Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 7)
So the league is down to three Week 1 starters who are still playing as the starter after seven weeks in the season.
Throughout the year quarterbacks have been dropping out due to injury from Week 1 and now in Week 7.
It has left a lot of teams without their starter as more than half of the teams saw backup quarterbacks take snaps in recent weeks.
The latest was in the east where the pattern has hit teams hard and the final starter took a major injury in Week 7.
There was little question that Jeremiah Masoli was the best quarterback in the east heading into the season but when James Franklin, Antonio Pipkin and Dominique Davis went down with injuries things got even clearer about the best quarterback.
Then came Week 7 when Masoli scrambled in the pocket and went down without getting hit.
He didn’t return to the game leaving Dane Evans to finish it off and complete a surprising win over the undefeated Blue Bombers.
After the game, it was revealed that he had torn his ACL and that he would be gone for the remainder of the year.
The best QB in the east suffered the worst injury as Davis, Franklin and Pipkin are all scheduled to return, although the bigger question is whether or not they can take their spot back.
Now Masoli is out for the season and it has thrown the east into a tailspin as there are some serious questions about who is going to win.
The east is once again the division with some serious issues as heading into the season two teams were expected to be the worst in the league.
When the season began the loss of Trevor Harris hit the REDBLACKS hard and they have struggled with their consistency.
The Tiger-Cats were the only solid team and even they struggled in parts of the start of the season.
The one factor that unites all three of the worst teams in the east is the fact that all had major questions under centre.
Hamilton was the only team heading into the season with a solid answer at who would take the majority of the snaps throughout the season.
In Toronto, Franklin was facing some major questions after struggling through the end of the 2018 season.
Despite the hype surrounding him, some wondered whether or not he could actually meet expectations.
At the start of the season he fell far short of those expectations and after getting hurt the back-up plan has only been worse with McLeod Bethel-Thompson throwing nine interceptions since taking over.
In Ottawa, the departure of Harris left questions that they thought they had answered when signing Jonathan Jennings from BC.
Davis beat out Jennings in training camp, speaking to the state of a once exciting young QB prospect, and leaving some to wonder if Davis had what it took to lead them.
Davis has been good but not great and certainly not up to par of Harris but after getting hurt Jennings showed why he lost the training camp competition.
In Montreal, the question was the same as the past few years as they brought in a number of QBs with Pipkin taking over.
There were still questions about whether or not Pipkin was the one to finally replace Anthony Calvillo.
He didn’t look great but neither did the rest of the team and after getting hurt Vernon Adams Jr. took over and began leading the Als on their longest winning streak in years.
With Ottawa looking less than great and now Hamilton without their starting QB for the rest of the season the east just opened up.
Montreal is suddenly looking like a good bet to take home the top spot after three straight wins and an offence finally firing on all cylinders.
The key will be whether or not Evans can lead the Ti-Cats who are clearly a talented enough team to win.
If he can fill in well for Masoli the Ti-Cats will certainly stay in the hunt but if the Als can make good on the momentum they have earned things could get interesting.
Making things even more interesting could be the Argos and REDBLACKS if they can turn things around as there is no real clear great team in the east this year.
Fourth Down
Protection Incoming
The BC Lions are having a hard time this year as their big offseason signing is struggling under centre. Mike Reilly isn’t necessarily having a bad year himself as it is the protection that has hurt the Lions. Reilly has been sacked more times than any other QB this year and heading into the by week the Lions are hoping to change that. So when the news came down that the Lions had made a trade it was clear what they were trying to do. The Lions sent a negotiation list player and a 2020 4th round pick to Calgary for a 5th round selection in 2020 and offensive lineman Justin Renfrow in what could just be the start for a busy period in BC.
Trying Anything
The other team needing to make some moves soon is the Toronto Argonauts who still haven’t won a game this year. They are starting to show signs of life on defence but McLeod Bethel-Thompson can’t protect the ball and has put them in too many bad positions. Some help needs to be brought in whether that be players or coaches. The fact that the defence isn’t struggling as bad makes the move they made this week a little strange as the Argos brought back Bear Woods, who they cut in the offseason. Woods might still have something in the tank and he could be a good addition but they are going to need more help if they want to find their way into the playoff hunt.
The Sport Addiction 