Well, under very difficult circumstances, hat's off to Chris Leak. He managed to keep some crucial drives alive when AC went down, and helped engineer two TDs and manage the clock. Also, kudos to Wittaker - welcome to the CFL, young man! While the Als were still "pass happy" in the 1st half, the running game got on track, due to circumstances, in the 2nd. One piece of advice to Chris - careful about premature "Gator" celebrations! That one came back to bite you - take a lesson from that!
Well I have been saying for the last two years that the Als' coaching staff need to groom the heir apparent to AC, whose career is coming to an end (at some point!). Let's face it, and in spite of the article on AC in the Gazette yesterday, he is one injury away from the end of that glorious career. Even AC committed the errors all young QBs do when they are breaking in. Fortunately for him, he had Hall of Famer Tracy Ham on the sidelines to mentor him. Well, Adrian, Chris, and Ricky can learn valuable lessons from AC!
Some could argue that this is the best way - make or break! However, I would say that the QB position is arguably the most difficult to master in team sports. There must be obvious talent, but the QB is called upon to react in split-second situations, make quick (including secondary and tertiary) reads, keep a balanced attack, come up with alternate O schemes, execute, be a leader of men, motivate his team... A tall order for some young new guy breaking in. All of this, I would argue, takes time to develop. Well, the coaching staff has no choice now - they have to develop their young QBs, unless, or course, the injury to AC is not that serious and he can be expected to return soon. Even in the best scenario, i.e. bruised ribs, this takes time to heal. Anything worse and he could be out for many games. Let's hope for some good news today.