What Toronto Argonauts backup QB Cameron Dukes took away from relief appearance
A few days after appearing in a CFL regular season game, Cameron Dukes isn't taking for granted what he got to experience despite the unfavourable result.
Any backup quarterback will tell you that they always prepare for a game as if they are expected to be the starter.
When Toronto Argonauts starting quarterback was pulled against the Calgary Stampeders with an ankle injury it was Cameron Dukes who had to mentally prepare to lead the team’s offence.
Unfortunately for Dukes and the Argos, the result didn’t go as expected as the young quarterback completed 8 of 15 passes for 63 yards and an interception.
It was still early enough in the game that the Argos had a chance to rally behind Dukes. Unfortunately, Toronto couldn’t get much of a rhythm going and the young quarterback got fortunate that a few errant throws weren’t intercepted.
While it wasn’t the result he would have liked, Dukes believes he gained a lot from being in the game.
“I thought it was a great experience for me to get in there and learn and get the real flow of an actual game,” Dukes explained. “It's not pre-season, it's an actual competitive ballgame, the speed of it. Everything was a good learning experience.
“I was just going in there and trying to operate within the rules of our system, and try to get the offence moving as much as I could.”
Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie didn’t try to limit what Dukes could do in the game and allowed him to operate as if Kelly was still under centre.
“It feels good that coach has confidence in my ability to go out there and work within the offense in the same way.,” said Dukes about being allowed to go for big plays. “We had a game plan going in and it's a good feeling to know that he has that trust in me.”
It is becoming too common to see quarterbacks have to leave games with injuries this season—it’s really been a problem the past couple of years. This has placed a spotlight on how prepared teams are if they have to go with their backup.
Reactions from the Argos fanbase about Dukes’ performance were not surprising given the situation of the game. Fortunately, the team will have Kelly back under centre and now have an idea of what can happen if that is not the case.
For Dukes, he has something to build off of and is going to keep putting in the work.
“I thought moved the ball well, at times, and I thought there were times, like in any game that I wanted a few throws back,” Dukes said about how he assessed his play. “You just got to keep going, keep learning from the film, keep learning from practice, keep learning from the reps. A big part of my role here is getting the mental reps and being ready at any time, completing those balls that need to be sure completions.”
Some teams have the benefit of turning to a backup with a few years of experience in the league. Toronto decided to go with rookies who will need some time to get a foothold on playing the Canadian game.
It took Kelly some time to get accustomed to playing in the CFL and only had a few snaps in relief duty before getting his first start at the end of the 2022 regular season.
For Dukes, there will be growing pains but how he responds to the obstacles is what will allow him to succeed or fail. He doesn’t think a quarterback in the CFL will ever know everything about playing in the league even if they have been doing it for years.
“There's always learning opportunities. Even down in the States, there are always learning opportunities. I think that I'm starting to get into a flow of, you know, seeing different things with the extra defender, the space of the field.” Dukes explained. “I don't think there's ever a point where you're gonna fully grasp this game and that's with any style of football. You always gotta be learning.”
He also knows that he has the support of Kelly and the coaching staff to guide him through it.
“Every time we would come off the sideline, he was there with the app and trying to coach me up. It was great to have him do that,” Dukes said about Kelly helping him when he got into the game. “Being there trying to give me any pointers that he could to help our offence. Our ultimate goal is gonna 1-0 and Chad's a great example of you know, if he's not in there, he's going to help the next guy so we can achieve that goal.”