‘I’ve got to at least peek at the film’: Stampeders non-commital on Jake Maier’s starting QB status

Photo courtesy: David Friederich/B.C. Lions

The longest active playoff qualification streak in North American professional sports is unlikely to last the day and the Calgary Stampeders are open to shaking things up at the quarterback position in the aftermath.

“I’ve got to at least peek at the film. I’m definitely going to look at things and see where we’re as,” head coach Dave Dickenson said when asked whether Jake Maier will retain his starting job following the team’s 32-15 loss to the B.C. Lions on Friday night.

“We’re still going to play hard, and we’re still going to try to win. And whatever the best roster we can put out there to do that, that’s what’s going to happen.”

The Stampeders will be officially eliminated from postseason contention if the Saskatchewan Roughriders knock off the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, but the once-proud franchise has done much of the damage to itself by going winless in the last seven games. The latest loss came as Maier went 19-of-27 for 164 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against a previously struggling B.C. defence, which forced four takeaways and generated a pair of defensive scores off the Calgary QB.

Maier was benched late in the fourth quarter and replaced with veteran backup Matthew Shiltz, who took advantage of soft coverage to go four-of-five for 99 yards and a touchdown while scrambling for 26 more. Despite that, Dickenson remained relatively complimentary of his starter’s play.

“I thought he was doing some good things. I thought we had a chance to put a little bit of a dagger in, we had Reggie (Begelton) open on a second-and-two call. We had them in (Cover Zero), we had the right play call and we missed that” he said. “They made the play on the screen pass, they twisted into a score. Then obviously on the bubble screen to Peyton (Logan), he just rushed it a bit and got it knocked down.”

“Unfortunately, not good enough but he’s battling. He’s working hard. It’s just not enough.”

Maier has already been benched once this season, for the Labour Day rematch against the Edmonton Elks, though that decision was short-lived after youngster Logan Bonner threw five interceptions in his first career start. Shiltz has since returned from the six-game injured list and gives the team a steadier alternative, albeit not one that is viewed as a long-term option.

Now in his second year as the franchise quarterback, Maier has completed 336-of-463 passes (72.5 percent) for 3,518 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions through 15 games. His average of 7.6 yards per completion is a slight improvement from last year but remains the worst among starting quarterbacks as Calgary struggles to get balls downfield.

The Stampeders (4-10-1) will return to action on Saturday, October 12 when they host the Edmonton Elks at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

JC Abbott
J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league's Global initiative.