vs.
With training camp on the horizon, I thought it was time to discuss a topic that is always of interest to football fans around the globe: starting Quarterback.
They say the backup Quarterback is always the most popular guy in town, and Hamilton is no exception to that rule. Over the years I have seen many Ti-Cats games and heard many a fan holler for the backup to be put into the game. Danny McManus, Jason Maas, Casey Printers and Quinton Porter have all dealt with the fans wanting Marcus Brady, Timmy Chang, Richie Williams and Kevin Glenn, respectively, to replace them.
Last season, a battle played out between Quinton Porter, who was anointed the starter before the season began, and Kevin Glenn, who was signed to add insurance and veteran know-how. Porter played well early, amassing a 4-2 record as the team's starting QB, and at the time things looked bright for the former Boston College starter. During the middle and late parts of the season, Porter struggled with both injury and effectiveness, and the calls for Glenn to replace him grew louder.
During the entire season, when Porter played ineffectively, the coaches inserted Glenn to provide a spark on offense. It worked against the Bombers in Week 3 at home, but it didn't work against the same team on Thanksgiving, again at home. It wasn't until after the debacle on Thanksgiving that the Cats turned to Glenn the rest of the way.
After a 41-38 loss to Montreal, a game that saw Glenn throw for over 500 yards, the Cats reeled off three straight wins (against Toronto, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg) with Glenn behind centre, to secure their first playoff game since 2004 and their first home playoff game since 2001. Glenn played fantastically during the final month and was named the CFL Player of the Month for October.
Now, the question remains, who should be the QB to lead the Ti-Cats into the 2010 CFL season? In Glenn, the Cats have a proven winner and a man that led his former team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, to a Grey Cup appearance in 2007. In Porter, the Cats have a great, young QB who could be the next star of the league. As I've said plenty of times, I see a lot of Matt Dunnigan in Quinton Porter. Both Glenn and Porter have shown they can lead this team to victory, but one gives them a better chance to win the Grey Cup in 2010:
Kevin Glenn
As I said when the team announced the re-signing of both QBs, I think Glenn provides the Cats with the best chance to win now. I still believe that Porter is the guy for the future, but as the team is constituted currently, it would be beneficial for the Tabbies to begin the season with Kevin Glenn under centre.
I must stress that I am not writing this in the hopes of dividing Tigertown on the Quarterback issue. I sat in the stands last season and had to endure the deluge of deluded fans thinking that we could only like one of these players. Starting Kevin Glenn is not an indictment of Quinton Porter, just a realization that a former MOP candidate is better suited to lead a team to a Grey Cup than a 3rd-year player. Also, if the team decides to hand the reigns back to Porter, it is similarly not an indictment of Glenn, just that the team has decided it would rather focus on the future at the expense of the present. That mode of thinking is fine by me, so long as it sets the Cats up for success for the next 5-10 years.
I'll admit that I am backing the horse who already has a head start. I'd be surprised if anyone but Kevin Glenn is the starting QB for the Cats on July 2nd, when the team travels to Winnipeg to start the 2010 CFL season.
Now I shall leave the floor open to you, my faithful readers. I've made my decision, now you can make yours. Who do you want to see start at QB for the Tiger-Cats in 2010?
RELATED: Glenn, Porter Get Extensions
I agree with you Josh. Unless Porter has taken the lessons of last season to heart, and comes out of camp much improved and the clear choice as starter, Glenn gives us the best opportunity to make it to the playoffs again.
ReplyDeleteHis experience (and he's only turning 31 next month), decisiveness, and consistency are all something that can take years to develop. He can make the reads, and the corresponding adjustments. He may lack the raw physical tools of Porter, but he knows how to effectively use what he has. That said, he is not immune to mistakes (INTs especially) and has had his share of bad stretches, and cannot carry a team too far on his own. But if the Cats' play continues to improve across the entire field, then his performance is in his own hands. He's also a better leader than Porter at this point - the team rallied around him last year, perhaps because they had more confidence in him, but also because he took charge.
There's even a chance Porter may not win the #2 slot: Tafralis has showed us some good things in limited action. HE actually reminds me more of a young Dunigan; Porter does have some similarities too, but has yet to show the fire and intensity which Matt had. Speaking of which, that was the thing about Glenn that I was not expecting last year - I had never thought he was a very passionate player, not until seeing him on a regular basis... his enthusiasm surprised me.
And no worries about dividing Tigertown. Tigertown finds plenty of reasons to divide itself, and QB is just one of them.
I think Glenn is going to be the man but the Cats need to do the same thing they did last year with their QBs. Have Glenn start, and when he struggles, put Porter in.
ReplyDeleteI am already sick and tired of this Adam Tafralis garbage. The guy made 1 throw that people remember but everyone forgets that the ball was severly underthrown and the receive had to adjust and fight for the ball.
My issue with Glenn is that for stretches of games, he goes quarters without moving the ball. In the playoff game, he did nothing until we got a TD at the end of the 3rd quarter.
That being said, I think that our success depends on our offensive co-ordinator who I have zero faith in.
At the beginning of last season, say up to Labour Day, when Porter was starting, we were winning the close games and we were moving the ball well. Then all of a sudden, after Labour Day, Gibson decided no to run the ball. When you see KG's stats at the end of last year with all those 300+ yard games, it was because we abandoned the run.
If you have a healthy dose of the running game, Porter and Glenn can win a lot of games this year.
Cobb had a great year but Jamal Robertson was close to him and we all saw how bad the Argos offense was.
My point of view is based on more than "1 throw" A_C. He only saw duty in short yardage situations last year and only had a half-dozen pass attempts, and yes that included the TD (not sure I'd say it was "severely" underthrown, I think he threw it where it would not get picked but whatever... a TD is a TD and receivers often have to make adjustments on many plays). The previous year he played fairly well when given a quarter or a half to work with the last few games, well enough to show some promise anyway even if they were nothing games to the Cats.
ReplyDeleteOne man's garbage is another's treasure... at this point it's too early to say Tafralis is either, but the jury's still out on which one Porter will be as well. Real deal or another in a long, long, LONG list of fan-anointed Ticat QB saviours?
TAFRALIS WILL BE STARTING SOON
ReplyDelete