Can Calgary win without Drew Tate?

The Calgary Stampeders' Grey Cup hopes took a major nose dive Sunday. Sure, the team hasn't looked bad overall so far, and could be 2-1 if not for a few poor game-ending decisions this week, but the news that quarterback Drew Tate has opted to undergo surgery for his injured left (non-throwing shoulder) presages poor outcomes for Calgary. With the surgery, Tate's likely out for the remainder of the season; the Stampeders estimate a four-month recovery time, which would put his return right in the middle of November's playoffs. Having the surgery rather than putting it off until after the season and attempting to play through the pain is probably the right move for both Tate and Calgary in the long run, but it appears likely to deliver a massive blow to the Stampeders' chances of lifting the Grey Cup this year.

As mentioned here previously, the Stampeders are quite fortunate to have perhaps the league's most game-ready backup in Kevin Glenn, who was a CFL starter as recently as last year and has plenty of experience. However, there looks to be a notable dropoff from Tate to Glenn these days, based on their recent stats. Tate looks like one of this league's rising stars, while Glenn is probably best cast as a talented veteran backup. That impression was given further backing Thursday. Glenn's overall performance against Montreal (26 completions on 39 attempts for 267 yards with a 66.7 per cent completion rate) certainly wasn't terrible, and it was actually substantially better than the showing of either of Saturday's winning quarterbacks (one of whom was traded for Glenn in the offseason). However, Glenn's backbreaking interception at the end of Thursday's game might have been the worst single decision made by any CFL quarterback this season, though, and it gave the Alouettes an improbable victory; it also added to the long-standing criticisms of Glenn's decision-making skills in the pocket.

Perhaps those criticisms won't always be true. Maybe Glenn can learn from this mistake and show he can be a capable replacement for Tate. He's 33 and has been in the CFL since 2001, so he certainly knows the league. Moreover, the Stamps have the ability to go to a more ground-oriented offence with star back Jon Cornish and capable change-of-pace option LaMarcus Coker, and that decision might help Glenn out. There are some brilliant offensive minds in Calgary, including head coach/general manager John Hufnagel and offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson, so perhaps they'll be able to come up with a gameplan that maximizes Glenn's strengths and minimizes his weaknesses. On balance, though, while the Stampeders are lucky to have an experienced quarterback like Glenn ready to step in, that prospect becomes much less appetizing when you're talking about an entire season rather than the five to six weeks Tate was expected to miss if he didn't opt for surgery. This team still has plenty of talent and Glenn could still surprise people, so the Stampeders can't be completely written off yet, but they look much less fearsome than they did before Sunday's news.