Do Riders have patience to develop a young QB?
Saskatchewan Roughriders football-operations supremo Chris Jones once vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in search of a quarterback.
A 20-something rock star has yet to be unearthed, three years into a Jones regime that has otherwise progressed in many areas.
Jones has entered each of his seasons in Saskatchewan with a CFL veteran as the starting quarterback — Darian Durant (2016), Kevin Glenn (2017) and Zach Collaros (2018) — and assuredly there will be another featured signal-caller in 2019.
This is a team that could use a fixture at quarterback, in adherence to president-CEO Craig Reynolds’ mantra of “sustained success.”
Ideally, the Roughriders would nurture a signal-caller who could become a long-term solution.
The problem is, there is also the imperative of winning, which may devour the process of grooming a quarterback.
This uncomfortable reality came to mind Wednesday, when each CFL team released to the media 10 of the 45 names on its negotiation list.
Four of those players, in Saskatchewan’s case, were quarterbacks — Trace McSorley (Penn State), Ian Book (Notre Dame), Joe Burrow (Louisiana State) and Mason Fine (North Texas).
It is all Fine and dandy to divulge select names and create the inevitable speculation or buzz, but the commotion almost certainly will prove to be hot air.
Historically, the Roughriders have not been adept at identifying and nurturing a young quarterback.
Two exceptions — Kent Austin and Durant — have been Grey Cup-winning pivots. And Austin, remember, shared playing time with another fine young passer (Tom Burgess) during the championship season of 1989.
But even in those days, there was a lack of patience.
If Burgess struggled, fans and media types howled for Austin, and vice-versa.
In 2008, when Durant debuted as a CFL starting quarterback, he was a summertime sensation until suffering a rib injury.
By the time Durant recuperated, the Roughriders had acquired Michael Bishop — who was destined to falter during an ugly home playoff loss to the visiting B.C. Lions.
Only then did Durant receive the wholehearted endorsement of the Roughriders’ brass. He ended up quarterbacking the Green and White in the 2009, 2010 and 2013 Grey Cups, winning the last of those on Taylor Field.
Despite the unquestioned success of Durant, Austin and Burgess, the Roughriders’ tendency has been to sign or trade for veteran passers.
Even the greatest of all Roughriders quarterbacks, Ron Lancaster, was entering his fourth CFL season when he was acquired from the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1963.
Glenn began a Hall of Famecalibre career as a Roughrider, but enjoyed his greatest success after being traded away. He had two subsequent stints in Saskatchewan. Henry Burris could have been THE guy, but neither general manager Roy Shivers nor head coach Danny Barrett fully realized what a gem they had.
Smilin’ Hank could have been the Roughriders’ quarterback for a decade, but the football brain trust bungled the situation. Over to you, Nealon Greene …
Greene, like so many other Saskatchewan quarterbacks, started elsewhere before wearing green and white. The list also includes Collaros, Tom Clements, Joe Barnes, John Hufnagel, Joe Paopao, Reggie Slack, Marvin Graves, Marcus Crandell and Kerry Joseph.
Slack helped the Roughriders reach the 1997 Grey Cup. A decade later, Saskatchewan won a championship with Joseph — the league’s most outstanding player for 2007 — playing a primary role.
In other cases, though, there have been stopgaps. Such was Jones’ seeming perception of Glenn in 2017. He was replaced the following year by Collaros. So now what?
Jones is entering Year 4 of a three-year plan. There is enormous pressure for the Roughriders, under his administration, to win … and win big.
Hence the likelihood of pursuing an established quarterback — quite possibly from a free-agent pool that is expected to include Mike Reilly (currently of the Edmonton Eskimos) and Jonathon Jennings (B.C.).
Quarterbacking-wise, there isn’t a discernible appetite for starting from Square 1.
Is management prepared to live with the growing pains? Are the fans? How about the buzzards of the media?
The Roughriders and their followers got a taste of life without an experienced quarterback in 2015, when injuries to Durant and Glenn left the team with no choice but to start a youngster named Brett Smith behind centre.
While accepting roughly 40 per cent of the snaps, Smith threw 15 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 444 yards, averaging 7.8 yards for carry, and three more scores.
While toiling for a 3-15 team, Smith nonetheless looked like a passer of some potential.
Yet, he was criticized for freelancing, or for scrambling at the first opportunity. He was capable of making something out of nothing — “nothing ” being the theme of that season — but the reviews were restrained.
Smith was on pace for 30-plus TD passes, extrapolating his total over a full season, but much of the discussion among fans and media types pertained to what he couldn’t do. Next ...
Now, could he have been the answer? There were other opportunities after he was released by the Roughriders in the spring of 2016, but he is now out of the game.
What resonates, though, is the general reaction to the ups and downs that a young quarterback will unavoidably experience.
The climate, it seems, is not conducive to developing anyone at football’s most important position.
The current contractual convention also makes it more challenging than ever for a coach to build a team around a promising pivot — or around any nucleus, for that matter.
One-year contracts are fashionable, at the expense of continuity.
With 300-plus pending free agents, stocking a team has become akin to participating in fantasy football. Pick a new roster every year.
So it is sheer fantasy, then, to think that the Roughriders can invest the necessary time in — and exercise the requisite patience with — a young quarterback.