"Who is going to throw the ball to the new players?" "Why didn't the Elks get a QB?" "We need a quarterback!" These were some of the sights and sounds of Edmonton Elks Free Agency this year on Social Media. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram... it didn't matter what platform you were on, you saw an Elks fan pleading with the organization to get a quarterback.
Now, we have to remember here... this is a fanbase that hasn't seen a home win in 2 years. Can you blame them? More importantly, the fans are looking at the immediate results instead of the long game which, once again, can you blame them? While the average of 23786 fans at Commonwealth Stadium was 3rd in the league for CFL Attendance in 2022, the Elks were last in the league when it came to the season standings. Fear not though, because we have the statistics that prove Taylor Cornelius is trending upwards as a CFL quarterback. Let's take a look at Taylor's 2021 stats and compare them to 2022.
In 2021, Taylor Cornelius suited up for 14 games with 143 completions on 247 attempts for 1795 yards. He had 9 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His rushing yards for the 14 games were 149 yards on 21 carries with 1 touchdown.
In 2022, he played 12 games and completed 205 passes on 357 attempts for 2768 yards. He had 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. His rushing yards were 502 on 71 carries with 7 (!) touchdowns.
These comparisons show that Taylor Cornelius has visibly improved as a quarterback, with his production almost doubling in 2022 with 2 games in hand, although he didn't play much if at all for 2 games in 2021. His best game for passing in 2022 was the Labour Day Rematch against the Calgary Stampeders with 292 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. His best game for rushing was against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on September 16th, with 93 rushing yards on 8 carries and 1 touchdown, with an average run of 11.6 yards and his longest being a 56 yard run. Both of these games were past the halfway point where the Elks were battered and bruised, and with already having to deal with roster turnover and chemistry loss, it wasn't easy for Cornelius to simply go out and win. In fact, these stats say he did as much as he could to win in 2022. He had 8 more touchdowns and 4 less interceptions with 2 games in hand. Even if you don't count the 2 games in 2021 that he merely suited up for, that's still 8 more touchdowns and 4 less interceptions, which is a considerable improvement.
If Edmonton has a signal caller on the rise in Cornelius, then why are there fans that want a new signal caller? The answer is simple: Edmonton Elks fans have been blessed with amazing quarterbacks for over 50 years. Maybe even 70 when you include Ol' Spaghetti Legs. When you think of the EE you think of Ricky Ray, Warren Moon, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Reilly, Jackie Parker, Damon Allen, Matt Dunigan, Tracy Ham... you don't think of Taylor Cornelius. Yet. This is unfamiliar territory for a lot of Edmonton Elks fans as the team usually drafts a game-ready star, trades for a star, or has a star born when a backup becomes a starter in a few games. We don't know or remember what it's like to develop a signal caller to the CFL team and it's standards over the course of years while playing in the starting position. It's been a very long time since the EE have had to do so.
The uncharted waters sure have been cold in Edmonton, but what lies ahead is exciting. Taylor Cornelius is trending up at pivot, and the team is rallying behind him going into the 2023 season as per our last article. While the Elks have a solid backup with potential of his own in Tre Ford, the Elks have paid Taylor to be a starter and unless Training Camp sees an All-Star performance from Tre, Taylor is QB1... And what an exciting quarterback duel in Training Camp it will be!
The evidence has been stacked up and we have a verdict. Elks fans have no need to panic or stress about a starting quarterback because the stats say we have one, let alone a second on the rise. Taylor Cornelius is currently the starting quarterback, the team is excited to play behind him and the projections and indicators say he's coming back stronger in 2023. Case closed.