Blue not wise to put all their eggs in Willy’s basket

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This article was published 04/11/2014 (3988 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Loyalty is an attribute highly prized in professional football. People admire players that are loyal to coaches and teams, and vice-versa. Yet, when loyalty is so strong and blinding it supersedes the end goal of winning games, it is time for even this characteristic to be reviewed during the off-season.

Now that the 2014 season has ended for the Blue Bombers, we can say with conviction that Drew Willy is the best quarterbacking prospect Winnipeg has seen in some time, and his first season at the helm was as good as we have witnessed since Kevin Glenn peaked in 2007.

As a rookie starter, Willy threw for just under 4,000 yards and 14 touchdowns. More impressive than his numbers was his willingness to play through injuries and never complain or point fingers at his teammates or coaches, even when he was brutalized in the pocket.

He did a lot of things right on the football field, and said even more off of it.

But how loyal should a coaching staff and team be to any player after only one year, even if it was more productive and promising than anything we’ve seen in seven seasons?

Should the franchise be so appreciative they finally have competency at the pivot position, that they should turn their cheek and ignore all other possibilities?

Because the reality of Willy’s first season as the premier passer was actually one of regression. In the first half of the 2014 season, Willy passed for an average of 262 yards a game, went 6-3, and threw 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. In the second half of the season — starting one less game and unable to finish two others due to injuries — he passed for an average of 176 yards a game, threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions, and did not win a game he finished.

This statistical unveiling is not to say Willy was responsible for the team’s failings, or his tailing off at the quarterback position was the biggest problem this team had down the stretch. I would look at the offensive line, the lack of a running game until Paris Cotton came on the scene, the musical chairs at receiver and play calling, before I would throw culpability in Willy’s direction.

No, the point is whether this team would have been more competitive down the stretch had they had less of an allegiance to No. 5, and less reluctance to sit him down no matter what condition he was in. It is one thing to weather the storm and be stubborn, playing a proven all-star quarterback, or a future hall of famer that has shown time and again that he can bring the goods on any given night, but Willy isn’t there yet and may never progress to that level.

There were numerous occasions this season when both Brian Brohm and Robert Marve showed flashes that were dismissed or ignored because of a loyalty to Willy. There were also countless situations where a QB with an ability to scramble and extend plays would have complemented a club with obvious protection problems. Yet, had Willy not hurt his hand in the first half of the meaningless Calgary game on Saturday, we still most likely would not have seen Marve enter the game and orchestrate a come-from-behind victory.

Not only does it seem this team is way ahead of itself with its loyalty to one quarterback and a refusal to explore playing time for any other, but this policy doesn’t seem to carry over to its other players.

Time and again, players like Johnny Sears, who got injured, had a hard time getting back on the roster when the team was performing well, and had to wait for an opportunity that did not disrupt that chemistry. Yet when the quarterback was having an off night and was clearly pressing and struggling through a number of games, the betterment of the individual — for his supposed development — was put ahead of the fortunes of the football team.

The always popular backup is not always the answer, and we still don’t know the full capabilities of Brohm and Marve. But isn’t it prudent to at least explore the possibility of what other athletes can bring to the table — even if it’s just situational — instead of going all in and committing yourself to the first good thing that comes your way?

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97