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Kevin Glenn is set to return, but can he help the Stampeders get past the Argonauts?

andrew bucholtz

The Calgary Stampeders have had a rotating cast at quarterback this year thanks to injuries, with Drew Tate, Kevin Glenn and Bo Levi Mitchell all seeing starts, but so far, it's worked out. The Stampeders lead the West with a 9-2 record heading into Saturday's home game against the East-leading 7-4 Toronto Argonauts (7:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3), and they've received solid play from all three, most recently from Mitchell following a knee injury Glenn suffered on Labour Day. Despite Mitchell's impressive performances over the last few weeks, though, Calgary will be going back to Glenn again Saturday. What's really interesting is that all of the quarterbacking shifts haven't seemed to affect the Calgary offence much. FromScott Mitchell of The Calgary Sun:

Receivers have adapted to whichever signal-caller is leading the huddle.

[Wide receiver Brad] Sinopoli said there isn’t much of a difference in how Glenn, Mitchell and opening-day starter Drew Tate deliver the ball.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really notice (a difference) because you don’t really focus on that, unless it’s coming in a little harder,” Sinopoli said. “Bo sometimes throws it pretty hard.

“They’re all extremely accurate, so it’s not like you notice that one guy’s missing you or something like that.”

Fellow receiver Maurice Price said Glenn consistently puts the ball where it needs to be.

“KG probably has the easiest ball to catch as far as the velocity,” Price said. “He doesn’t really put a lot on it.

“Bo has a strong arm, so he fires it in there.

“Drew is pretty similar to Bo. But I think Bo has the strongest arm out of the three.”

The stats bear out how the Calgary offence has just kept ticking regardless of who's under centre. Heading into this weekend's games, the Stampeders were second in the league in points per game (31.5), third in offensive yards per game (379.8), fourth in passing yards per game (263.1), fourth in gain per pass (8.5 yards) and second in completion percentage (70.1 per cent). The ground game has also been solid and consistent: with Jon Cornish leading the way, Calgary has racked up a league-high 97 rushing first downs. They're also second in the league in both rushing yards per game (134.8) and gain per rush (5.8 yards). That's made it much simpler for the passing game, as defences have had to focus on stopping Cornish, leaving opportunities for the aerial attack to exploit.

Toronto's defence could be easy for Glenn to beat, too. Although the Argos are 7-4 on the season, they're last in the league in offensive yards allowed per game (394.3) and passing yards allowed per game (300.9). They have been better at buckling down in the red zone, as the 26.2 points they've allowed per game is fourth-best in the league, but teams have been able to move the chains on the Argos through the air all season long. We'll see if that holds true for Glenn and the Stampeders Saturday night, but if it does, that could set up an interesting shootout; the Toronto offence is also looking good lately with Zach Collaros at the helm. Glenn will be the next man up for Calgary, and we'll see if he can keep the aerial offence clicking along.