Game Thread: Ottawa at Toronto Saturday, October 26th

[Al&Kat]

Back to the game itself. Thanks Argos for a happy memory to carry me thru the playoffs and
Off-Season.
Nice touch with the junior team players holding out the flags for the anthem.

Most impressed by Ouellette, Kwemo and Prukop, in that order.

[Golden Fleece]

This post made me unbelievably happy. Thank you.

Well Mike, for all you've done for the Argos and given back to us as fans here at the forum, I'm glad you got something back from that post.

[argolio]

I cannot understand all the hate for MBT. With such a poor team and horrid O line to protect him, he has put up good numbers. Forget about the losses, since at least four of those are directly blamed on the kickers. Several directly blamed on a defence that gave up last minute scores. MBT doesn't call the plays. I know he has some problem with the deep ball, so I keep asking why is he making those plays? He started the game great with 10 to 20 yard throws and then they went with about 5 straight throws way down field, for no reason. If the OC had stuck with what works, then MBT would have looked even better.

I think the reason was by design-- to get himself 4,000 yards quickly, end his day, and give Prukop and O'Connor as much playing time as possible.

S.J. Green did not play much if at all after he got his 1,000 yards.

Looked like they were targeting Edwards a lot in the 2nd half to get him close to a thousand. He's 48 yards short.

[Shatto]

It is an Intriguing question if there are 9 QB's who one would rate higher than MBT. All players including QB's have their strengths and deficiencies and how one sees those, affects how one evaluates the QB's. We have to recognize it is a highly subjective exercise. So, from a purely personal viewpoint I'd rate the following QB's ahead of MBT as a starter----Masoli, Mitchell, Reilly, Fajardo, Harris, Evans, Nichols, Arbuckle and Adams.

As stated, this is an interesting if somewhat fruitless exercise and one could present cogent arguments to choose MBT over some of the above. However the question I'd pose would be----if you were given a choice of any of the above or MBT to be your starting QB, who would you choose? My choice would be any of those over MBT. Others will disagree and might well be correct but nevertheless that is my admittedly subjective viewpoint.

If we have, as expected by many, a new coach next year, it will very interesting to see who he will want to be next year's starter. Whoever he chooses, I would respect his decision way ahead of any of ours --well certainly mine!

[paulwoods13]

If we have, as expected by many, a new coach next year, it will very interesting to see who he will want to be next year's starter. Whoever he chooses, I would respect his decision way ahead of any of ours --well certainly mine!

Ditto.

On a related note, I hope and expect most of the current staff (including the HC) will be relieved of their duties as soon as the season ends. The fact that the team has not issued ST renewals tells me they are waiting to unfurl a campaign built around the new GM and the new coach (which may or may not be the same individual).

With respect to the QB, one of the challenges the org faces is not knowing how free agency will play out. If they decide to move on from MBT, they won't know who the new starting QB will be until mid-Feb, unless they can make a trade for someone under contract or a pending free agent (like Masoli) that they can sign in advance of free agency. The latter seems unlikely, and it's pretty risky to hope/assume you can get who you want in free agency, as we learned the hard way this year. All of that would seem to point to re-signing MBT now -- which does not preclude also going after a FA like Masoli or Collaros or Arbuckle (assuming those guys get to free agency). It's worth remembering that all of the pending free agents can sign with their existing teams before February; I would not be surprised to see Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary make pitches to re-up their guys, especially if anything happens between now and then to make it necessary (e.g. Wpg winning the Grey Cup with Collaros, Evans or Mitchell suffering a serious injury, etc.). Given that, if I were in Pinball's shoes, I'd be working to sign MBT well before February, so that there is at least one experienced (and in my view, at least, starting-calibre) QB under contract heading into next season.

[Rich]

It's worth remembering that all of the pending free agents can sign with their existing teams before February; I would not be surprised to see Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary make pitches to re-up their guys, especially if anything happens between now and then to make it necessary (e.g. Wpg winning the Grey Cup with Collaros

Even if they win the Cup, there's no way in hell Collaros signs in Winnipeg IF the Argos also offer him a contract. He will even accept a little bit less in salary for the opportunity to play where he's put down serious roots. Who wouldn't?

[paulwoods13]

A Wpg fan told me today that if Bombers win the Grey Cup with Collaros, he could be elected mayor. Would he rather be the Grey Cup hero (after 29 years of failure) in a football-mad city that is free of traffic woes and feels like a friendly small town, or the QB for a team that is trying really hard but has a long way to go to become a part of the sporting consciousness of a gigantic metropolis? Obviously this is all hypothetical until and unless the Bombers win the Grey Cup (which is a major long shot at best) but I would not count on Zach returning if he is able to play out the dream scenario in the Peg.

[dmont]

Didnt I read somewhere that he's newly married to a girl from Markham and just bought a house in the GTA? That's a powerful draw to sign back with Toronto.

[1971GreyCup]

As much as I like Zach, I think the Argos have to move on. The team can’t put all their chips on a QB that has spent so long on the injury list. We’ve been through that in spades these last few years with dismal results.

Like MBT, the most we should expect from Zach is a solid backup. If history is a guide, I’d suspect “Pinball” will look for a Damon Allen type QB. Leadership and a winning tradition. Could he pry Mike Reilly from B.C.? They need to reload and maybe the overpaid for Mike. We know their owner always is looking to save money.

[Antwon]

I’m trying to stay out of the QB debate for next year until the end of the season as a lot can still change.
As much as I’ve come to respect MBT, there’s also frustration. As seen in a number of over throws in the last game.
But as someone pointed out, it may be worthwhile to try and sign him at the end of the season. Offer good backup money with incentives for starts etc.
Beyond that who knows what QB’s will make it to FA. It’s safe to say Ottawa will be going hard for one or more. And coaching? Is there going to be a changes?
Importantly, they should continue to bring MOC along as the potential future starter.

[paulwoods13]

Offer good backup money with incentives for starts etc.
Beyond that who knows what QB’s will make it to FA. It’s safe to say Ottawa will be going hard for one or more.

As I've noted before, with three teams in need of a starting QB next year, there will be demand for guys who have proven they can play (even those who have some flaws). Accordingly, I don't see why MBT would even consider backup money at this point. There's an excellent chance either Ott or Wpg, or both, might offer him starter's money if he gets to free agency.

The worst possible scenario, in my view, would be to get to free agency with only O'Connor under contract. We simply cannot risk a repeat of what happened this year -- pinning our hopes on signing a big-name free-agent QB only to see him (or all of them) sign elsewhere. That's one reason I want the Argos to offer MBT a good contract right now, a contract that will allow him to make very good money if he ends up starting, and good money if he ends up backing up. Something like a scenario I sketched out earlier where between the No. 1 and No. 2 QBs, we'd spend in the range of $540,000 total. Say $270k to MBT, $180k to a second proven QB (like Zach Collaros), with an additional $5k per game to whomever plays 50+% of offensive snaps in any given game.

[paulwoods13]

Didnt I read somewhere that he's newly married to a girl from Markham and just bought a house in the GTA? That's a powerful draw to sign back with Toronto.

Yes, but it's no guarantee he'd sign here. Assuming he has options, he presumably will consider them and do whatever he decides is best. The main factors might be some combination of money (base and bonuses), quality of life, team quality/potential playoff money, relationships he has with players and coaches, etc. Assuming he is highly likely to sign with Toronto because of where his wife is from and where he owns as house strikes me as risky.

[Argofan_1000]

As much as I like Zach, I think the Argos have to move on. The team can’t put all their chips on a QB that has spent so long on the injury list. We’ve been through that in spades these last few years with dismal results.

Like MBT, the most we should expect from Zach is a solid backup. If history is a guide, I’d suspect “Pinball” will look for a Damon Allen type QB. Leadership and a winning tradition. Could he pry Mike Reilly from B.C.? They need to reload and maybe the overpaid for Mike. We know their owner always is looking to save money.

have to agree - we need to move on from Zach, but wouldn't it be great if he didn't have the concussion issue. One of the good things in the CFL this year is emergence of young QB's. Some will be free agents next year. Let Franklin find something else, keep the other 3 and go after one of the FA to solve the QB problem. Problem with the young crew we have is they will be looking for an opportunity and will move on. Argo's QB farm system for the league.