Such is the life of a quarterback: if the team is winning, he’s great. And if the team loses, the quarterback always gets the blame. The Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell knows this all too well after Saturday’s loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
Everyone knew Saturday’s CFL West match-up was going to be tough. Expectations were high for both Edmonton and Calgary on offence and defence. Both teams have great quarterbacks and receivers and strong defences.
With the 15-11 Eskimos win, a lot of Calgary fans are pointing their fingers at Mitchell. Some were even muttering that he’s “Bo-verated”. Is it fair? Well, yes and no.
Not “Bo-verated”
Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly were fairly even in terms of stats in Saturday’s game. Reilly threw for 264 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Mitchell threw marginally less at 230 yards but also had one touchdown and two picks. Statistically this year, Mitchell (65.5%) and Reilly (61.4%) are similar in completion percentage. So throwing Mitchell under the bus isn’t particularly fair when comparing his numbers to Reilly.
Being named MVP of the 2014 Grey Cup game, there are a lot of expectations that Mitchell will produce MVP numbers this year. He is throwing at a higher completion rate so far compared to 2014, but it’s unreasonable to assume that a quarterback will remain consistent from year to year. Even the NFL’s Aaron Rodgers couldn’t keep his no interception record going – he finally threw a couple of them on Sunday. Excellence can’t be sustained.
The problem on Saturday wasn’t Bo Levi Mitchell. I think there were some holes in the offensive line and the Stamps’ secondary on defence. I won’t pull the excuses card and say that injuries are causing problems for the Stampeders because every team right now is dealing with them – especially in week 16.
That being said, Calgary has lost key players on the defensive side, including Juwan Simpson and now Fred Bennett. There are some holes, and that’s where some of the problems were in Saturday’s game. Again, not Mitchell’s fault.
Yes, he is “Bo-Verated”
Mitchell has looked a little worn the past few games, throwing more interceptions and incomplete passes. Last year, Mitchell only threw eight interceptions. He’s currently at 11 with three games to go. He has started every game this year and only goes to the sidelines on short yardage plays.
Many Stampeders fans are saying that coach John Hufnagel should put Drew Tate in for a few reps every game, and see what he produces. Fair? Certainly. One could also argue that the quarterback is the leader of the team- the quarterback makes the offence. If the offence can’t produce, the fault ultimately lies with the quarterback. He knows that all too well but after all, he signed up for the job. So maybe the finger pointing should be directed to the quarterback.
In all, the quarterback largely takes the responsibility for the successes and failures – fair or not. This will probably never change. But Calgary’s problem right now isn’t Bo Levi Mitchell. The Stampeders need to look at their holes in coverage and fix them quickly as November is fast approaching. If they can fix their coverage, maybe Bo can get some rest from the finger pointing.
Main Photo.
