In the Canadian Football League, you are only as good as your quarterback!
So, after digesting the startling experience advantage the potential starting QB's in the East have over their Western counterparts, consider this: you are only one play away from relying on your back-up; one play!
You don't have to go back very far to recall instances where teams have had to go to, or in many cases, chose to go to their back-up quarterbacks this past season. Winnipeg comes to mind immediately. At one time last season, head coach Paul Lapolice was playing with his number 4 guy let alone his number 2.
Stampeders' head coach John Hufnagel made an extremely tough decision to sit down the CFL's 2010 MOP in Henry Burris to go to his #2 guy Drew Tate (permanently).
Even this past season's MOP and Grey Cup winning QB Travis Lulay was pulled off the field in favor of Jarious Jackson for a bit. Anthony Calvillo was sat down; Kevin Glenn was yanked so fast it made your head spin and that was in the first game of the season.
So with that said, let's take a look at these mind-boggling numbers from the potential East vs West back-up quarterbacks and you will see a completely different scenario unfold in favour of the Western teams. These numbers blew me away! Thanks to CFL on TSN statistician Jon Perlberg for his outstanding work! (Note: These are only potential back-ups.)
East Division - Experience
| QB |
Reg Season Starts |
Playoff starts |
Grey Cup starts |
Grey Cup wins |
| Porter |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| McPherson |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Brink |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Hall |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
24 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
West Division - Experience
| QB |
Reg Season Starts |
Playoff starts |
Grey Cup starts |
Grey Cup wins |
| Glenn |
125 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| Joseph |
101 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
| Jackson |
22 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Bergquist
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
248 |
12 |
1
|
1 |
East Division - Career Passing
| QB |
Yards |
TDs |
INTs |
| Porter |
4,095 |
21 |
18 |
| McPherson |
1,310 |
9 |
6 |
| Brink |
1,153 |
5 |
5 |
| Hall |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
6,558 |
35 |
29 |
West Division - Career Passing
| QB |
Yards |
TDs |
INTs |
| Glenn |
32,488 |
179 |
128 |
| Joseph |
25,057 |
130 |
109 |
| Jackson |
7,032 |
51 |
35 |
Bergquist
|
10 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
64,587 |
360 |
272 |
East Division - Career Rushing
| QB |
Yards |
TDs |
Fumbles |
| Porter |
910 |
15 |
19 |
| McPherson |
861 |
11 |
2 |
| Brink |
221 |
7 |
5 |
| Hall |
25 |
1 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
2,017 |
34 |
26 |
West Division - Career Rushing
| QB |
Yards |
TDs |
Fumbles |
| Glenn |
1,370 |
11 |
30 |
| Joseph |
4,241 |
49 |
60 |
| Jackson |
1,048 |
8 |
20 |
Bergquist
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
6,661 |
68 |
113 |
Notes:
- Kerry Joseph was the starting QB when Saskatchewan won the 2007 Grey Cup
- West Division back-up QBs have 18 more years of CFL experience, 224 more regular season starts, 12 more playoff starts, one more Grey Cup starts, and one more Grey Cup win than their Eastern opposition
- West back-ups have averaged 8.6 starts at QB per season, East back-ups have only averaged 2.2 starts per season
- West back-ups have thrown for nearly 10 times more passing yards and over 10 times more TDs than the East back-ups
- East Division back-up QBs have a grand total of 0 post-season starts combined (playoffs + Grey Cup)
- Argos back-up B.J. Hall has 0 career completions, going 0/3 in his rookie campaign of 2011
- Riders back-up Cole Bergquist has just one completion on six attempts in his brief CFL career
The experience factor definitely favors the potential starting quarterbacks in the East over those in the West but, things change quickly in our game and if they do or when they do, the balance of quarterbacking experience is quickly remedied with the West holding a distinct advantage among their men waiting in the wings!
Now I'll pose this question to you. Based on my last three articles and the numbers presented, who's actually in the best quarterbacking position, East or West?
Ready Break!!!