In the aftermath of Week 11 nearly the entire CFL quarterback landscape felt in flux. Week 12 saw more movement and depth chart questions as BC Lions quarterback Antonio Pipkin took an unanticipated number of snaps following a hit that sidelined Michael O’Connor.
In the East Division the Hamilton Tiger-Cats rotated all three quarterbacks due to injury, performance and playing style. So, let’s dive in and take a look at how all ten passers who took meaningful reps fared in Week 12.
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Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Despite throwing two interceptions, one of which came at the end of the first half on a throw that you know he dearly would have loved to get back.
Zach Collaros still completed nearly 75 per cent of his passes, had a couple magical deliveries and found a way to help his team get the win while backup Dakota Prukop played an influential role in assisting despite limited reps.
Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders
The word that comes to mind when I see so much discussion around Calgary’s Jake Maier is, hype. Not because he’s not worthy of the discussion or that he hasn’t shown promise, but because many in the CFL community seem to be eager to have someone not named Bo Levi be the starting quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders.
The result is, that many are ready to crown Maier despite starting just four games, which is unfair to Mitchell, Maier, Dave Dickenson, John Hufnagel and even the fans who put their hard earned money to use as supporters of the Stamps. Then Maier goes out and has a Rourke-esque game making you wonder whether it’s a flash in the pan or a new trend.
Dane Evans, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
This was the worst night of Dane Evans‘ CFL career, no question.
For me it wasn’t the number of interceptions, but the process that led to them. On the first interception he tried to force a ball where there was no room, the second should have been a throwaway and the third throw was late causing him to force the throw. Never a good formula as a quarterback.
Matt Dunigan said on the CFL panel that the decision making from Evans is a much bigger concern than health and body language, and I have to agree. Evans just needs to get back to basics and build from the foundation. He hasn’t forgotten how to operate at a high level, but needs to find his game sooner rather than later or Matthew Shiltz, if healthy, will be the Ticats leading man.
Matthew Shiltz, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Shiltz came off the bench in relief of Evans and went 13 of 15 passing with a touchdown before and injury to his hand forced him out of the game. If healthy, you have to think he gets the start on Labour Day Monday based on this stat line and his performance against Montreal two weeks ago.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Toronto Argonauts
McLeod Bethel-Thompson‘s first half performance was a showing of inconsistency that had many calling for Chad Kelly. He followed the first half with an accurate and assertive second half that led to a big win for both himself and his team.
My biggest concern is, can he re-create the second half for a full game in Hamilton next Monday?
Michael O’Connor, BC Lions
Michael O’Connor looked comfortable in the pocket and made some really nice rhythmic throws to move the sticks early on. However, it felt like O’Connor tried to forced the issue to Lucky Whitehead a couple times in what felt like an effort to get the speedster involved no matter what that game plan called for.
Unfortunately O’Connor was forced to leave his first CFL start, stunting his growth for at least one week.
Antonio Pipkin, BC Lions
Antonio Pipkin’s legs looked fresh. The former Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes quarterback appeared able to run around anyone in green Friday night, but the arm certainly left something to be desired.
No doubt an uphill battle from the very start as he would not have taken many highly competitive reps over the past twelve weeks, even as a scout team quarterback it’s just not the same. I appreciated his willingness to challenge Saskatchewan vertically though, with four pass attempts of 25 or more air yards in just 17 attempts. A mark well above the CFL average.
Cody Fajardo, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Cody Fajardo pieced together a highly effective short game and was able to leverage Canadian receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker for a couple of big plays as the Riders got back in the win column on the road.
With the team announcing the return of Brayden Lenius, Kryan Moore back in uniform and Shaq Evans potentially factoring in, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the evolution of the Riders passing attack in the coming weeks.
Nick Arbuckle, Ottawa REDBLACKS
When Nick Arbuckle had his success in Calgary that led Ottawa to originally trading for him in the spring of 2020, this was the type of game he was playing.
Week 12 felt like a natural use of Arbuckle’s skill set as he settled into and moved around the pocket to buy time when needed in his first start as an Ottawa REDBLACK against the defence he spent all training camp staring down.
Taylor Cornelius, Edmonton Elks
Welcome to the Kenny Lawler show. Three of those four deep completions from Taylor Cornelius that you can see were completions to Lawler as he hauled them all in with spectacular flair.
The intermediate passing game could have turned the game in Edmonton’s favour if Cornelius was more effective, but those deep passes go a long way in remembering why Lawler was sought out in free agency by Geroy Simon and Chris Jones in Edmonton.
