Throwers now slingers

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/10/2010 (5456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alex Brink, his arm in a sling thanks to a broken collarbone, spotted Steven Jyles in the stands at the Winnipeg Indoor Soccer Complex and shouted something along the lines of:

“How’s that sling treating you?”

And there’s another epitaph option for the 2010 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season.

Think about it for a second: All three quarterbacks out of training camp have at one time — either during the summer or now as things mercifully come to an end — had their arm carefully braced to their torso.

Jyles has a separated shoulder, suffered falling to the turf after a big hit by Toronto Argonauts linebacker Kevin Eiben in Saturday’s 27-8 loss. The 28-year-old, who started 10 games and was the quarterback of record for 12 contests, will require surgery on ligaments in the throwing shoulder and figures to need about two months of rehab during the off-season.

Brink’s collarbone will have all winter to heal, so that’s good news for the rookie quarterback and his chances to return next season.

Buck Pierce — a man who has seen enough injury misfortune over his career that he should wear a sling under his shoulder pads just to save the trainers some time — is still on his long road of recovery with his dislocated right elbow.

Pierce was throwing again this week, but his rehab will certainly be an ongoing evaluation for the Bombers as they draw up a blueprint for the 2011 season. With Jyles and Pierce both nursing serious arm injuries into the winter, the Bombers QB position — once thought of as the envy of the league (when both players were healthy) — now has question marks.

“I haven’t seen it before — especially losing two guys in one ball game,” Jyles said of the sling situation Wednesday, addressing the media for the first time since his injury. “It’s one of those things, you know.”

If the goal now is to take anything positive from the 2010 season into next year then look no further than Jyles, who proved he could be a serviceable CFL quarterback. In his time — remember he only had one start in his four-year career before coming to Winnipeg for his fifth CFL summer — he went 196-of-318 for 2,804 yards with 19 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His quarterback efficiency rating finishes above 100, which for a first-year starter has to be considered a victory, but he also wears some of the stain from the team’s poor win-loss record.

“It’s a young team and getting to get familiar with the guys, and I think we had pretty good success with each other,” Jyles said, performing a brief autopsy on his first season in Winnipeg. “Our record didn’t show it, but I think overall we played pretty well.”

Jyles has been a polarizing topic for Bomber fans. Some love the way he’s progressed into the starter’s role, seeing him as the ‘quarterback of the future’ the club has been longing for. With a little more seasoning, optimists say, he will be Winnipeg’s quarterback for the next decade.

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Detractors are quick to point to the club’s record in close games (seven losses by four points or less), believing the quarterback is the sole difference maker in that statistical category. A few question if the club has total confidence in Jyles’ abilities, too, and ask if his laid-back persona is a good fit for the position.

Some even wonder if Jyles assumes enough responsibility for the fortunes of the offence and the team as a whole.

Whatever side of the field you’re screaming from, know this: Barring any rash roster decisions, Jyles will be back in Blue and Gold next summer — and he’s planning to challenge for the starting QB spot.

“I’m very confident in myself and I know what I’m capable of. I’m looking forward to next year because I can come in and be more of a leader,” he said.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca