I understand I may not be your go-to writer when it comes to quarterback analytics. That’s why we have Marshall Ferguson round these parts to take you through “quarterback throw success rate” broken down into yardage quadrants (I have no idea what that means or if that even exists).
I think the rankings for the EASTERN QBs is not quite correct. Mitchell has to prove that Dickenson was wrong to bench him. I think that Fajardo has the same problem, to prove that his benching was wrong. Both of those QBs have motivation to help them do what the past has proved they can do. As for Kelly he has to prove that he is ready to be the man. He has Motivation but also needs experience during the rough times. But Masoli he has to prove that he has completely healed both physically and mentality. That is the most difficult of the other 3 because that has more to do with his health, something he only has some control over. Motivation really does little to help him if he isn’t totally healed.
I think the way these QBs have been rated is reasonable and fair. As a Ti-Cat fan, I really wish Mitchell all the best - he is a great QB and I hope he shows the CFL just that this year. The other 2 QBs also have good skills and I wish both Masoli and Fajardo to have good and healthy seasons - but not too good when thet play my Cats! Kelly, I simply do not know - but for me he has done the Argos a great deed by replacing BMT - who I believe was the most over-rated QB in the CFL. His temper tantrum on the side lines last year when he pushed and bullied the coach was disgusting - play-offs or not - if I was the coach he would be riding the bench!
The Argos are better without him. My question is - does the Argo coaching staff have the right stuff to defend the Grey Cup - let’s be honest they got lucky in 2022.
The best thing about any Cauz article? They put his name at the start so you know enough not to read it…
Absolutely asinine.
The Riders had a turnstile O-line last year and Fajardo soldiered on, playing a lot of games hurt. It seems fairly clear that Craig Dickenson threw both Fajardo and Maas to the wolves to save his own job. Fajardo is a good QB and only 31. He’s playing for a head coach he trusts and whose offense he already knows well. He’s also got the most well-rounded ground game in the league – Fletcher, Stanback, Antwi – to help him run the read-option play and gain yardage with his feet. The offensive line in front of him is solid. Assuming he’s healthy, there’s no reason to think he can’t be productive in 2023.
Compare to the rest:
BLM, a future Hall of Famer, was cast aside by the QB factory that is the Calgary Stampeders, by one of the most respected offensive minds in the league. That is a troubling red flag that puts a lot of pressure on BLM to show he isn’t on a steep decline.
Jeremiah Masoli is coming off a season-ending injury and will have to prove that he can still make plays with his feet. But also, that he can be the starting QB, something he’s never really shown in his time in the CFL, where he’s basically shown flashes here and there but also lost his job at times to others (Dane Evans).
Chad Kelly has done almost nothing in this league. He has to prove that he can actually be a starter! That’s kind of a big deal.
Whoever writes these pieces usually doesn’t know enough about the Alouettes to offer informed opinions. So we wind up with articles like these.
So, what more would you like the writer to know about the Alouettes , and what would you change about his article regarding them? Just wondering.
I would say this adds to the sense that Fajardo has something to prove this year.
Well, “something to prove” is a very vague category, but going with it, you figure someone has something to prove after a down year in which there were a minimum of external factors affecting his performance.
BLM didn’t have any external issues last except that he played poorly and lost his job midway through the season. So I’d say he has a lot to prove this year. Does it still have it? Or is he on the downswing?
Chad Kelly has everything to prove.
Masoli has to show he can stay healthy and do more than show flashes of brilliance.
Does Fajardo have something to prove? Sure. But there were a lot of external factors getting in his way last year that aren’t issues this year. The fact that he tops this list shows the writer’s indifference to covering the Alouettes properly. Sadly, many cfl writers don’t know enough about the Als to do a better job than this.
Why do you think this is? Apathy by the writers to do decent in-depth research or does the club put up a wall to journalists? I’d assume the former…
I definitely think it’s language-related. I find a lot of English sports writers leave that work to French-speaking journalists, assuming that all Als fans are francophone, which isn’t of course true.
It’s why I’ve stopped really expecting English CFL reporters outside of Quebec, with the exception of 3Down Nation, to cover the Als properly. I’ll usually get way better news from the French-speaking journalists in Montreal.
People outside of Montreal forget that there are 300,000 English speaking residents in Montreal. Seems when I go to an Als game the majority of the fans are English not French, but I could be wrong
Yeah, I haven’t lived in Montreal in a long time, but absolutely, there are plenty of anglophones in Montreal. I don’t know who’s coming to the games, but I can’t believe it’s 100% one demographic.
It is unfortunate that Cody was thrown under the bus by and inept Saskatchewan coach who lacks tact in dealing with individual players. |He should take a few lessons from brother Dave who has the skill set to deal with unruly players and tactfully handled the Bo Levi Mitchel situation. There is a reason Craig sits at the “Kidde table” at the Dickenson household.
i think the time last season when Cody criticized the fans for booing the team’s (and his) poor performance instead of sucking it up and saying he and the team needed to play better kinda left a bitter taste with some people. i wasn’t impressed with it. i’ve always felt Fajardo was overrated by one decent year.
I honestly thing out of all of the QBs in the east… It would have to be Chad Kelly who has to be the one to prove everything… Atleast with Montreal if Fajardo does crap the bed you got Caleb Evans or Alexander Davis who both kind of have experience…
With Toronto Chad Kelly does nothing they have no one. Ben Holmes been on 3 teams in 1 year no snaps no nothing…
IN 2022 Bryan Scott only has 3 gp 60-85 558 yards 5 TD and 2 INT and thats in the USFL. Like they have no experience what so ever.
Chad Kelly only has 1 season in CFL udner his belt 26-45 27 Yards 2 TD 3 INT with some rushing yards and TD to go with it… Im just saying he goes down to injury or craps the bed Argos are toast
I got news for you and everyone else , you heard it here first . The Argos are toast either way this season . It doesn’t matter who is at QB the team will as usual do their post Cup swan nose dive of a season and wind up buried in the basement and out of the playoffs in 2023 . In fact I tell you what to all you naysayers out there , bookmark this page and get back to me when it happens . Because trust me it is going to happen . 
i do think Farjardo was unfairly treated in Sask. some of that was due to unrealistic expectations placed on him. Dickenson should have thrown himself under the bus after the way he handled things.
Nah. I think it shows the writer knows how bad he was last year and that he made everyone around him look and play worse than they are. He was brutal. Fajardo has a lot to prove.