Revolving door for CFL QBS
Burris- Glenn trade highlights volatility of pivot position
Quarterbacks in the Canadian Football League have always been wise to keep a good supply of change-of-address cards on hand.
But past quarterback shufflings pale in comparison to what has taken place heading into the 2012 season.
The trade that sent Calgary’s Henry Burris to Hamilton for Kevin Glenn on Tuesday brought the total of top-line quarterbacks traded since the season ended to four. That means half the league will have new guys lining up behind centre next season.
“It’s been a unique year,” said TSN analyst Glen Suitor. “It’s one of those cases where things just fell into place for a lot of teams for a lot of different reasons.”
In the case of the Calgary-hamilton deal, Suitor says neither team had much choice.
“Both Burris and Glenn had pretty much run their course where they were,” he said. “Henry wasn’t going back to Calgary and Glenn’s expiry date in Hamilton was up. The real question there was could (general manager Bob O’billovich) sell Glenn to the fans again?”
Fellow TSN analyst Matt Dunigan sees the mass quarterback migration as a good thing.
“It’s fantastic for the league,” he said. “It’s put the CFL in the news at a time of the year when what’s usually a very down time.”
Here’s what the changes have wrought:
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
After starting the season with Cleo Lemon and finishing with Steven Jyles, the Argos shocked the CFL by prying Ricky Ray away from Edmonton. All the Argos have to do now is find a few more receivers to catch passes from a proven QB. There could be more quarterback changes in Toronto, depending what general manager Jim Barker does with backup Dalton Bell.
B.C. LIONS
Not surprisingly, the Lions are standing pat after Travis Lulay’s impressive season and Grey Cup performance. But Lulay has drawn some interest from NFL teams and could leave after next season.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
It’s hard to imagine an Eskimo team without Ray, but that’s what fans are facing for the first time since 2004. Jyles is the leading candidate to replace him, but after his spotty performance in Toronto, he will be pressured by youngsters Matt Nichols and Eric Ward. Many believe Edmonton GM Eric Tillman has another quarterback hidden somewhere.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
After two seasons backing up Burris, Drew Tate basically sent the 2010 Most Outstanding Player to the bench at mid-season, and out of Alberta afterward. Tate looked impressive from the start and won his last three regular-season starts. The addition of Glenn, who had a 52- point outing in the East semifinal, provides valuable insurance.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Despite the league’s worst record, the Riders have the fewest questions at quarterback. Darian Durant will start once again, apparently with Ryan Dinwiddie and Cole Bergquist backing him up.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Any team that has the oft-injured Buck Pierce can never really be considered to have stable quarterbacking. But Pierce did start most of the games last year and has capable backups in Alex Brink and Joey Elliott — assuming all three potential free agents can be signed. That shouldn’t be a problem, though.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
With Burris aboard, there likely won’t be any of the quarterback-sharing that took place last season between Glenn and Quinton Porter. The real question is whether Burris somehow lost his skills the moment he turned 36 or whether he has one more good season in him. The Cats believe quarterbacking was the only thing that stood between them and a Grey Cup last year.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
As has been the case seemingly forever, Anthony Calvillo will start and Adrian Mcpherson will be unhappy about being the backup. But Calvillo started to show his age (39) last season and an end to Mcpherson’s long wait may be in sight.