The Calgary Stampeders held their lone practice of the week on Thursday at McMahon Stadium.
It was behind closed doors, though, so there was little to no information to be gleaned from their on-field session.
After Monday’s unimpressive performance against the Edmonton Elks in the Labour Day Classic, there are going to be changes to the lineup. They’re needed and inevitable.
At quarterback, though?
That’s the big question.
And, understandably, it was not one that Stamps GM/head coach Dave Dickenson was going to answer after Thursday’s practice.
“I can’t tell you that,” Dickenson said. “I did rep a lot of people today. I’ve got faith in Jake (Maier), I do. You guys know that, but I’ve got to at least explore a little bit.”
Maier has been the team’s starting quarterback since taking over for Bo Levi Mitchell two years ago. On Monday, though, he threw four interceptions and struggled to get the offence clicking.
That’s not entirely on Maier, of course. There probably aren’t very many players in the Stampeders locker room who can look in the mirror and say honestly that they were good enough in the Labour Day Classic.
But when a quarterback throws four interceptions, there are going to be questions asked.
If Matthew Shiltz is healthy, is it time for him to get some time? The Stampeders signed the veteran QB this off-season and he’s proven he can win CFL games.
If he’s healthy, there are a lot of people who would like to see him get a shot.
While we haven’t seen Tommy Stevens throw the football much, the short-yardage specialist would surely relish the opportunity to actually toss it around a little in a game. He’s a quarterback, not a running back, after all.
And Logan Bonner has looked solid in practice over his season-and-a-half with the Stampeders. You don’t spend all that time developing a player if you don’t think they can play, right?
“Matt’s trying to get in the mix, Tommy wants a package, Logan has showed up from the get-go and looked good,” Dickenson said. “Just trying to have the best roster I can.”
Whether the Stamps stick with Maier or go with another look is anyone’s guess at this point. We’ll find out on Friday morning when they release their roster for Saturday’s rematch with the Elks in Edmonton.
With only one practice between games, there hasn’t been much time for a potential new starter to actually get the reps they’ll probably need to thrive in a vital matchup with a provincial rival.
But if a coach is going to preach competition and accountability, that has to extend to every position.
So Dickenson’s been left with little choice but to look at his options at quarterback. Four interceptions in one game is too many, plain and simple.
“I take input but I’ve also got to be fair,” Dickenson said. “I do think everyone is at least repping. It’s tough, I’m not saying that quarterback has been any different from a lot of players on our team and coaches, everybody needs to be a little bit better and it’s obvious. We all know that, we have to handle it as we do.”
As for the rest of the team, well, with Thursday’s practice being closed to the public and the media there’s little information to be shared.
There will be changes from the lineup that played so poorly on Labour Day, though. We know that much for sure.
“I think probably I’ve never practised with so many guys, everybody getting scout team, everybody getting regular reps, because certain guys are banged up,” Dickenson said. “Is it a good thing? I think we’ve played these guys, we kind of know what we’re trying to do, we know the tweaks, we kind of had a double gameplan anyways, so we’ve already practised a lot of the plays and the looks we thought we could keep for the second time.”