Never too early to start this debate:
Shiltz - In the 1st TD drive yesterday, he showed his best in a controlled short to intermediate passing game. His passes were accurate and easy to catch (but I will admit too soft for deeper throws and that's why his longer throws allowed time for DBs to make plays on the ball and get knockdowns; 2 in one series in the 2nd).
Shiltz has a better 'pocket presence,' exhibits more 'calm in the pocket,' and escapes more frequently and is a better open-field runner.
Although Dane Evans has looked better in the pocket behind the current O-line, he still throws too hard and sometimes behind his short and intermediate receivers which earlier in the year, caused tips, deflections and picks.
Evans jammed his right thumb again yesterday. Two games in a row kind of makes it chronic.
Shiltz knows the Montreal defense better.
Yesterday, both Hills and STE ran for over 8 yards a carry and both are dangerous and able to break a long one on a short pass (so is Felix Garand-Gauthier) but I don't see Evans as able as Shiltz is to find them as his second receiver on any given play (Again, Shiltz's greater calm, IMO).
When things get desperate against Montreal and the Cats are down by 2 scores (Hopefully, that never happens!), Evans should go in and do his best Daryll 'The Mad Bomber' Lamonica impersonation.
@DisplacedCatsFan Respectfully, this isn't an anti-Dane thread. I'm asking for a friendly debate over a question that should be on every fan's mind this week. I'm inviting you and everybody to provide your opinion on 'Who (Evans or Shiltz) should start in Montreal?' Even somebody who thinks it should be Newman.
And why am I "the same people?" I've never written any put-down about Dane Evans.
Maybe three or four people, on this site, all told. Thatās FAR from āevery fanās mindā. Since āIā am a fan, does that mean you speak for me?
The only ones mentioning this are the media in an attempt to gather clicks, or those who post inane threads about āexperimentsā.
Shiltz is simply not a starting-calibur QB - never has been, never will be. Newman -might- have a future, but I honestly havenāt seen any screaming promise in the game he started. CERTAINLY NOT THE PROMISE DANE SHOWED IN HIS FIRST RELIEF APPEARANCE (AND BEYOND) IN 2019!!!
The only way Dane doesnāt start would be because heās too injured to play football. Why canāt people understand this?
@DisplacedCatsFan So that's your opinion on the title question and I respect it.
And I would never put any money down on Steinauer starting Shiltz; head-to-head when they're both equally healthy, he chooses Evans.
Dane Evans will start at Molson Stadium Sunday in the Eastern Semiā¦.
We now once again have a two QB Offence , a couple of Texans will be throwing the ball in La Belle Province Sunday .
Shiltz has shown he is a starting calibre QB , at least to me the fan and Iām sure his Coach agrees , love the speed of his rollouts and quick passes .
I would say youāre definitely correct about the starter, and the result of an injury to the starter. But the outcome of the starter āfalteringā is very much up in the air.
Iām not sure I even know Steinauerās philosophy on this. Last season there were times it seemed to make sense to pull Masoli in games where he struggled but the coaches left him in. Then they finally replaced him in the East Final, and if they hadnāt, our season would have ended that day.
They were quick to replace Evans this season during his slump (sometimes seeing a lift to the offence with Shiltz in the game), but not so much since he and Shiltz both came back from injury. My guess is that they plan to go with Evans for the full game even if he struggles early.
My observation many games back was that Evans seemed to get rattled if things went bad early on (e.g. a turnover) and things then went from bad to worse. Over the past few games, I saw more ability from him to recover from early setbacks and find a way to scrape out a win. Thatās an argument for leaving him in the game to try and work things out.
The main distinction Iāve seen between the two is consistency. Shiltz plays in a narrow range from roughly B+ to B-. He hasnāt bombed as a Ticat. Evans has had a much wider range in 2022, from A to D (or worse). If Evans brings his C or D game next week for whatever reason, Iād personally be more comfortable replacing that at some point with the B game of the backup.