So many quarterbacks, so few wins for Edmonton Elks

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After two video games, the Edmonton Elks had extra punts (19) than factors (13), and beginning quarterback Taylor Cornelius will need to have felt the leash tightening.

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Positive sufficient, the 27-year-old out of Oklahoma State lasted only one extra half on the helm because the Elks went down to a different house defeat on Sunday, this one a wildly entertaining, mistake-filled 43-31 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

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Although Cornelius was considerably more practical at distributing the ball to the Elks’ high-priced corps of receivers — he was good on 14 of 18 move makes an attempt for 135 yards and a TD — the group can now not afford the persistence it’s going to take to look previous his errors and have a tendency to his improvement.

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The truth is, the Elks are so determined to vary their depressing fortunes that backup quarterback Kai Locksley bought one play in reduction of Cornelius on Sunday — an unlucky fumble on a bungled run-pass choice alternate with working again Kevin Brown — earlier than the hook got here out for him and the Elks turned to third-stringer Jarret Doege to scrub up the mess.

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The place Cornelius was tentative and took sacks that he may and will have prevented by making an on-time throw to an open receiver, Doege went full pace forward, with blended outcomes. He misinterpret protection and threw a pick-six to Toronto defensive again Royce Metchie; and he additionally scrambled deftly out of hassle earlier than throwing a two-yard TD strike to Vincent Forbes-Mombleau. And with mere seconds on the clock, Doege scrambled some extra and bought extraordinarily fortunate when his Hail Mary went from surefire interception to 84-yard TD move, once more to Forbes-Mombleau, after the ill-advised throw bounced off the palms of Toronto DB Robertson Daniel. Doege emerged with a fairly first rate stat line, 9 of 11 passing for 163 yards, two TDs and an interception.

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All that mentioned, do the Elks sit their comparatively costly starter towards the Redblacks in Ottawa later this week? Is Doege the true deal or a gambler who’s at all times going to lose as large as he wins? As for Locksley, he was launched by the crew on Monday. TSN reporter Farhan Lalji had first reported the Elks would launch Locksley and costume Tre Ford this week.

Sure, it appears they’re now embroiled in a full-blown quarterbacking controversy; simply desserts for a crew that’s 0-3 this season with Cornelius as their starter and 4-17 within the second coming of Chris Jones.

If Cornelius wasn’t able to develop into a CFL starter, that’s on Jones the GM, who rewarded the large child with a two-year extension final fall and stayed out of this yr’s free agent hunt for established pivots like Trevor Harris, Cody Fajardo and Bo Levi Mitchell. Jones as a substitute opened the pockets for a trio of sure-handed receivers — Eugene Lewis, Kevin Dunbar Jr. and Kyran Moore — within the hopes they may flip Cornelius right into a extra constant passer, partially by catching the in any other case uncatchable.

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That hasn’t precisely panned out.

However Cornelius is one thing of a bodily specimen and his psychological make-up helped him climb the depth chart final yr, so he gained’t merely throw up his palms within the face of a mid-game demotion.

What’s extra, the Elks have performed two unbeaten groups, B.C. and Toronto, in addition to the Saskatchewan Roughriders who’re 2-1, so the extent of competitors needs to be thought-about a mitigating issue.

And a highway victory over the winless Redblacks may ease a number of the stress that’s mounting on the Elks’ complete group, from president Victor Cui on down. He’s enjoying each angle to get followers to return to Commonwealth Stadium en masse, and a win would certainly assist his trigger. There may be definitely stress on Jones as nicely. If the Elks go along with Doege over Cornelius towards Ottawa, Jones the GM may not like seeing that a lot wage on the sidelines, however Jones the pinnacle coach would level on the outcome and contemplate it , short-term resolution.

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Long run, this group is married to Jones and Jones to Cornelius and that’s going to be attention-grabbing to observe. The Elks’ administrators gave Jones a four-year deal that expires after the 2025 season; and Jones rewarded Cornelius with a two-year extension that pays him starter’s cash and expires after the 2024 marketing campaign.

They both get it proper and the union works out fortunately ever after, or they proceed to undergo rising pains on offence and someone above Jones must present a path ahead for a corporation that can’t abide way more failure.

dbarnes@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sportsdanbarnes

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