Head 2 Head: Ray Vs. Jyles

Quarterback Steven Jyles’ passport must be full of stamps with the amount of travelling he’s done in his 6 year CFL career. Jyles has donned the colours of the Bombers, Argos and now, for the second time, Eskimos Green and Gold. Just over a year ago, Jyles was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in exchange for Toronto’s first round selection (4^th overall) in the 2011 CFL Canadian Draft and a conditional draft pick in 2012.

Jyles time in Toronto did not start as most would have hoped, being placed on the 9-game injured list as he was still recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered during the 2010 season. After being inactive for 9-games, Jyles was granted his first start as an Argonaut in Week 10 against B.C, and would finish the season with a 3-5 record as a starter before missing the final game of the season. 

Before the closure of the 2011 calendar year, Jyles was traded yet again, in a transaction that shocked many avid CFL followers. Jyles was headed back to where his career began in Edmonton, but this time # 15 would not be ahead of him on the depth chart.

For the first time in his career, Jyles begins a CFL season as a starting quarterback. In his career, Jyles holds a record of 7-13 as the main man behind centre. Against Eastern Division opponents, Jyles has a career record of 2-7 (both wins came with Toronto in 2011), but is winless against the Double Blue with an 0-3 record.

His record on home turf is more respectable: 4-3.

Jyles has developed a reputation for being known as a “dual threat” quarterback, in that he creates just as much with his legs s he does with his arm. In 2011, Jyles completed 124 of 218 passed for 1,430 yards, 7 touchdowns and 11 INTS. On the ground, he scampered for 429 yards on 53 attempts, with 1 touchdown and 5 fumbles. Ball security has been a problem that has plagued Jyles throughout his career, with a total of 44 turnovers with only 20 career starts.

In the preseason, Jyles made his first appearance as an Eskimo against the 2011 Grey Cup Champion B.C. Lions. He completed 4 of 7 passes for a total of 53 yards and rushed twice for 14 yards in the Eskimos loss.
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Just 12 months ago, no one would have thought that Ricky Ray would be heading into Week 1 of the season preparing to play against the Eskimos as an Argonaut.

Aside from the fact that he will be dressing in a different room, standing on a different sideline, and playing against an Eskimos defence for the first time when it actually counts, Ray has been adamant in saying that this just stands as another game; if anything, he feels that it’s a good thing for him to get his return to Edmonton out of the way early, so that all the talk can then turn to being about football.

In 2011, Ray enjoyed another MOP like season, completing 343 of 526 passes for a total of 4,594 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. A handful of the stat lines that Ray accumulated throughout 2011 came from the hands of Jason Barnes, who also landed in Toronto during the offseason. Ray and Barnes connected 50 times for 869 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, a career year for the California native Barnes. The pair have built chemistry over the course of three seasons in Edmonton, hooking up 99 times for 1,633 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both Ray and Barnes have shown flashes of their times together in Edmonton during training camp for the Argos, and time will tell to see if that translates into the game.

Ray’s career statistics stand as some of the greatest of all-time: 3,225 career completions for 40,529 yards and 210 touchdowns. In fact, Ray only needs 3,329 yards passing to surpass former Argo Matt Dunigan for fifth on the all-time CFL list, and his 210 career passing touchdowns also have him sitting at 10^th all-time, 43 away from the great Tom Clements.

In two preseason games for the Argos, Ray went 8 of 15 for 99 yards and two interceptions in limited action.