Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
In the six weeks since the CFL season kicked off, there has been a massive shift in the league’s quarterbacking landscape.
Of the nine quarterbacks who started their team’s opening game, only four will be at the helm this week.
Confined to the six-game injured list are Saskatchewan’s Zack Collaros, Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell, and Toronto’s James Franklin. Antonio Pipkin is on Montreal’s one-game injured list while Ottawa’s Dominique Davis is expected to miss a second consecutive week when the REDBLACKS play Calgary on Thursday.
It’s not unusual for quarterbacks to get hurt. What’s different this season is who has stepped in as replacements and the success being enjoyed by the likes of Cody Fajardo in Saskatchewan and Nick Arbuckle in Calgary.
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“I do think you are seeing some new names, maybe instead of guys you have seen elsewhere or veteran backups coming in and playing,” said Travis Lulay, the retired BC Lions’ quarterback who now works in the team’s front office.
“That is a little bit unique at this point of the season to have so many guys you wouldn’t have seen as the opening day starter now being asked to lead their team on a regular basis.”
Collaros lasted just three plays in Saskatchewan’s opening game against Hamilton before being forced out of the game after a hit by Simoni Lawrence. Since then, Fajardo has completed 86 of 120 passes for 1,223 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions for the Riders (2-3).
Arbuckle had a Hollywood start to his season.
The Stampeders were trailing the Lions by 11 points with less than three minutes remaining in their second game of the season when Mitchell left the game with an upper-body injury. Arbuckle took over, went nine-for-nine in passing for 93 yards, and led Calgary on two touchdown drives to win the game.
In his three games as a starter, Arbuckle has completed 63 of 92 passes for 821 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions for the Stampeders (3-2).
Fajardo, 27, played his college football at the University of Nevada. He spent two seasons with the Argonauts, where he learned under Ricky Ray and won a Grey Cup ring in 2017. He spent 2018 with the Lions, where he practiced with Lulay and Jonathon Jennings.
The time spent in Toronto and BC helped Fajardo forge his game.
“It really benefitted him that he has had enough time around the league to kind of develop a proper perspective on what it’s like to be a starter,” said Lulay.
Arbuckle, 25, who played at Georgia State, attended a Lions mini-camp but wasn’t offered a contract. He signed with the Stamps in 2017, then became the backup in 2018 after the retirement of Andrew Buckley.
In six games last year, he completed 17 of 25 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. As part of Calgary’s Grey Cup championship team, he watched and learned from Mitchell, the league’s Most Outstanding Player.
Both players have demonstrated they have the talent to play in the league. Lulay said they also have been helped by offensive coordinators who have designed schemes that fit their abilities and experience level.
“The guys who are most aware of that as coaches give their players the best chance to succeed,” said Lulay. “There are ways to call plays to protect a guy in a tough situation where you are not hindering your team, but you’re also not putting that player’s confidence or credibility in question all the time.”
Head coach Dave Dickenson doubles as the Stampeders’ offensive coordinator. Stephen McAdoo is the Riders’ assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
After spending time as backups, both Fajardo and Arbuckle are showing signs they could be a starting quarterback somewhere.
In Montreal, Vernon Adams Jr. may be salvaging his career.
The Alouettes are riding a three-game win streak. During that stretch, Adams has completed 52 of 77 passes for 720 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Lulay said having former CFL quarterback Khari Jones as head coach and offensive coordinator helps Adams.
“He’s a guy who has had mixed success,” Lulay said about the 26-year-old who’s in his fourth CFL season. “He’s had a couple of moments here but then other underperformances there.
“He’s probably in sink-or-swim time in his career. The next opportunity you get, and you go out on the field and can’t do it, maybe people start looking elsewhere.”
One of the challenges for any quarterback stepping into the starter’s role is gaining the confidence of the veterans.
“As a new quarterback in the huddle you have to find a way to command that huddle, you have to find a way to win your guys over,” said Lulay. “You do that by being consistent, being who you are and playing your tail off.
“The guys are going to give you the benefit of the doubt . . . but until you really prove it, until you go out there and battle through some mucky situations and win games, show you are going to do everything to give your team a chance, that’s when you get over that hump.”
Montreal Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. (centre) celebrates a touchdown against the Edmonton Eskimos (Peter McCabe/CFL.ca)
Fajardo looked like the second coming of Darian Durant when he threw for close to 800 yards and four touchdowns in his first two starts for the Riders. Reality struck in a loss to Calgary, when he was good on just nine of 15 passes for 89 yards and two interceptions.
He bounced back in last week’s 38-25 win over BC, completed 17 of 23 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions.
“The more snaps I take the more comfortable I get,” Fajardo said after the game. “I’m still young in terms of playing experience. In terms of understanding defences and understanding offences, I think I’m a veteran in this league.
“For me, each snap in each game I play in really helps my experience grow.”
Saskatchewan plays the Lions in a rematch Saturday at BC Place Stadium.
Arbuckle wants an improvement after completing 20 of 30 passes for 191 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and two interceptions in Calgary’s 30-20 win over Toronto last week.
“Just be more efficient, look to eliminate the negative plays,” he said.
The young quarterbacks will face more hurdles as defensive coordinators get more film on them and began devising schemes to beat them.
Another test can come when the injured veteran returns to play. After having a taste of the spotlight, not everyone is happy with a supporting role.
“It just depends on the individual personally, frankly,” said Lulay.
“It can be funky, and it came to be harmful in a locker room environment.”
