Jul
Porter gets the nod again this week
Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:
Let’s deal with the “who” question first, just to get it out of the way: Quinton Porter will start at quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when they host the B.C. Lions on Friday, despite the fact he’s been relieved by veteran backup Kevin Glenn in each of the past two games.
“Quinton did some good things, Kevin did some good things. But, as long as Quinton is continuing to develop, we’ll give him the opportunity,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said yesterday.
Which leads us rather nicely to the “why.”
“For people around football, it’s easy to see what’s going on. You’re developing a guy for the future and you have another guy here to help you now and you have to find that mix where both things can happen,” Bellefeuille said.
“There will be a day when the young guy gets it.”
Porter’s numbers have been decent, though unspectacular, through four games: He’s thrown for almost 800 yards, completing just over 67 per cent of his passes. He’s has three touchdown passes against four interceptions and has run for another score.
But the team has struggled in the red zone, too often settling for three points instead of seven. Porter said the offence was able to move the ball against a tough Montreal defence last Thursday but couldn’t capitalize, particularly early in the game.
“We have to get it in the end zone. So this game when we get in the red zone I’m going to slow it down in the huddle and do what we need to do to focus and get us in the end zone,” he said.
Porter said he’s aware of his other shortcomings, as well.
“Obviously, I know I need to play better. I watch the film and there’s specific reasons I did the things I did. I’m not crazy, I didn’t just make all these horrible mistakes — though it might appear that way,” he said.
Bellefeuille said Porter’s natural intelligence — he has an MBA from Boston College — may actually be hindering his development.
“I think, when most cerebral quarterbacks start to understand more of the game, they start to think about things they don’t have to. It comes into play during the game. That’s a normal progression for young, intelligent quarterbacks,” Bellefeuille said. “He’ll learn to put that aside and get back to basics.”
For his part, Glenn continues to play the role of supportive veteran, despite having moved the ball with authority against both Winnipeg and Montreal.
“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of putting the offence in a good position,” Glenn said.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t want to start. Any guy on this team who tells you they don’t want to start shouldn’t be here.”
Still, he says he remains supportive of Bellefeuille’s decision.
“I’ve been in this league long enough to know it’s a long season. When you’re called upon, you take advantage of the opportunity. Whatever the decision is, we’re all in this to win.”
As they have all season, both quarterbacks eschewed the word “controversy” when describing the situation.
“I’ve been through this since I was eight years old. I’ve won the starting job, I’ve lost the starting job, I’ve won it again. It’s happened a million times. It’s not that a big of a deal,” Porter said.
“There’s a lot of different elements that go into a quarterback controversy and that’s not what it is here,” Glenn said.
And Bellefeuille points out that as other teams struggle to find a single productive quarterback — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed former Argo Michael Bishop to a contract this weekend — the Cats have two.
“It’s a luxury to have a Kevin Glenn and it’s also a luxury to have a Quinton Porter. There are teams that would take either of those guys in a heartbeat right now.”
