Edmonton Elks’ interim head coach Jarious Jackson is not ready to make a decision on his team’s long-term future at quarterback after starter Tre Ford was pulled in a 27-14 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“Not right now. I don’t want to make a knee-jerk reaction or a knee-jerk decision,” Jackson told the media. We’ll wait until tomorrow. Tonight I’ll watch the film and I’ll figure it out sometime this week.”
Ford was appointed the Elks’ Week 16 starter ahead of their bye last week but disappointed in his return to action on Saturday night, completing 10-of-17 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He added just two carries for nine yards on the ground but was also sacked twice and lost one fumble.
The 26-year-old’s final play was an interception thrown over the middle to linebacker Michael Ayers, which set up Winnipeg’s go-ahead touchdown. The scrambling Ford was targeting 305-pound offensive lineman Jakub Szott on the play, who was aligned as an eligible tight end.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson took over with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, going five-of-10 for 48 yards. Though Jackson was not ready to strip Ford of his starting job permanently after the game, he made clear that the performance was not good enough.
“I talked to Tre at half and we started very slow offensively in the first half. We had four turnovers in the first half. He was fortunate that I even stayed with him long enough as far as to even give him the opportunity in the second half,” the coach noted.
“He came out, he did a good job so we stuck with him but that turnover that we had when we clearly had momentum in the game [was the final straw]. It’s a tie ball game and we’re driving down to hopefully get some type of points, whether it be field goal or touchdown — that just can’t happen.”
The game marked Ford’s first loss as a starter this season, dropping his overall record to 2-1. The former Hec Crighton Trophy winner was the subject of considerable media attention entering the contest, as it was the first time that he has faced off with his identical twin brother, Tyrell, who starts at field corner for the Bomber.
While Tre bested his sibling on a flea flicker to Eugene Lewis for Edmonton’s only touchdown, the Winnipeg secondary caused him issues throughout the night.
“They just had a lot of guys in the secondary when Tre was there. They went more dime personnel, put more DBs back there and tried to confuse him, tried to mix up the coverages and looks. I thought (defensive coordinator Jordan Younger) did an excellent job with that,” Jackson explained.
“They tried to stop us on first down. We were able to pick up some decent yardage here and there but when they would get us into second-and-long, I think that’s when they would try to confuse Tre back there in the secondary.”
Ford led Edmonton to their first victory of the season in Week 9 but was forced to leave his second start in the second quarter after sustaining a rib injury. He has completed 45-of-62 passes this year for 604 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions, while rushing 13 times for 88 yards.
Bethel-Thompson was originally benched after leading the team to a 0-7 start but went 3-1 in four starts while Ford was out injured. Through 14 games, the 36-year-old has completed 266-of-393 attempts for 3,146 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
No matter who is under centre, the Elks (5-9) will have a chance to avenge their loss when they visit the Bombers (8-6) for a rematch on Friday, September 27 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
Note: This article was assembled with key files from 3DownNation contributor Andrew Hoskins.
