Pipkin will be 5th starting QB this season
Fifth starting pivot this season was waiting for chance just a few weeks ago
Fewer than two weeks ago, Antonio Pipkin was at home in Indiana working out and remaining mentally sharp. Today, he’s preparing for his first Canadian Football League start.
Such is life in the crazy world of the Alouettes, at least this season.
“That’s how life is and football is. Football’s a game of opportunity and a game of inches. You just have to be ready when your number’s called,” said Pipkin, who becomes the fifth starting quarterback — and sixth used — Saturday night when Montreal visits Edmonton.
Pipkin, 23, was with the Als last season, but didn’t get into a game until the regular-season finale at Hamilton, replacing starter Matt Shiltz. Montreal lost 33-0 — its 11th consecutive defeat — and Pipkin completed two of nine passes for 14 yards. He was released on June 19, after dressing against British Columbia, and resigned on Aug. 6.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder gets the start against the Eskimos because of to an injury to Johnny Manziel, who sustained a blow to the head in the third quarter last Saturday in Ottawa.
Even when he’s not playing, or practising, Manziel remains a focal point of head coach Mike Sherman’s daily media scrums.
On Tuesday, Sherman said Manziel missed practice to undergo blood work for a previously diagnosed condition. Manziel has admitted to being bipolar, a mental disorder that causes periods of depression and abnormally elevated moods. It’s commonly treated with lithium.
Manziel hasn’t been available to the media this week because he’s injured and hasn’t attended practices. But on his Barstool Sports Comeback SZN podcast, he said he was suffering from a delayed onset concussion. He said he started feeling worse this week. He was allowed to continue playing after passing concussion protocol, although he was placed under the CFL’s concussion protocol on Wednesday.
“I was able to recall the plays we had on that drive, the score,” he said. “I had a headache, but not anything you’d expect from a hit like that. The next couple days I felt decent, still was a little headache that was different than the norm.”
On Thursday, Sherman reiterated Manziel had his medication levels checked on Tuesday, which required the blood test. He also reminded the media the two had returned to Montreal following the game, not taking the team bus, stopped for a meal and conversed regularly. Manziel displayed no symptoms, Sherman stressed. And Sherman said he would never jeopardize a player’s health.
“There never was a mention of a headache at that time, and he certainly didn’t appear to have one because he certainly was bright and alert. We had a great conversation,” Sherman said. “In this day and age in particular, you don’t mess with concussions. CTE is a very serious injury. Sometimes (the symptoms) don’t show up until a couple of days later.
“The side effects of his medication are very similar to what someone who took a blow to the head could be, I guess. I’m not a doctor. I have no advice to give when a young man gets hurt.”
And now it falls on the shoulders of Pipkin, who will be backed up by Austin Apodaca. Matt Shiltz, who started the season backing up Drew Willy, will dress but still is recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained on special teams. And Willy hasn’t been seen since he suffered a gash on his hand, July 21.
Pipkin, who’s mobile and bigger than Manziel, has two things working in his favour: There isn’t a lot of film on him the Eskimos can watch and he should have some familiarity with his receivers from training camp.
“It’s not like I’m a new face. It’s not like they’re running routes with a complete stranger,” said Pipkin, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals before arriving in Montreal.
“I’ve been here before and I’ve been playing a long time.
“I always had a feeling something would happen, even when I first got released.”
Jeff Mathews and Vernon Adams are the other quarterbacks Montreal has used this season. Both are on the six-game injured list.
“We like doing things nobody’s ever done,” quipped tailback Tyrell Sutton. “I can protect the next one. Next man up. I hate to say it.
“Welcome to Canada. It happens. There are guys who come off the street and are playing defensive back or running back. He was here through camp, so it makes things a little easier.”
The Als (1-7) are on a five-game losing streak while the Eskimos are 5-3, having squandered a 10-point halftime lead at B.C. Edmonton has a 3-1 record at home after winning six of nine last season at Commonwealth Stadium.
Pipkin said any player on the road, especially a new quarterback, requires tunnel vision.
“You can’t worry about the past. It could be 27,000 quarterbacks who come through the organization,” he said. “You focus on right now, the guys in the locker, the coaching staff and knowing the plays.
“You’re here for a reason. If you focus on too much stuff in the past ... we’re 1-7 and everything else ... you’ll be too tied up. Focus on right now.”