Veteran QBs will take the field during East final
Now 38, stalwarts Glenn and Ray prove experience is paramount in today’s CFL
Kevin Glenn knew the question was coming.
That’s why the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback had a ready reply when asked about the age of the starting quarterbacks in Sunday’s East Division final against the host Toronto Argonauts. Glenn and Argos quarterback Ricky Ray are both 38.
“I knew it was going to come up with the two oldest guys in the league playing against each other,’’ Glenn said after the Riders’ walkthrough at Carleton University on Wednesday. “That says a lot about us being in this league and having longevity. At the same time, our teams have had success.’’
Sunday isn’t the first time that Glenn and Ray will square off in a division final.
In 2003, during Glenn’s first stint with the Riders, the Green and White played the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division final at Commonwealth Stadium.
At stake was a berth in Reginabased Grey Cup game.
Then a third-year CFLer, Glenn came off the bench in the second half — replacing an ineffective Nealon Greene — and helped the Roughriders fight back from a 30-2 deficit.
Glenn engineered three fourthquarter touchdown drives, but it wasn’t enough as Ray and the Eskimos hung on for a 30-23 victory.
Edmonton won the Grey Cup a week later, when Ray threw two touchdown passes to Jason Tucker in a 34-22 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
Both quarterbacks have progressed since that 2003 game, to the point where they are among the league’s career passing leaders.
Glenn, who has been in the CFL for 17 years, and Ray (a 15-year veteran) have both surpassed 50,000 passing yards.
“It goes to show that it’s not so much physical as much as how much you can mentally process,’’ Riders offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte said.
“Those two guys are able to take care of their bodies pretty good by making sure they move the ball when they need to and recognize what the defence is trying to do to them.’’
LaBatte, who was sidelined with an injured left leg during Sunday’s 31-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in the East Division semifinal, was impressed by Glenn’s demeanour during the playoff game.
“I loved the emotion that he had on the sideline with those first two series while putting the touchdowns together,’’ LaBatte said.
“To see him come off with the confidence and emotion that he was displaying … for an older guy to get that wound up says something. He’s usually a pretty levelheaded guy and he was feeling it there, for sure.”
Glenn, who started 17 of the Riders’ 18 regular-season games this season, has maintained an even keel in his third stint with the Roughriders.
Coach Chris Jones has not hesitated to replace Glenn with Brandon Bridge, although a quarterbacking change wasn’t made Sunday until it was mop-up time.
Jones has been impressed with how Glenn has dealt with the quarterback rotation.
“If I take him out if he’s not clicking or they’re not protecting him, he’s not going to sit over there and sulk and go on,’’ Jones said.
“He understands that the game is not about he or I, it’s about us. When Brandon has been asked to come into the game, he has been prepared.
“If (Glenn) had not been a professional, this coexistence would not have worked. It just tells you what kind of person he is.”
The only notable void on Glenn’s resume is a Grey Cup championship. He has been on two teams that have reached the Grey Cup game. He suffered a broken arm in the 2007 East Division final and didn’t play in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 23-19 loss to the Riders. He started for Calgary in the 2012 Grey Cup game, won 35-23 by Toronto.
Some of the Riders’ players have rallied around the possibility of winning a Grey Cup championship for Glenn.
“Anytime you see a guy go 17 years in the league and not have one, the common odds says he should have one by now,’’ LaBatte said. “It’s definitely something that you want to do, but everyone has their own personal motivation.’’