We are getting into the meaty part of the 2014 CFL season. This season more than ever has shown that the quarterback position is still the most valuable on any team. To compete with the top dogs in either division, you need a stellar starting quarterback. Bo Levi Mitchell has been showcase for that: he is having a tremendous season both statistically and also in the win/loss columns, putting the Calgary Stampeders alone atop the CFL.
You move down the ranks of the CFL ladder to find the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the number 2 spot. With Durant now reportedly out for the remainder of the year, the Riders are maintaining a next-man-up philosophy, placing Tino Sunseri in the starting role this week against Hamilton. Just how far the Riders’ backup can take his team has yet to be determined, but we’ll see starting this Sunday.
Move down the ranks another notch we get a look at the Edmonton Eskimos, who are having a much improved season after their 4-14 record a year ago. With two straight losses at the hands of the Stamps, the fan base is quick to point out they didn’t have their number 1 pivot playing behind center in either game.
To be successful in the CFL, a team needs its best player on the field, performing as the best player. If they are on the field taking up valuable cap space and not performing to expectations, there’s a big problem.
Case in point: the Ottawa Redblacks’ starter Henry Burris, the 400,000 dollar man. Burris is able to put up huge numbers and help his team out with fantastic playmaking abilities with his arm, and sometimes his legs. Just one year removed from a Grey Cup appearance last year, albeit with a different franchise, Burris is having a very poor season.
The Redblacks are an expansion franchise, and many are quick to point out that expectations should have been low. But in the CFL expansion draft, the Redblacks were able to pull unprotected players from existing teams and build their franchise as they saw fit. They did so while wooing Burris to come play in the nation’s capital, resulting in a one way ticket out of town for Kevin Glenn.
At 1-9 the Redblacks are in no means out of a playoff push, despite the incredible weakness of the East division this year. But how far can you go when your offence is not producing?
After last week’s 7-5 loss at the hands of the B.C. Lions, eventually Ottawa must question their decision to spend so much on the aging Burris. Most would agree that if your defence allows ten points or fewer in the CFL, you should walk away with a win. Not so in Ottawa. Allowing just ten points against Edmonton and seven against BC and coming away with two losses, you have to question Burris’s ability to lead a team.
Meanwhile, quarterbacks who are performing are dropping like flies this season. LeFevour, Demarco, Lulay, and Durant are all likely done for the year; Reilly and Collaros have missed multiple games. Lulay was just injured again, which is bad news for the Lions, and Durant is also out thanks to a play that was blown dead although apparently no one heard the whistle.
We’re seeing four hundred grand dropped on guys who aren’t performing, or who sit out chunks of the season on crutches. How far are the league and its teams willing to go to protect the most valuable commodity on the field? Are quarterbacks really money well spent?
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