We’re nearly at the quarterpole of the CFL season, so it’s becoming easier to project the 2012 horse race.

And if things keep going like they have with the two most veteran starting quarterbacks, Doug Flutie should start to sweat.

Through four weeks, Hamilton Tiger- Cats pivot Henry Burris and Montreal Alouettes living legend Anthony Calvillo are on a pace to make a run at Flutie’s CFL- record of 48 touchdown passes in a single season.

Burris has thrown 11 TDs the first four weeks, while Calvillo has 10. Projected over a full season, Burris would finish with 49, while Calvillo is on pace for 45.

Both numbers would be staggering totals, especially considering during this new age of how starting pivots are handled.

Over the past couple of seasons, head coaches have designated a backup pivot to be the ‘short-yardage QB,’ and most of those players continue to run the offence even inside the fiveyard line. So that makes Burris a much more likely candidate to keep putting up big numbers rather than Calvillo, regardless of how either is playing.

When t he Alouettes get near the goal- l i ne, Adrian MacPherson takes Calvillo off the field. Surely Calvillo’s 39- yearold body appreciates not getting forced into piles of bodies, but his numbers could suffer.

Although Burris plays on a team that had Quinton Porter take short-yardage duty for the past few seasons (and excelling at it, rushing for nine TDs in 2011), the 38-year-old starter is taking all the snaps so far this season.

So third place in TD passes so far is shared by four QBs (six in four games), most of whom have relievers taking over when they drive to the goal-line. All of them on are on pace for just 27 TD passes, which is a good season but not spectacular.

This trend cost Saskatchewan Roughriders starter Darian Durant a TD pass in the thrilling loss to the Stampeders last week, as rookie Drew Willy came in and hit Neal Hughes for a short major.

Of course, if the backup comes in and runs one rushing play and the starter returns to the huddle, it’s quite obvious a pass is coming next.

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