He?s not spectacular and his coach talks about the way he ?manages? a game, not dominating it, but Kevin Glenn has very quietly assembled a superb month and a half.
?He?s just throwing the ball real well, that?s the biggest part of it,? says Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones. ?He?s getting good reads and not forcing balls into bad situations.?
Bingo, full card, on the latter observation. Only seasoned Glenn observers would recognize that as the biggest improvement in the Hamilton quarterback?s game over last year, when he exceeded 5,000 yards in passing and set a franchise record with 33 touchdown passes.
There are really no bigger-than-life numbers so far this time around, except this one: He has thrown one interception in the past five games.
And how did the Tiger-Cats fare in that quintet of matches since opening ominously with two losses? Oh, just 4-and-1. If you don?t think there?s a co-relationship between those positive facts, then your smart pills prescription needs renewing.
Jones told Glenn before this season the Ticats were going to do more things to make him comfortable in the backfield, and they have, and that he likely wouldn?t reach 5,000 passing yards this year, which he won?t. (He?s on a pace for 4,500).
The factors for Glenn?s terrific ball control the past five games are numerous but the big ones, outside of his own abilities (which include an increased sense of scrambling), are essentially twofold. Avon Cobourne and Justin Medlock.
Medlock, as mentioned so many times in this space, has lessened the pressure on the offence to probe deep into the shadows of the opposition goalposts just to be sure of points. His kicking accuracy and power are psychological safety nets. Greater emotional comfort tends to lead to less desperation and, by corollary, fewer square passes forced into round holes.
Cobourne, while possessed of an all-round game, has primarily given the Cats straight-ahead running, battling for, and gaining, extra yards the way Troy Davis did a half-decade back.
?That takes the pressure off,? Glenn says. ?Second and five, second and six, you don?t have to necessarily throw real quickly to a receiver who?s got a guy draped all over him. He?s a scatback type, but he can also get those tough yards. He can get those five yards you need.?
And, because of that, defences will eventually have to choose among bringing pressure, dropping back to cover ? and double-cover the good guys ? and watching for Cobourne. Most teams can?t do all three.
The Cats are running slightly more often this year than they did last year. Last year, when Glenn was in the game, the Cats ran 286 times and passed 602, so passes represented 68 per cent of their game from scrimmage. This year they?re at about 66 per cent, but we haven?t hit the cold-weather running season yet and the Cats haven?t had any huge wins, which they babysit by running. So the percentage of runs could rise.
Another factor in Glenn?s minuscule interception rate the past five games ? and turnovers tend to decide if you?re going to win and lose ? is the addition of a few giraffes such as Aaron Kelly and Bakari Grant to the receiving corps and the emergence of Dave Stala as an almost infallible go-to guy around the goal line. It?s deep in the red zone that the most forced passes take place because the coverage is more compact. Stala has already inhaled a couple of those low, hurried passes for majors.
In the past seven years, Glenn has never thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes in any season and most years he?s usually hovered around a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Yet he?s got the rap of throwing the interceptions at the worst possible time.
?His only interception in the last five games was against Calgary on the final series,? says Jones, noting that the game was totally out of reach by then.
?The main thing is that he?s seeing the field well and making good reads. He?s on another level right now.?
--thespec.com
?He?s just throwing the ball real well, that?s the biggest part of it,? says Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones. ?He?s getting good reads and not forcing balls into bad situations.?
Bingo, full card, on the latter observation. Only seasoned Glenn observers would recognize that as the biggest improvement in the Hamilton quarterback?s game over last year, when he exceeded 5,000 yards in passing and set a franchise record with 33 touchdown passes.
There are really no bigger-than-life numbers so far this time around, except this one: He has thrown one interception in the past five games.
And how did the Tiger-Cats fare in that quintet of matches since opening ominously with two losses? Oh, just 4-and-1. If you don?t think there?s a co-relationship between those positive facts, then your smart pills prescription needs renewing.
Jones told Glenn before this season the Ticats were going to do more things to make him comfortable in the backfield, and they have, and that he likely wouldn?t reach 5,000 passing yards this year, which he won?t. (He?s on a pace for 4,500).
The factors for Glenn?s terrific ball control the past five games are numerous but the big ones, outside of his own abilities (which include an increased sense of scrambling), are essentially twofold. Avon Cobourne and Justin Medlock.
Medlock, as mentioned so many times in this space, has lessened the pressure on the offence to probe deep into the shadows of the opposition goalposts just to be sure of points. His kicking accuracy and power are psychological safety nets. Greater emotional comfort tends to lead to less desperation and, by corollary, fewer square passes forced into round holes.
Cobourne, while possessed of an all-round game, has primarily given the Cats straight-ahead running, battling for, and gaining, extra yards the way Troy Davis did a half-decade back.
?That takes the pressure off,? Glenn says. ?Second and five, second and six, you don?t have to necessarily throw real quickly to a receiver who?s got a guy draped all over him. He?s a scatback type, but he can also get those tough yards. He can get those five yards you need.?
And, because of that, defences will eventually have to choose among bringing pressure, dropping back to cover ? and double-cover the good guys ? and watching for Cobourne. Most teams can?t do all three.
The Cats are running slightly more often this year than they did last year. Last year, when Glenn was in the game, the Cats ran 286 times and passed 602, so passes represented 68 per cent of their game from scrimmage. This year they?re at about 66 per cent, but we haven?t hit the cold-weather running season yet and the Cats haven?t had any huge wins, which they babysit by running. So the percentage of runs could rise.
Another factor in Glenn?s minuscule interception rate the past five games ? and turnovers tend to decide if you?re going to win and lose ? is the addition of a few giraffes such as Aaron Kelly and Bakari Grant to the receiving corps and the emergence of Dave Stala as an almost infallible go-to guy around the goal line. It?s deep in the red zone that the most forced passes take place because the coverage is more compact. Stala has already inhaled a couple of those low, hurried passes for majors.
In the past seven years, Glenn has never thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes in any season and most years he?s usually hovered around a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Yet he?s got the rap of throwing the interceptions at the worst possible time.
?His only interception in the last five games was against Calgary on the final series,? says Jones, noting that the game was totally out of reach by then.
?The main thing is that he?s seeing the field well and making good reads. He?s on another level right now.?
--thespec.com
