CFL opening week is supposed to be one of the best. You get to see new players from trades, favourite veterans return, reformatted rosters and the excitement of sitting in your seat again after a long off season. Instead of excited fans, healthy, energetic players and renewed hope for all teams, week one in the CFL was spoiled with quarterback injuries.
Edmonton’s Mike Reilly brought his team’s record up last year and with Chris Jones, made the franchise the success story of 2014. In the fourth quarter against the Argonauts, Reilly was carted off the field with a leg injury. The Eskimos released a statement Sunday saying that he will be out indefinitely. This is a tough blow for the Eskimos considering the dynamic Reilly brought to the team.
Montreal’s Dan LeFevour also sustained injuries, confirmed as a dislocated shoulder. LeFevour was brought in this year as backup to Jonathan Crompton, but with LeFevour being out for the rest of the season, we won’t get to see what he could do to elevate the Alouettes.
Finally, Saskatchewan’s Darian Durant was also carted off the field against Winnipeg on Saturday, and it was confirmed that he will be out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. This is not only devastating to the Rider fan base, but also to Durant, seeing as he had just recovered from the arm injury that took him out last season.
Let’s not forget that the Argonauts lost Ricky Ray in the preseason as well.
So this is a tough opening week of the season – though hopefully not indicative of the rest of the year; otherwise, coaching staff and fans are in for a very long season.
But for optimists, there is a silver lining: we get to see what the back up quarterbacks are made of. Trevor Harris for the Argos had a great debut as quarterback, leading them to a victory over the Eskimos in Fort McMurray. Harris threw for 347 yards and passed for three touchdowns, surely raising some eyebrows and maybe even letting out a sigh of relief for Toronto fans.
The Roughriders also bought some insurance during the off season in form of Kevin Glenn, a veteran CFL quarterback, whose career seems to be shaping as coming in as QB1 for injured players. Glenn has made many comebacks for teams these past years, even taking the Stampeders to the Grey Cup in 2012. So I wouldn’t pull the fire alarm yet Rider fans.
Not only was week one riddled with injuries to quarterbacks, it was also a very poor week for the Stampeders’ Bo Levi Mitchell – although coaches and fans are surely counting their lucky stars that wasn’t injured like most of his peers.The Stampeders did manage to pull out a win against Hamilton in the Grey Cup rematch, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. Countless flags for both teams, interceptions, and late objectionable conduct calls almost cost Calgary the game. Fans were on the edge of their seats as Rene Parades set up to kick a nail-biter of a field goal to win the game.
Mitchell’s performance certainly wasn’t his best; he threw for 263 yards and uncharacteristically completed only 22 out of 35 passes and had three interceptions – something he’s never done before. Coach John Hufnagel commented, “It’s a game he probably won’t forget for a while.” And let’s hope not. But he also did step up and made great plays when it counted and that’s what’s expected from quarterbacks.
Being a quarterback isn’t easy at the best of times. You usually get the blame for things gone wrong, having a front line of 300-pound defensive linemen looking to take you down and of course, always facing that dreaded tackle or run that results in injury and takes away your season.
Week one wasn’t a good week for any CFL fan; no one wants to see incredible quarterbacks sustain season-ending injuries. Let’s hope for quick recoveries and a safer week two.
