The Calgary Stampeders will announce who their starting quarterback will be for this weekend’s playoff game against Saskatchewan on Tuesday. Stamps coach John Hufnagel has had a lot of time to think about it, but choosing between Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn isn’t going to be easy.
Tate vs. Glenn
Tate and Glenn are two very different players – and people. Tate can be brash and has confidence pouring out of his pores. He missed most of the season with a dislocated shoulder and has been trying to prove he deserves the starting job back over the last two games. He completed about 72 percent of his passes during that time with two touchdowns and one interception.”If [Hufnagel] tells me it’s my huddle then I’m gonna go play and play with all I’ve got,” Tate told the Calgary Herald this week. “(In Edmonton)I did what I was supposed to do. I moved the chains, put points on the board. I mean, if that’s what you’re supposed to, then that’s what I did.”
Meanwhile, Glenn has done most of the heavy lifting in helping the Stamps to a 12-6 record. He threw for 4,220 yards and 25 touchdowns with 16 interceptions in his 12th CFL season. He’s a clam presence in the huddle and manages the offence well. The only thing he’s really missing from his resume is a championship. “I think we’ve shown you guys both guys can play well and both guys can win. Either way, I’m a team guy. You won’t hear me squawking,” Tate told the Herald. “Just because you maybe didn’t play in the Western semifinals doesn’t mean that you’re not part of the success, not part of the team. And just because you don’t start doesn’t mean you won’t finish.”
The Decision Process
Still, it’s a tough call. Tate is the flashy kid capable of big plays. Glenn is the dependable veteran. Both want to start the big game and it’s not hard to make an argument for either of them. But somebody has to start and naming that starter isn’t going to be easy. “We’re going to settle on a game plan, what we want to do, we’ll talk as a staff and determine who we think can execute it and give us the best chance to win,” offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson told the Herald. “And that’ll be who Huf names.” Sports Interaction has yet to set a line on Sunday’s big game.
