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With Kevin Glenn on the six-game list, the Riders are looking for a new QB hope

With Kevin Glenn on the six-game list, the Riders are looking for a new QB hope

The Saskatchewan Roughriders' situation is growing increasingly dire. The Week One season-ending injury to starting quarterback Darian Durant was troubling enough, but backup Kevin Glenn stepped in and performed beyond all expectations, running an offence that led the CFL in 17 of 30 categories. Despite that, though, the team's 0-5 (thanks largely to the poor play of their defence), and they announced Wednesday that they've put Glenn on the six-game injured list following a torn pectoral muscle he sustained in Sunday's loss to Hamilton. That means they're sending out a desperate message ahead of Friday's clash with the Edmonton Eskimos: "Help us, Brett Smith, you're our only hope."

Smith, the Roughriders' new starter, is a 22-year-old CFL rookie from Salem, Oregon, and he was only signed in March. He's facing a tough task here; he's only thrown five CFL passes to date, completing just two of them, and both of those came in relief of Glenn Sunday. Moreover, he's going up against an Eskimos' defence that allowed just three points in their last contest (a 32-3 beatdown of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and is leading the CFL in 10 of the 25 defensive statistical categories tracked weekly. Edmonton's complex and unconventional blitzes tend to pose a challenge for even 15-year CFL veterans like Glenn, and they may be much more difficult still for a rookie like Smith. The might of the Eskimos' empire isn't easy to face under any circumstances, but it may be particularly tough for an untested rookie.

Still, if there are some vulnerabilities, someone who's bullseyed plenty of womp-rats in his T-16 back home might well be able to expose them, and Smith meets that description. He did quite well in three years as a starter at Wyoming, throwing for 8,834 yards and 76 touchdowns against just 28 interceptions. Smith's senior year with the Cowboys was particularly impressive, as he threw for 3,375 yards with a 62.7 per cent completion mark and 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll do well with the jump to CFL starter, but he has shown potential. We'll see what he does with it.

If Smith can't overcome the odds and become the Riders' top hope, though, there may be another. Current backup Tino Sunseri hasn't particularly impressed in his time with Saskatchewan, and he was even released during training camp (before being brought back after Durant was hurt), but Everett Sports Marketing announced Wednesday that their client, Blake Sims, has signed with the Riders. Sims, a former star QB with the Alabama Crimson Tide, signed with Toronto earlier this year, but was weirdly cut after just nine days. The team's stated reasoning was their desire to add a veteran QB (which turned out to be Adrian McPherson) with Ricky Ray's injury proving longer than initially thought, but there were some rumblings that Sims seemed uncommitted to the CFL and wasn't fitting in with the team. He'll now have another chance in Saskatchewan, and he's got both a good arm and solid rushing ability (he actually tried out as a running back and wide receiver with the NFL's Washington Redskins). He's an even longer shot than Smith right now, and he'll likely start at the bottom of the depth chart, but with some time to adapt, he may prove a valuable asset for Saskatchewan.

None of this minimizes just how tough Glenn's injury is for the Roughriders, though. This team's defence has been atrocious through five weeks, placing last in the league in 15 of the 25 categories tracked weekly (including points per game, rushing yards per game, completion percentage and more). Their one redeeming category so far was their offensive performance, which still wasn't good enough to win them games, and much of that may go downhill now that Glenn's out. There's a huge hurdle ahead for Smith, or whoever else they decide to start at quarterback, especially this week against the Eskimos' formidable defensive battle station. The chances of success may as well be one in a million. Still, those odds occasionally work out...