season, and has also seen his pretty darn good backup sidelined as well. That would be the unlucky side of the coin. Having three guys that can step in and win football games would be how to flip that very same coin.
With number one pivot Drew Tate on the shelf for a third straight week and backup Kevin Glenn sidelined for the first time, the Stamps had no choice but to turn to 23 year old Bo-Levi Mitchell Friday night in Winnipeg. Being situated here in Calgary, I’ve gotten a pretty good look at Mitchell the last couple years and have believed for some time there is something there. A lot of Stamps fans have held that same opinion. But I don’t think any observer of the red and white expected a starting debut quite like the one we saw at Investor’s Group Field.
| Related: Week 5 Action |
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Edmonton vs. Montreal Saskatchewan vs. Hamilton BC vs. Toronto |
Mitchell was out of his mind against the Bombers, spreading the ball around to 10 different receivers, racking up 376 yards through the air along the way. The Katy, Texas product also threw three touchdowns while having just four (!) passes fall incomplete on 33 attempts. Uh…starting debuts don’t get much better than that.
So now what? That’s the million-dollar question in Calgary as they enter their bye week. The 4-1 Stamps aren’t back in action until August 9th when they return to McMahon Stadium for what should be a circus showdown with the 5-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders. The “what now?” question has two prongs to it: what do the Stamps do for next Friday night? And what do the Stamps do down the road in December?
Let’s start with the immediate question. With two weeks between games, it’s not an entirely unsafe assumption to think both Tate and Glenn will be ready to return to action. So, knowing there’s a decent chance that the Stamps will have a full complement behind centre, there’s also a decent chance Hufnagel will be faced with a decision. Or will he?
Huff has already said that Tate is still the starting quarterback of this team, so it’s pretty much a lock that if he’s healthy come August 9th, he’ll get the start. I personally agree with this line of thinking…at least for now. When healthy, Tate is still the best bet for Calgary right now, for reasons we’ve stated on here before. He’s more seasoned than Mitchell and has played in big time games against the Riders before. He’s also younger and more explosive than Glenn and brings an extra element that his tenured counterpart doesn’t bring. It’s important to point out, however, that we agree with this line of thinking for right now and not indefinitely. There’s a time where this may have to change.
If Tate continues to struggle with durability, the team is going to be forced to make a decision. Much like the Buck Pierce situation in Winnipeg, it becomes counterproductive to not know who your starting quarterback is on any given night. Continuity still goes a long, long way in this league and constantly changing things, even in the subtlest of ways, for a different guy each week makes no sense.
If Tate can’t stay healthy, there will come a time in 2013 to make the call to either go to Glenn or Mitchell. In that scenario, I’d lean towards the former, as the Stamps remain in a right now state of mind; they truly do have a shot at the Grey Cup once again. If, however, Tate comes back next Friday and plays the rest of the season, then it becomes a non-issue.
But what about the long term?
The bigger picture reveals a looming expansion draft for a new Ottawa organization (covered later) where the eight current teams can only protect one quarterback each. This is where things really get interesting. Who do the Stamps protect?
It won’t be Glenn, because the guy isn’t even under contract for 2014. It’ll be between Tate and Mitchell, and it won’t be an easy decision for the team. If Tate can’t stay healthy consistently as this year plays out, then the choice to protect Mitchell becomes more clear. However, even if there is some durability shown, I still lean towards using your protected quarterback slot on Mitchell. He’s young, he’s confident, he’s athletic, and I truly believe the sky is the limit. On top of that, Tate does have an injury past, regardless of how the rest of 2013 goes.
More than anything, I’m just glad I’m not John Hufnagel, because that is not going to be a fun decision to make.
Not to be outdone
The performance of Mitchell against Winnipeg was outstanding and worthy of all the accolades it’s getting. But let’s not forget about the other backups who looked anything but in week five. The Roughriders are 5-0 and show no signs of slowing down, even without their deadly efficient starting quarterback on the sidelines with an injury.
With Darian Durant sitting out, Drew Willy made just his third career CFL start Saturday night and came up huge as the Riders took a 32-20 win over the Tiger-Cats in Guelph. Willy threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers and helped give fans in Regina their first resounding Geroy Simon moment in green. Simon lead the way at receiver with one of Saskatchewan’s passing majors and finished the night with 125 yards.
It was interesting to watch Willy against Hamilton, as a defensive group that is still finding their way didn’t overly challenge him. That said, when he did get into trouble, I liked his decision-making. In just your third pro start, a 26-year-old quarterback can be excused for trying to force the ball into coverage. Willy didn’t do that, and instead elected to throw the ball away or make it uncatchable on a few occasions that showed poise and maturity.
The thing is, at the age of 30, Durant looks better than he’s ever looked. With two weeks to rest and recover, it’s expected he’ll be good to go against the Stamps on August 9th, and for a guy who has started at least 15 games in every full season he’s been with the Riders, you can’t expect him to miss much more time this year. Willy might get one or two more shots this season, but from what we saw against Hamilton, he’s shown a lot of growth.
In a similar situation is Zach Collaros in Toronto. With a durable veteran watching, the 24-year-old former Cincinnati Bearcat took Ricky Ray’s place for one night and shot the lights out. The Argos defence came up huge, but so did their young quarterback in a 38-12 win over the BC Lions on Tuesday night to finish off week five in style.
Collaros was equally as impressive as Mitchell in Calgary, throwing just four incomplete passes and three touchdowns in his first pro start. What I liked more than anything was his ability to recognize coverage breakdowns, and then to have the stones to step up and do something about it. Most times, the message to a young, inexperienced quarterback is “manage the game and don’t do anything stupid”. Collaros managed to check off the latter part of that instruction, but decided to do a whole lot more than manage the football.
Numerous times Collaros instantly recognized a breakdown down field, and even though he often had a Lion or two in his face, he stepped up and delivered a solid long ball. His called back 68-yard hookup with Andre Durie in the second half was a good example of just that. Collaros has a little pressure in his face (which was aided by a hold), saw separation down field, and made the play knowing he might get hit.
There was one play that stood out above the rest, though, and it was one that showed some pretty incredible touch to go along with everything else. I couldn’t believe the pass Collaros made to John Chiles in the third quarter, threading the ball into double coverage and giving the receiver his first CFL touchdown. That was an example of when he could have just made a safe pass for short yardage, but with good protection he decided to take a shot. It was a perfect pass and was an exclamation mark on another stellar debut.
Again, just like Willy, there’s a good chance we won’t see much of Collaros the rest of 2013. Ricky Ray is one of the league’s elite and there’s no way you don’t start him as soon as he’s healthy. But the future certainly looks pretty decent in Toronto.
Licking their chops
Is there a happier guy than Marcel Desjardins right now? The GM of the new Ottawa franchise knows better than anyone else that only eight quarterbacks can be protected for the coming expansion draft. He now knows more than perhaps he thought he would about a few guys he might have a shot at come December.
This week alone, Desjardins has had the opportunity to see full outings from three backups, and three impressive outings at that. The options have become that much more tantalizing in our nation’s capitol, and at the very least, Desjardins should have the chance to start his organization with a really good pivot.
Typically it’s a depressing time once the Grey Cup is handed out, because we know it’s months and months away from the next season. With all the dynamics of an expansion draft this year, though, there will be plenty of reasons to stay tuned in over the winter.
Parting shots
I’m fully aware losing faculties over backup quarterbacks over one start can be foolish. I’m not trying to proclaim future Hall of Fame careers for the three guys we’ve talked about. I remember well Ryan Dinwiddie’s regular season debut in July of 2008 and how he torched the Stampeders for 450 yards. That said, all three of the guys have impressive raw tools and I do believe there is a lot of be cultivated.
Finally, Kory Sheets is not a human being and the rest of the league needs to start an investigation into what planet this guy is from.
