Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 8)
The CFL is entering an interesting time in the season after a disaster for the quarterback position in the early weeks of 2015.
In Week 1 of the season the CFL saw the majority of starting quarterbacks fall to injuries.
Some were finished for the season but others were simply put on long-term injury lists that are starting to run out.
Two teams hit in a big way where two Eastern teams although one never made it to Week 1 with their starter.
The Toronto Argonauts saw their future Hall of Fame quarterback, Ricky Ray, put on the 6-game injury list before the season began.
Off-season shoulder surgery kept him out of the lineup and gave Trevor Harris the reigns for at least six weeks while Ray recovered fully from the surgery.
Unlike the Argos the Montreal Alouettes came in with a full complement of quarterbacks that included the only Canadian QB on a CFL roster and last year’s breakout star, Jonathan Crompton.
Then the first week hit and Crompton went down in the first half of the first game.
Then back-up quarterback Dan LeFevour went down early in the second half leaving Canadian Brandon Bridge to close out the game.
After the week LeFevour was ruled out for the season while Crompton was placed on the 6-game injury list.
Among all of those moves the Als signed former Marshall Thundering Herd QB Rakeem Cato to start over Bridge.
Both teams have suffered some major losses at quarterback but both teams have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of their new starters.
Harris has been consistently one of the best quarterbacks of each week and has led his team to a tie for first place in the East.
Cato has not had the same success in the win department but he has been impressive. It has been a season where he has had to learn an entirely new game on the fly and he has kept up with his counterparts.
Now both teams are reaching a point in the season where there are some major decisions to be made.
For the Argonauts that decision is not too difficult to make but it is clearly being delayed due to the performance of Harris.
Ray has spent eight weeks, seven total games, on the 6-game injured list and should be ready to return in any of the coming weeks.
When Ray is ready to get back onto the roster he will take over the starting role for the Argos no matter how great Harris has done.
The fact is Ray has consistently been one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the two-time Grey Cup winner is the easy choice under centre for the Argos.
What is interesting is that there has yet to be any announcement or much talk from the Argos about when Ray will be ready to return.
They may be taking their time in working him back to the starters role to ensure that he is as healthy as can be when he gets back.
They have that luxury thanks to Harris who has done a great job as the starter so far and has not given the Argos any reason to panic about putting Ray back on the roster.
Whether he returns for Week 9 or later remains to be seen but soon they will need to make the decision to bring him back on to the roster while Harris must return to the bench.
The Alouettes have a much more interesting decision to make as Crompton has returned to practice and is getting ready to return to the field.
The decision is an interesting one because there have always been a lot of questions about Crompton as a starter in the league.
He guided the Als to the playoffs last year but he came into the starters role this year with many wondering if he could last or if he was just the best option for the time being.
With Cato playing so well many believe the Als have found their QB of the future and may want to keep him in the starter role.
Cato has not been winning though and if Crompton, no matter how questionable he may be as a CFL starter, can put up wins there seems to be only one option.
Both the Argos and the Als will be making these big moves as the mid-season point approaches and they truly begin to push for the playoffs as the quarterback story only gets bigger as the season moves on.
Fourth Down:
(Thoughts on Week 8 in the CFL)
Elimimian Out
The Lions have long been a defensive team led by last year’s MOP Solomon Elimimian but now they will go for most of the second half as he suffered a torn Achilles Tendon this week and will be placed on the 6-game injury list as he undergoes surgery
Sam Stepping Away
Michael Sam’s debut in the CFL was not the best as he was shut out on the stat sheet and hurt his back and after that performance he has decided to step away from the sport in a decision he announced this week
Kack is Back
It has been two years since Chad Kackert was on the Toronto Argonauts roster after he tore his ACL a year after winning the 100th Grey Cup MOP but after a long journey he is back as he returned to the Argos and ran for 73 yards in his first game in two years
Week 8 Scores:
Edmonton Eskimos 15 – 12 Montreal Alouettes
– Two of the best defensive lines faced-off in Montreal and they showed just how good they are at their job as defence dominated the game with the Eskimos just getting by the Als after a Grant Shaw field goal gave them the win
Toronto Argonauts 27 – 20 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
– It was another slow start for the Argos and yet again another comeback win for Trevor Harris as the Argos scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to take another win and move into a tie for first place in the East
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 52 – 22 BC Lions
– The Ti-Cats are putting a new meaning to the term home-field advantage as they have now won all three of their home games this year outscoring their opponents 124-48 in what is becoming one of the most dominant runs at home in CFL history
Calgary Stampeders 48 – 3 Ottawa REDBLACKS
– The REDBLACKS had a signature win earlier this year against the Stampeders and had announced their arrival as a competitor but the Stamps were not going to let that happen again as they easily got by the REDBLACKS and showed why they are the defending champs
Week 9 Matchups:
Montreal Alouettes vs. BC Lions (Thursday August 20th; 10:00 pm ET)
– The Als may see Crompton come in this week or Cato may remain the starter but the fact is that the Als are looking for a win after losing three games in a row and they will try to do it against an inconsistent Lions team
Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Edmonton Eskimos (Friday August 21st; 9:00 pm ET)
– The Ti-Cats are not in their element this week as they leave Hamilton for the first time in three weeks and they will try to keep their winning streak going against another very good defensive Edmonton team trying to keep up in the West
Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Saturday August 22nd; 7:00 pm ET)
– The Roughriders have had a week to try to change everything about their season as they now take on top team in the West and try to take their first win of the season to prevent another loss in front of their home crowd
Ottawa REDBLACKS vs. Toronto Argonauts (Sunday August 23rd; 4:00 pm ET)
– The Argos return home for another week as they take on the REDBLACKS with the REDBLACKS trying to show that they belong and get another win while the Argos try to stay atop the East with another win at home
The Sport Addiction 
Update: Ricky Ray has been placed back on the 6-game Injured List as he continues to recover.