If starter can’t win, Kelly needs to admit it

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/07/2009 (5926 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First of all, spare us the Mike Kelly-dumping-Kevin Glenn angle, no matter how delicious it might have been Sunday morning, as the grumbling residents of Bomberville came to terms watching the guy they catapulted to Hamilton outduel his anointed replacement — by a country mile, we should note.

No rewriting of history is allowed, especially from the legions of Bombers fans who, from the moment Kelly arrived in Winnipeg, pleaded for a new quarterback. Glenn wasn’t good enough, remember, even though he was the East nominee for most outstanding player a couple years back and, if not for one freak injury, could have led the Bombers to a Grey Cup in 2007.

What was suggested, and this is not 20-20 hindsight, was that perhaps the Bombers might have kept Glenn as a safety net, given the dearth of experience of the supposed heirs-apparent to the No. 1 job.

You know, kinda like why the Tiger-Cats signed Glenn.

But, hey, Kelly was determined to move forward. After all, he’d already surrendered two high draft picks to Edmonton for the unproven Stefan LeFors and the kid was going to start. Period.

Fine. But here’s where it can get sketchy. Because while LeFors was fabulously unspectacular in Games 1 (a 19-17 loss) and 2 (a 30-18 victory), it was clearly obvious the lefty was struggling mightily in Hamilton.

On the other hand, Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille yanked his young starter, Quinton Porter, to start the second half — even though Porter had better numbers than LeFors — while Kelly stood pat, keeping Bombers backup Bryan Randall on the bench.

Ultimately, it wasn’t that Kelly stuck with LeFors until it was too late that was disconcerting. What was truly confounding was that Kelly kept throwing out LeFors even though the kid was hurting from taking a thunderous hit from Tiger-Cats veteran Otis Floyd late in the first half.

So even after LeFors was injured, the head coach refused to cut bait and turn to Randall, who, for the record, has shown just as much (or little) promise to date in limited action.

Now if this is all about a head coach sticking with a game yet nicked-up quarterback who still believes a victory is in reach, well, Kelly had every right to go with his gut in the heat of battle. Besides, Glenn is always just one throw away from an interception for a touchdown.

But if there is just one molecule of ego in the decision-making process, that’s unacceptable. And you know exactly what we’re talking about. Kelly has invested a huge whack of his reputation in LeFors, and not just the draft picks, either. Kelly, the quarterback guru, has told anyone who’d listen that LeFors has not only the physical tools, but the mental makeup to be a CFL starter. And a winner.

And, to be fair, LeFors has exhibited those very qualities — accountability, mobility, poise, quick decision-making — almost every time he has taken the field. Not great, but good enough and, hopefully for the Bombers, earning a few air miles in the process.

However, it was obvious on Saturday night in Hamilton that LeFors, after the collision with Floyd, was in difficulty. You’d think he was actually right-handed, only throwing with his left. I mean, 7-of-19 for 99 yards in three-plus quarters? Those are Rubleyesque numbers, less the interceptions.

And then there was the sheer optics of the situation: the quarterback Kelly released to make way for the Chosen One making a few “How do you like me now?” gestures to the Bombers bench after throwing his second touchdown. And you know what? Glenn deserved that moment, too. (We just wonder if Hamilton fans will be as enamoured with Glenn after a loss, when he pulls the petulant act that too often characterized his career as a Bomber. But we digress.)

Now without question Kelly might challenge even the notion that ego kept LeFors in the game. All we know is that Kelly’s backup and the backup in the Tiger-Cats uniform were both originally brought to Winnipeg by none other than Paper Napkin Boy. So go figure that Bellefeuille, with no horse in the race, was quicker to pull the trigger.

We’re just sayin’.

Look, LeFors may have earned the starting job on merit. He’s shown some of that, too.

But to keep the job means production, bottom line. And “your guy” should be the guy who wins. Period.

The Bombers don’t need ego getting in the way of tough decisions. Face it, they’ve got enough problems already.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Randy Turner
Reporter

Randy Turner spent much of his journalistic career on the road. A lot of roads. Dirt roads, snow-packed roads, U.S. interstates and foreign highways. In other words, he got a lot of kilometres on the odometer, if you know what we mean.

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