And Argos clean out ALL their QBs too

[OV Bandit]

 

  Wonder what's up here? - Barker trying to arrange for some big deal to acquire a proven vet starter (Ray )?  surely he's not going to settle for a huge injury risk Buck Pierce (who i really like as a QB) or some unproven CFL back-up who isn't close to real CFL starter material (Jarious Jackson, LeFors).  Maybe Jimbo is trying to put his stamp on the team, and he just may think highly enough of his connections down south that he would enter a CFL season with a bunch of new to the CFL QBs? - say an NFL clipboard holder + a young QB or 2 right out of US college ball + an older arena ball "pro veteran" (i guess bringing  that arena guy he had with the Stamps last season would rule out a total CFL QB neophyte rotation for TC?).

  Argos have freed up some SMS ca$h with the release of all 3 QBs plus an expensive (I'm guessing) Zeke Moreno.  Blockbuster trade for a CFL starter?  Jeff Garcia back to the CFL?

  Curious times in Argoland.

[Hambone]

Those moves caught me by surprise too. It seems risky to do what they did with no QBs to speak of on the roster. However with good ship Argonaut clearly in drydock for a major refit they might as well strip her down to the keel and start over. I don't think there was anything Joseph or Pickett did in the past 2 years that would have Barker confident either was capable of skippering the team for the long haul. Might as well make 'em walk the plank now and move on.

The big mystery now is how do they go about filling those vacancies. I'd tend to think they do have a handle on who they might be able to acquire from within the league and at what cost. Out in BC it all depends on how set Buono is in Printers being the starter for 2010. If consensus is Printers is #1 then Pierce is definitely available. Printers likely would be offered a new contract which added to Pierce's stipend makes for too much SMS money tied up in QBs. Buono is very comfortable with Jackson in the backup role. Jackson is much more comfortable in that role than Pierce would be which is only natural given Pierce's youth. I don't think there's any way BC starts the season with Printers and Pierce on the payroll. There are rumours of Toronto having interest in Adrian McPherson but I'm not sure if Montreal is so eager to let him go as AC gets closer to the end. Somebody floated the Garcia rumour on Lionbackers. I'm not a fan of the idea of a team going out for a 40 year old QB but Garcia was still playing very good football as recently as 2008. Whether he wants to return to the CFL or not is anybody's guess. But it's clear there is zero chance of him ever getting another crack at a starting job in the NFL. So if he still has that fire in his belly why not come back to the CFL to a situation that offers him an opportunity to be a starter. With the Argos trying to rebuild he could buy them some time for a year or two while they groom a replacement. 

[OV Bandit]

  There's some quacks on the Argos forum (not you Ravi ) suggesting Jimbo should sign one of dem NI QBs - Glavic, Faulds and Brannagan are supposed to be chucking the passes at the drills at the CFL Combine (though a report says Faulds is still recovering from his leg injury suffered late in his last CIS play-off game and won't be available).

  Sure - pigs could fly soon too.   Faulds - pure passer, and Glavic - scrambling winner with a decent arm (but could still play another year of CIS) might be interesting notions, but not a hope with Barker there;  wouldn't have been surprised at all if the Argos had hired the likes of ex-CIS long-time HC Larry Haylor (involved coaching Canada's recent entry in the World Juniors at Super Bowl week) - he might have signed either of those guys for a look if he had some CFL say.  Brannagan - the Queens QB you noted Hambone for his strange QB form in this year's play-offs where he led his team to a national title - has a very strong & accurate arm;  but - he will be quickly totally written off by the CFL QB expert scouts for said weird, not pro-like form;  if the NFL super experts are mostly un-impressed by an outstanding, talented winning QB like Tebow due to poor "mechanics" (always drops his passing arm down to hip level before every throw) - Branngan will get written off in a nano-second by the pro "experts" - great stats and leadership at the college ball level don't carry much weight with the pro super-experts when things like style and a Wonderlic test prove so much more.


  Garcia would be intersting - and fitting in the fine Argo tradition of pinning hopes on an ex-NFL or all-american star to lead them to the promised land;  at least Garcia knows the CFL game though;  probably be wayyyyyyyyy better than what they end up with as an alternative - but a 40 year old QB who is going to cost huge CFL bucks - a real, smart team looking to build a team - might think otherwise.  Maybe a good bet then he could sign with the Argos?