CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
Mike Reilly of the Edmonton Eskimos and Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders are near the top of many statistical categories. But who is the best?
Everybody knows that the best quarterback in the CFL is Edmonton’s Mike Reilly. He straps his team on his back and carries them to victory. When no receiver is open he runs heroically for the first down and keeps the drive alive. Even with a big lead, he remains behind the centre from start to finish. His backup Kevin Glenn has yet to take a snap this season. He looks spectacular, he is the personification of leadership. He is the best.
Or is he? Is he better than Bo Levi Mitchell in Calgary? How do the Alberta starting quarterbacks compare?
With both teams having played 12 games, Reilly has an efficiency rating of 106.8, Bo, 106.2. Including last Saturday’s Ottawa game, Reilly has 27 touchdown passes, same as Mitchell. The Calgary quarterback has nine interceptions in a dozen games, Reilly, 12 in 13.
In terms of big play analysis, Mitchell is No. 1, Reilly No. 6.
Both are winners. Bo’s regular season record is 66-12, playoffs 4-1, Grey Cups 1-2, compared to 42-39, 3-3 and 1-0 for Reilly (his Lions won the cup in 2011 but he saw no action). Reilly has started for Edmonton for six years, Mitchell in Calgary for Calgary, five. The other seven teams in the league would sign either one of them in a heartbeat.
Before the Winnipeg game Aug. 25, my daughter-in-law Stacy and I agreed Bo wasn’t looking that good this year. He then was good on 25 of 42 passes for 452 yards (a career high), three touchdowns, no interceptions. Kamar Jorden was on the receiving end 10 times for 249 yards (a team record) and one TD. Trailing the Bombers 15-12 at the half, the Stamps won 39-26, with Mitchell engineering 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Hanging on to a 26-25 lead in Hamilton, with four minutes left in the third quarter, Mitchell completed a 99-yard pass and run touchdown to substitute Reggie Begelton and broke the game wide open, going on to win 43-28. Calgary went into that game minus star receivers Jorden and Eric Rogers, all-star centre Ucambre Williams and leading rusher Don Jackson. His replacement Romar Morris went down before halftime. Two more receivers were carried off the field. Defensively, the team was without two-time all-Canadian corner defender Ciante Evans and tackle Micah Johnson. Proving once again that one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity, Begelton came through in the clutch.
So, of course, did Bo Levi Mitchell. No matter what the circumstances, most of the time he finds a way to win. Several games the offence seemed to be going nowhere and Bo appeared out of sorts, when bang! He unleashed a laser-like strike 50 yards downfield and turned the game around. He has been particularly devastating in the final frame, the mark of a truly successful quarterback.
His Eskimo counterpart hasn’t been nearly as effective this season in the later going despite having more talent at his disposal. Over the course of Edmonton’s last four games, they have scored one field goal in the final 15 minutes. Their fourth quarter average points total is five. They have lost their last four road games. Through their first 13 games, Reilly and the Eskimos have averaged eight points per second half. Most finger-pointing is at the third-worst defence in the league but with an outstanding receiving corps and C.J. Gable in the backfield, the offence led by Mike Reilly should be doing a lot better.
Calgary’s record when leading after three quarters of play is 9-0, Edmonton’s 6-2. The big stat: Calgary is 10-2, Edmonton 7-6.
In terms of public persona, Mitchell comes across as arrogant, a typically cocky American quarterback while Reilly is down-to-earth and friendly. Mike is certainly easier to understand when you talk to him. But Bo has a self-deprecating humour. Picked off for a major in the game in Hamilton, Mitchell joked, “That’s what I do. I throw touchdowns… to both sides.” Bo is completely honest when you interview him. Both men — while friends — are fierce competitors.
It will soon be time to select the all-star quarterback? Who should it be?
Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 46 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.
