Ferguson: Surveying quarterback change in Week 11

Marshall Ferguson

CFL.ca

@TSN_Marsh

Don’t look now, but the entire landscape of CFL quarterbacking has changed.

From the Nathan Rourke injury to multiple starters being pulled, the only constant in CFL passing these days appears to be change.

Let’s dive into the weekend performances which included a season high twelve pivots throwing meaningful passes for a variety of reasons.

Caleb Evans, Ottawa REDBLACKS

It was another difficult outing for Evans, this time coming off a bye week and given what many – including myself – thought was a surprising start due to the struggles against Calgary. He began well with his legs as the primary weapon but fell into some old bad habits and was eventually pulled from the game as Edmonton took control in the second half.

Nick Arbuckle, Ottawa REDBLACKS

For the second REDBLACKS game in a row, Arbuckle came in when the game was already decided and mixed together a confident passing attack with befuddling gaffs, namely the final throw of the game where the ball appeared to slip from his grasp while looking to the end zone. It sounds as though this week Arbuckle will finally get the chance to start, as he goes back to Edmonton where he started the season.

Taylor Cornelius, Edmonton Elks

It wasn’t pretty, but Cornelius found a way to beat the REDBLACKS with some rail shots down the left side, opening the field up using his legs when defenders turned their backs to run in man coverage, and utilizing the middle of the field to his advantage.

Cody Fajardo, Saskatchewan Roughriders

In a game that really illustrated the issues that are hampering the Riders’ attack, Fajardo would finish just 8/13 with no passes completed beyond eight air yards and two interceptions on deep balls.

The Saskatchewan passing game has hit a crisis moment in my opinion. With Duke Williams banged up, the deep threat Fajardo was clamouring for at this point last year is down, with Kyran Moore set to return as a potential fall back to improve the deep passing game. That being said, I have enough throw info and reps watched now to know this has much less to do with options waiting on the receiving end and more to do with the delivery.

Mason Fine, Saskatchewan Roughriders

A target chart that looked like most young quarterbacks who enter the game in emergency backup duty, Fine stuck to under 10-yards with most attempts as he tried to work the offence into a better rhythm that the first two quarters with Fajardo while completing two more passes of 20+ air yards than the Riders starter.

Nathan Rourke, BC Lions

It really does hurt my heart to think that this might be the last time I get to study Nathan Rourke’s game this year. This isn’t the place to wax poetic about what he’s meant to BC and the CFL as a whole, but we all know the impact and wish him the best in recovery.

As for Friday in Regina, he had typical deep ball accuracy creating long strike touchdowns and mastering the game under 10-yards.

Michael O’Connor, BC Lions

Not missing a throw in garbage time is a nice way to get the ball rolling for Michael O’Connor as he steps into the starting role for BC. The big man from Penn State and UBC was highly touted coming out of IMG Academy, and was described to me this week by a fellow CFL pivot as, “cerebral beyond expectation, sometimes to his detriment but it’s all there.”

He’s not Rourke and to compare him to Rourke is unfair after the ridiculous season he just put together, but O’Connor might not be that far off the mark set when all is said and done, especially if he’s been applying himself through eleven weeks to understand why Rourke has been so dominant.

Trevor Harris, Montreal Alouettes

Named a CFL Top Performer of the week, Harris led a comeback victory at home in front of a passionate Alouettes crowd on Saturday afternoon while leaning on big plays like Kaion Julien-Grant’s screen touchdown and Eugene Lewis to continue creating separation at the catch point when it appeared none existed. All of this while going 11/11 to his throwing arm side under 10-yards depth. Classic Trevor stuff.

Matthew Shiltz, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

All things considered, I was really impressed with how Shiltz handled himself, worked the pocket, and progressed through reads. He threw with more accuracy than I originally expected after some struggles in split or relief duty over the past couple weeks.

Shiltz and Dane Evans have a remarkably similar skill set and natural ability to see the big picture once breaking the pocket. He’s a quality backup signing that is paying off already and shouldn’t be looked down on just because he didn’t have the ball last Saturday.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Toronto Argonauts

There was so much discussion around MacBeth coming out of this one, and sometimes I wonder whether it’s validated or people just looking for the next quarterback to pick apart in favour of the unproven backup, who might have the same level of play with different flaws that we deem more allowable.

While Chad Kelly continues to gain steam amongst some, MacBeth remains the starter for now and will need to improve this performance against Calgary if he wishes to split, or sweep, Hamilton over the next two weeks.

Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders

Anytime you get pulled from a game it feels sour. Bo’s stat line ended up being remarkably close to his replacement in Jake Maier, but the difference being that many of Mitchell’s incompletions seemed confusing and out of character. It’s one thing to miss, another to seem like you’re nowhere close to being on the same page and that appears to be what cost Bo his spot Saturday and potentially this Thursday.

Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders

After so much Maier discussion last year and at the start of this season, the conversation resurfaced as he took the field and put the ball in smart spots.

I need to take a deeper dive on Maier’s game to fully understand the nuances, but the one thing I know is he doesn’t play like Bo willing to stretch the field on any given play. If he starts this week against Winnipeg it will be a markedly different attack within the same Dave Dickenson structure.

Follow CFL