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In recent years, Canadians have starred at key positions on a regular basis. For instance, players like Jon Cornish, Andrew Harris, Brad Sinopoli, Brett Jones and Ricky Foley have all made big impacts.
Missing in that list, though, is a quarterback. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Canadian star at that position. There is hope in the near future, though, thanks to a pair of pivots in the West Division.
The Canadian question
Both Saskatchewan’s Brandon Bridge and Calgary’s Andrew Buckley would likely love to stop being asked about being the next “Canadian quarterback.” Furthermore, both would understandably like to be viewed as good players, regardless of their passport. Unfortunately, the decades-long drought without a star Canadian pivot makes the former proposition, specifically, difficult.
You have to go back to the late 1960’s when Russ Jackson was guiding the Ottawa Rough Riders to find the league’s last true star quarterback from this country. Heck, prior to Bridge’s start in Montreal’s 2015 season finale, it had been 20 years since a Canadian even started a game at the position (BC’s Giulio Caravatta in 1996).
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In 2015, Brandon Bridge was the first Canadian QB to start a game since Giulio Caravatta in 1996 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
The fact is, any quarterbacks holding a national designation are going to be watched more carefully by default. On the bright side, though, both Bridge and Buckley have the chance to be more than just spot starters and/or answers to trivia questions.
Let’s start with Bridge, who is currently embroiled in quite the camp battle with the Riders. Along with Kevin Glenn, Bryan Bennett, Vince Young and newcomer Marquise Williams, Bridge is battling for a spot on a quarterback depth chart totally up in the air.
I think it’s a good bet Glenn will be Saskatchewan’s No. 1 to start the season, but beyond that is anybody’s guess. Whether it’s due to injury, poor performance, or a shake-up, depth charts change on virtually every team, every season. The Riders, for instance, saw five quarterbacks take snaps in 2016. As such, it’s not out of the question one bit we could see Bridge make multiple starts this season.
What Bridge brings to the table, though, makes me hopeful he could be at the top of a CFL depth chart on merit in the near future. The guy is a beast with athletic qualities off the charts. Bridge stands 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, has impressive speed and a lightning release to go along with elite arm strength. Plain and simple, Bridge has all the physical tools to start in this league.
What has hampered him a little bit, though, is honing the finer points of the position. Bridge has struggled with accuracy and decision-making in his young professional career. Because he’s so gifted athletically, he’s tended to rely on those attributes too much and has forced balls into windows they shouldn’t be going as a result.
Fixing those things is not impossible, but it’s mandatory for Bridge to be a starter in this league. Working with a guy like Glenn through training camp and the coming season could be huge, though, especially if Bridge embraces the opportunity.
Then there’s Buckley, who enters 2017 in a slightly different situation than his Canadian counterpart. While Bridge has an outside chance of starting the season as Saskatchewan’s No. 1, there’s no chance Buckley will be in that same spot with the Stampeders. Some guy named Bo Levi Mitchell has that position on lock for now and the foreseeable future. But that’s not all bad for Buckley.
The homegrown University of Calgary product has quite the opportunity behind one of the league’s truly elite pivots. There’s no harm in understudying for a guy like Mitchell, especially when you consider Buckley is still only 23 years old. Another year or two in that situation has the chance to pay huge dividends for Buckley.
The opportunity doesn’t end there, though. While Mitchell is locked in as the No. 1 for the Stamps, the heated backup battle is very much under way. Buckley is in competition with newcomers Mitchell Gale and Ricky Stanzi for No. 2 on the depth chart and I think he’s got a chance of winning the job.
If that ends up being the case, Buckley’s first CFL start could be in the cards for 2017. Mitchell is as durable as they come, but as we know, stuff happens. Plus, a Week 20 late-season start isn’t out of the question, either, obviously dependent on how the season plays out. Regardless, Buckley will likely be used in short-yardage packages, just like he was used very successfully last season.
Calgary native Andrew Buckley is vying for the second-string job with the Stamps (Stampeders.com)
Buckley’s credentials are solid, and not just because he’s a two-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner as the U Sports Player of the Year. While he doesn’t necessarily look like a guy with blazing speed, Buckley is as quick as they come and can make positive things happen on the run. He’s got decent arm strength, can throw on the run and is a really intelligent player who reads the field quickly.
For Buckley to get a chance as a starter, he’ll likely have to go elsewhere. Bridge, on the other hand, has a feasible shot of getting that opportunity with his current team, the Riders. Regardless, I’ll be paying close attention to both players this season to see if they can do what a Canadian quarterback hasn’t done in a long, long time.
One up, one down
What a week it was for the Toronto Argonauts. Literally hours after I hit send on last week’s MMQB, the Montreal Alouettes decided to release star linebacker Bear Woods and he’s been immediately linked to Toronto. Then, a few days later, Toronto’s crown jewel free agent signing Winston Venable announced his surprise retirement, leaving quite the void at a similar position. That’s a lot for Jim Popp and Marc Trestman to digest in a short period of time.
Woods being connected to the Argos came as no surprise. Popp brought him to Montreal as a free agent in 2011 and he spent time on the team’s roster for two seasons under Trestman. But it also makes a ton of sense for football reasons, regardless of who is calling the shots.
Woods is coming off another banner season, finishing second in the league with 126 defensive tackles while being named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Even with the addition of Venable, Toronto’s linebacker corps was very much in need of a MIKE presence like Woods. With Venable gone, that’s even more the case.
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The Alouettes shocked the CFL by releasing linebacker Bear Woods last week (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)
I don’t think anyone saw Venable’s retirement coming, but I’m never going to criticize a player for making a difficult decision like that. If Venable needed to step away from the game, he’s got every right to do just that. But it sure does leave a big hole on Toronto’s defence.
Remember, Venable was a bit of a tackle eater himself in 2016, finishing sixth with 88 and joining Woods as one of the most prolific linebacker duos in the league. Even though the Argos were relatively quiet in free agency, their addition of Venable was an important one. A potential addition of Woods would go a long way to ease that pain.
Quick hits
Calgary’s signing of Michael Klassen last week was a rather important one, knowing how thin they are at defensive line, especially on the national side of things. Understanding Junior Turner and Quinn Smith would be on the injured list to start camp, the Stampeders drafted Randy Colling in the first round of last month’s draft to potentially help with depth issues.
But, with Colling banged up a little bit, too, Calgary decided to go out and sign local product Klassen on Wednesday. Originally a 2013 Montreal draft pick, Klassen has spent the last four years with the Als before being released early in training camp. The last few seasons have been fairly productive for Klassen, so he’ll add some decent depth to a line that very much needs it.
Speaking of Montreal, when quarterback Darian Durant left Tuesday’s practice with a limp, a lot of people held their breath. All reports out of Alouettes’ camp have Durant’s setback being a minor one, which is clearly huge for the team but more so for the player.
Over the last few years, Durant has been fairly productive but has battled injuries since 2014. Granted, he was mostly durable in 2016 and started 15 games for the Riders, but knowing Durant missed 25 starts combined the prior two years, seeing him leave practice gave legitimate cause for concern. It’s good to know those concerns won’t end up being big ones.
