The Canadian Press
There are few things more important in today’s CFL than quarterback depth. It seems like every single season sees multiple No. 1 quarterbacks go down for extended periods of time. And, after only a scattering of those occurrences prior, Week 12 saw three different starting quarterbacks go down with significant injuries.
Now we’re going to see why having quarterback depth is so important.
Backup plan
BC’s Travis Lulay, Saskatchewan’s Kevin Glenn and Ottawa’s Trevor Harris all suffered injuries over the weekend, with varying degrees of severity. We know at least one of those quarterbacks is going to be sidelined long-term, but even if the other two aren’t, this weekend underlined the importance of having a solid Plan B.
Lions head coach Wally Buono was right when he said pro football can be a cruel game. It was his quarterback Lulay who suffered the most devastating injury of Week 12, going down with a knee injury on the team’s second play from scrimmage. For a guy who has struggled so much with injuries over the last number of years, it’s hard not to be gutted for Lulay.
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» No word on injury to Kevin Glenn
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» Lions fearing the worst on Lulay
Travis Lulay is helped off the field during the Lions’ Week 12 win vs. Montreal (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
Reports suggest Lulay could be done for the season, and the worst part about that is knowing he truly was having a resurgent campaign. After battling shoulder and knee injuries over the last five years, Lulay’s performances in 2017 resembled the outings we saw prior to all that bad luck.
Luckily for the Lions, Lulay was actually their backup plan heading into the season. Incumbent Jonathon Jennings is healthy and ready to move back into the starter’s role, which makes Lulay’s injury a little easier to absorb from a team perspective. The other two instances, though, have more questions surrounding them.
I think it’s safe to say Harris is a Most Outstanding Player front-runner as it stands now; losing him with a shoulder injury is tough to swallow. Harris has been their best player all year long and it’ll be a big challenge to fill the void he leaves if gone for a long period of time. The guy set to replace Harris is somewhat of a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, Drew Tate has proven to be a really good quarterback when given the opportunity. Before being traded to Ottawa during the off-season, Tate had been very productive as a starter in Calgary, albeit with a limited sample size. But every time I’ve seen Tate play, he’s looked strong.
Conversely, though, Tate has never shown the ability to stay healthy when also shouldering the load of a first-string quarterback. His time with the Stampeders was littered with tough injuries and it opened the door for Kevin Glenn and Bo Levi Mitchell to take over. Can Tate stay healthy long enough to help Ottawa if Harris goes down for a long stretch? For me, that’s the biggest question that needs to be answered.
The REDBLACKS’ quarterback depth could be tested, as backup Drew Tate steps into the huddle (Chris Hofley/Ottawa REDBLACKS)
Finally, if Glenn has to miss any meaningful time, we’ll likely get a look at Brandon Bridge as Saskatchewan’s next man up. I like Bridge a lot and I think there’s a lot of potential there. The problem is, Glenn has been such a steady and consistent force for the Riders, taking him out of the equation seems problematic. Not to mention Bridge and Glenn are rather different quarterbacks.
Bridge is the more naturally gifted athlete of the two, and that allows him to do things many other pivots can’t. However, where Glenn has a leg up is his understanding of the game and his decision-making. Limiting mistakes has been a challenge for Bridge and he’ll have to be very careful if he ends up taking the reins for a while.
The statuses of Glenn and Harris are fairly up in the air right now, so we don’t know if either is going to miss significant time. Lulay, on the other hand, is likely done for 2017. Regardless, though, the events of this weekend go a long way to help underline something very important: stocking up on quarterback depth is huge.
Familiar territory
The Calgary Stampeders are the CFL’s best and hottest team right now. Thanks to their 25-22 win over the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night, the Stamps have won seven straight games and sit all alone with the league’s best record at 9-1-1. This shouldn’t be surprising for Calgary, though, as this team is in well-traveled waters.
So much of this season is reminiscent of what the Stampeders did during their dominant 2016 regular season. Just like they did last season, Calgary lost a game early only to go on a ridiculous hot streak. Just like last year, the Stamps have had to pull some games out of the fire and, just like season, they seem to keep getting better game-by-game.
Charleston Hughes, Alex Singleton and Josh Bell celebrate a Stamps win in Week 12 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Saturday’s win in Edmonton certainly wasn’t pretty and it took some late-game heroics and a field goal miss to make it happen. However, that is saying something about this group. Even when the Stampeders are not at their best, they still can find ways to win, and they did just that at Commonwealth Stadium.
Sitting atop their division, the Stamps are in a spot they’re more than used to. Calgary has boasted the CFL’s best record for the last four years running and five of the last seven years. Furthermore, they’ve finished first in the West five times in the last nine years, so this is starting to become a little old hat.
There are some frequents with this Calgary team. Bo Levi Mitchell is ice cold in crucial situations late in ball games, and he was on Saturday. After a rather unorthodox connection with Anthony Parker to get them in the red zone, Mitchell stared down a huge touchdown pass on third and goal to give the Stamps a lead they would never relinquish. While impressive, it really was just another day at the office for Calgary’s quarterback.
Oh, and then there’s the defence, which year after year proves itself to be the class of the CFL. In 2017, the Stampeders sit top three in virtually every defensive category and lead the way in points against and touchdowns against. In short, Calgary makes it hard to score points, and it’s something it’s been doing for years.
Buy Week 13 Tickets
» Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Saskatchewan at Hamilton
» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: Edmonton at Toronto
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: BC at Calgary
» Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET: Ottawa at Montreal
2016 was a banner year for the Stamps and they were the league’s best team for so long. Of course, so much of that is forgotten across the country because they didn’t do what was most important: win the Grey Cup. It was a bitterly disappointing way to finish last season, so now, Calgary has to find a way to avoid that specific history from repeating itself.
Otherwise, the Stampeders are in a very familiar spot, because it just happens to be where they are almost every single year.
Don’t look now
For the most part, 2017 has been full of turmoil and disappointment for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. But, despite an 0-8 start, a coaching change, and myriad other distractions, the Ticats don’t have to squint to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks to Saturday’s 26-22 win on the road in Ottawa, Hamilton has rattled off back-to-back wins and has been able to disperse some of the negativity that was swirling around. Now 2-0 under new head coach June Jones, the Tiger-Cats can all of a sudden mention the word “playoffs” and not be laughed at.
Hamilton sits just two games back of second in the East Division right now, currently held down by Toronto. Yes, they still are looking up at everyone in their division, but the Ticats have head-to-head games with all three of the teams ahead of them. Hamilton plays once each against Toronto and Ottawa and has a pair of remaining games versus Montreal. Hamilton has to win those games, of course, but the opportunity exists to make up some solid ground.
I’m fully aware the main reason the Tiger-Cats still have playoff life is due to a struggling division. I also know Hamilton needs to keep on winning games, and at a higher rate than teams in front of it, if it’s going to make up more ground.
But to see how poorly the season started for this team, it’s nice to see the Ticats legitimately having something to play for. Their 2-8 record is far, far from ideal and they still have boatloads of improving to do, but there’s a playoff carrot dangling in front of them. It was tough to make that argument even a few weeks ago.
