During a conversation the other day, the Canadian Football League came up and a couple of fellow sports fans questioned the level of quarterbacking talent currently in the league.
Their shared position was that the level was at a decidedly low ebb, a point I do not share.
I do, however, understand as a Saskatchewan Roughrider fan you might have a somewhat jaded view of the position because Zach Collaros has now exactly thrown up a storm at just more than 200-yards per game and with more interceptions than touchdowns.
But the ‘Rider quarterbacking position alone cannot be used as a measure of the current talent.
So let’s just look at the position with a league-wide perspective.
Firstly, injuries are a fact of life in football. Ricky Ray, arguably one of the best in league history, has been out since game two of the season. He may not return at all and that will diminish the overall quality at the position, at least for a time.
Travis Lulay sadly is injury prone. When healthy, he can play the position at a high level, but his career will not be viewed as a great one because of repeated stints on the DL.
But there are still some outstanding QBs. The pair in Alberta (Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell) are on pace to be hall of famers if they stay healthy.
Jeremiah Masoli might be the best in the game right now and Trevor Harris is completing close to 70 per cent of his passes.
The key for all four is they are doing great things in the face of adversity, as wide receivers have headed to the injury list in distressing numbers including stars such as Manny Arceneaux, Chris Williams, Jalen Saunders, Derel Walker and Kamar Jorden.
The CFL has done a good job of addressing QB injuries, with more attention paid to late hits and hits to the head. That is important as they are the key players on a team. That said, the league may want to study game film and see if rule tweaks might help protect receivers because without top receivers in a three-down league offences sputter.
But, back to a run-down of QBs. The league also has some young pivots with potential.
Johnathon Jennings, James Franklin, and Johnny Manziel may all one day be very good quarterbacks.
Sadly, and this is a concern, the current CFL rarely allows back-up quarterbacks to play. Whether up 15 or down 15, the starter stays. That did not used to be the case, but today’s offences are dynamic enough that, thanks to the rules of the current game, points can be gained in a hurry. Coaches don’t want to be tagged with losing with back-ups, so they play starters until so close to the final whistle back-ups get little experience. That hurts development, and may well impact quality moving forward, as we have seen Franklin and Jennings both highly touted, struggle as starters.
Certainly the money rich National Football League is paying big bucks to quarterbacks to sit with a clipboard their entire careers and that does thin the talent pool somewhat. But let’s not forget it is estimated there are some 775 colleges and universities that provide football programs in the U.S. That is close to 2500 quarterbacks at any one time.
And maybe if the CFL tweaked its rules in favour of Canadian pivots, players such as Noah Picton at the University of Regina or Kyle Siemans at the U of Saskatchewan would be the answer in the years ahead.
But, as it stands today, the ‘Rider situation notwithstanding, the quarterback position in the CFL is far from in crisis. The best in the league are impressive to say the least.
