Now we see who can adjust best in the CFL

The NFL with quarterbacks drafted in the first round usually ride them until they either rise and become stars or end up in Vegas wearing wigs and becoming Johnny Manziel. The fact of the matter is making any leap from college to pro is a big one, with speed of play being the biggest things for a young QB to get used to.

In the CFL American quarterbacks not only have to deal with the speed, but also with the wider and longer field and the extra person. Making the right reads is more challenging and it doesn’t come overnight.

What it requires is some years of study – look at Bo Levi Mitchell, Mike Reilly, Trevor Harris, even Zach Collaros. These quarterbacks did stints backing up quarterbacks and watching from the sideline what was happening and even more importantly, be able to ask why and figure out why a play did or didn’t work.

So while 2019 might be billed as the year of the return, it could also be billed as 2019: The back-up strikes back. The Riders brought in Cody fajardo to back up Collaros and felt his years of backing up Ricky Ray, then Travis Lulay, may have taught him more than just run around and try to make a pass.

Fajardo was a dual threat in College, but now what has allowed him to move forward and take the starting job is his ability to learn and execute the game plan. The Riders were thought to be relying on a heavy ground game to take pressure off their once upon a time injury prone quarterback (Collaros) and provide a relatively unknown quarterback like Fajardo the ability to not rely so much on his arm and legs to move a team downfield.

In contrast to Brandon Bridge, Fajardo can make reads and execute downfield passes and move the team, something Bridge was unable to do last year consistently when given the opportunity. If you look at Calgary, Nick Arbuckle is doing better than expected because of the time he spent behind Bo Levi, Vernon Adams Jr. is stepping forward after serving as a backup around the league, Harris apprenticed behind Collaros and Ricky Ray, Matt Nichols lost out to injury and Mike Reilly but learned. Even players like Jeremiah Masoli did time behind Collaros and whoever he was behind in Edmonton when he first broke in.

The thing is teams need to demonstrate patience and have not just the right player, but the right scheme and the right teacher. Calgary has hit a groove envied by many teams by having the structure in place where young quarterbacks learn behind the veterans until their time emerges.

By no means is this a claim that players like Fajardo have emerged as the next wave of CFL quarterbacks. Fajardo is probably benefitting from that same thing that Jon Jennings enjoyed when he first emerged in the CFL – not a lot of film on him.

Fajardo though is establishing a body of work that will make things interesting once teams have enough film and can start to game plan consistently against him. Where Fajardo can cash in, both on and off the field, is being able to adjust to teams scheming specifically against him.

If Fajardo can do that, then the Riders might have their next franchise QB and Jeremy O’Day really earned his money this year. Ottawa with Dominique Davis has also apparently identified someone who has backed up but has the potential to make plays, the question will be if they are consistent.

The trade of Collaros was a win win for both teams and also is a bit of a lesson of having the right infrastructure in place to help a young quarterback. Collaros was a bit of a booby prize for the Riders after swinging and missing on Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell and apparently Travis Lulay. The perception after free agency 2019 was that to keep pace in the arms race that is the CFL West, you needed someone with experience and a back up who was at least competent.

Collaros injury problems started in pre-season 2018 and crystalized at the end of last season when Collaros missed the western semi-final due to a late hit from Odell Willis. With his history of concussions, the debate in Saskatchewan the last few weeks was whether Collaros would go back to the starting position when healthy or whether it was better for him to sit on the bench and get even more fully recovered from injury.

Public confidence in Collaros was gone following the concussion against Hamilton in Game 1 and then the surprise that Fajardo’s ability to push the ball downfield could actually move the team. In looking over Collaros’ history with the Riders, his best game was probably his last one in Calgary where he led the Riders to a convincing win with a ball control offense against the Stamps.

If Chris Jones was still in Saskatchewan, it is probably doubtful Collaros is back, or at least he could have been joined by say, Robert Griffin III or Ryan Leaf as potential teammates in the QB meeting room. Chris Jones can coordinate a defense like nobodies business, he just doesn’t know a damn thing about quarterbacks and he didn’t care.

Fajardo has the rest of this season to establish himself at such a level that a long term contract is possible for him at the end of the season. His gutsy performance has won over his teammates and given them confidence that if something happens, he can bounce back. I didn’t really get that with Collaros.

For his part, Collaros was uncomfortable in Saskatchewan last year and probably only came back because Jones had buggered off to Cleveland. To paraphrase Darian Durant, the football gods sometimes push you where you might succeed the best.

For Collaros, returning to Toronto gives him the opportunity to not only lead, but mentor a team in search of itself. Collaros will be able to start practising with Toronto this week and the play of McLeod Behtel-Thompson has at times been good, but not quite able to step forward and win consistently.

For Toronto this trade is interesting in terms of getting a QB with a concussion history and hoping he can consistently move their offense. Jim Popp made this deal and it is probably an effort to try to save his own job.

It is also probably an admission the trade for James Franklin has not panned out in the way Popp would have liked. Franklin was once upon a time the sought after back-up behind Mike Reilly in Edmonton and Edmonton traded Franklin to Toronto to avoid losing him to Saskatchewan.

The problem is while Franklin has shown flashes of talent, where he has fallen below Fajard is Franklin does not apparently do the same amount of game prep as other hungry back up QBs who learn all they can to be a better QB. No better example came than last year after Ricky Ray went down, Franklin came in under then Head Coach Marc Trestman and floundered spectacularly. If Trestman, the noted quarterback whisperer, couldn’t coax any consistently out of Franklin, then nobody will and Edmonton comes out as the winner of that trade.

If Collaros produces, the fourth round pick the Riders get becomes a second round pick, but let’s be honest, any type of return is a good one for the Riders. For the Argos, the arrival of Collaros was marked by the Argos winning their first game of the season under Bethel-Thompson. Bethel-Thompson might be the Ryan Fitzpatrick of the CFL – Fitzpatrick is a veteran NFL back up who has his moments, but never consistently enough, so he is regarded as a good back-up in places. Bethel-Thompson is probably in that same mode.

The Riders this week have to wonder about the interior of their defensive line with Micah Johnson leaving the game and Makana Henry being great one moment and then getting a stupid penalty the next. An interesting moment was the insertion of Charbel Dabireat defensive tackle. I remembered Dabire from training camp where physically he was very big, but maybe not quite in game shape.

But the guy can play and while the Riders look forward to figuring out how to handle the Montreal running game under likely starter Antonio Pipkin and probably Jeremiah Johnson at QB, it just gives the Riders more options to think about before they hit the bye week.

Speaking of which.

Calgary at Winnipeg – Ebola, say hello again to Bubonic Plague. Does the Bomber two game plunge in the abyss mean the end of a dream, where Winnipeg becomes more than a destination point for the toothless? Sure – it is only the first third of the season. And they have better strippers in Southern Ontario so who could blame the bombers for being distracted? The Bombers are home this week, surrounded by their toothless and wretched fans grown fat and sassy on roadkill. Calgary though continues like Mothra rampaging through Tokyo or like Kyries Hebert on rookie slotbacks – No one wins when these two teams meet except maybe the people who make fluffy toilet paper, so Winnipeg takes this 27-23.

The Riders go to Montreal and a few things to keep in mind – Montreal has the best strippers in Canada; this the Riders last game before another bye week and the Riders choked in their last game before the bye this season. Foresight had me tape the games this past weekend and the Riders win over Hamilton was not unexpected, the ref gong show was just the icing on the cake. Montreal had VAJ step out and with some return touchdowns, demonstrated that even without Masoli, Hamilton is still the class of the east. The Riders won in Montreal last year, but that was against Johnny Manziel from the where are they now file. I would not be surprised if Montreal won, but the Riders biggest problem is/was trying to figure out what kind of team they are/have so Riders win this one 28-25.

Ottawa goes to Edmonton and Ottawa may turn out to be the hardest team to figure out this year. One thing that isn’t so hard to figure out is that Jon Jennings is not that bright of a quarterback. I have seen Youtube videos of smarter cats batting balls around than Jennings play quarterback. Ottawa might get some return TDs in this game, but not enough – Edmonton 27-20

BC at Hamilton – Zoey the Magnificent Himalayan wants the Magnificent Bruce to be happy. Which means a BC win? Uh, no. As far as I can tell, BC just signed on offensive lineman, so they must figure better execution will keep Mike Reilly upright – but then again, don’t firing squads tie prisoners to poles to keep them upright? Hamilton should be just fine with Dane Evans as long as they don’t overthink things and adjust the offense to take advantage of what Evans can do, Hamilton has a more rounded team and wins this one 33-20

by Greg Urbanoski

Now we see who can adjust best in the CFL

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