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The story of how Toronto Argonauts quarterback Cody Pickett became elevated to the No.1 job overnight appears to have its roots back in May, when the Argos' offensive co-ordinator, Steve Buratto, was in Oregon and dropped in on his long-time friend Don Matthews.
Over lunch, Buratto told Matthews, who was then happily enjoying retirement, how excited he was about Pickett, who had joined the Argos at the end of the previous season after a brief time in the NFL.
Pickett and Buratto both live in Idaho where Buratto coached Pickett's father, Dee, at Boise State in the 1970s. The two visited during the off-season to go over the play book and discuss the coming season. And though he was slated to be third on the Argos' depth chart behind Kerry Joseph and Michael Bishop, Buratto told Matthews he was very bullish on Pickett's future in the CFL.
“He said, ‘I've got this Pickett kid, who we think is going to be really good,'” Matthews said. “I asked a bit about him and [Buratto] gave him a skill evaluation of very high regard.”
Months later, that conversation was loud and clear for Matthews, who said on Monday that he was sitting last season's CFL most outstanding player, Kerry Joseph, in favour of 28-year-old Pickett.
“Like any time you make a decision, one guy is elated and one guy is terribly disappointed,” Matthews said. “That's exactly how it ought to be.”
Pickett may be inexperienced in the CFL, but it's not as if he'll come into Saturday's game at Calgary with an empty résumé. Besides starting at the University of Washington for three seasons, he started two games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 before playing a full season in NFL Europe.
He was good on nine of 13 pass attempts during mop-up duty in his only CFL experience, last week against Winnipeg.
“He's not a raw kid,” Matthews said. “He's been here for a year and he's absorbed a lot of things and he understands the league. He's been sitting there ready. Not as much as Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but there's an example of what can happen.”
Though making Pickett the starter is consistent with Matthews's history of making bold moves early in a new job, there's no doubt Buratto's voice is being heard more loudly than it was under former head coach Rich Stubler.
It also casts further questions about the Argos' trade for Joseph, the Saskatchewan Roughriders hero who has looked like a fish out of water through 11 games in Toronto.
Sources say part of the reason Toronto's staff was split on the need to acquire Joseph in March was the belief that Pickett was a more than capable backup to Bishop.
Sources also say Buratto has often been frustrated with Joseph's play this season, something Matthews seemed to pick up on immediately.
“[Joseph] was judged on a season-long situation more than just [the last] game,” Matthews said. “We have not been a consistent offence, for whatever reason.”
Pickett was convincing yesterday when he suggested the change at quarterback would not be a repeat of the Bishop-Joseph saga that plagued the Argos during the first half of this season.
The two have become close friends, and Joseph – both publicly and behind the scenes – has professed his willingness to help his teammate in whatever way he can.
“Kerry is a great guy, and if anybody had to handle this situation, he'll handle it the best you can,” Pickett said. “I'm as close with Kerry as anyone on the team. He's one of my buddies and we can't worry about what we can't control.”
All that said, there's no doubt that this turn of events is excruciating for Joseph. His arrival in Toronto came with high expectations and up-front money, and he currently appears in a television commercial in which he brags about having thrown no interceptions the previous week.
“It's a little frustrating,” Joseph said. “You try not to feel everything is your fault and sometimes I feel everything has been put on my shoulders. … Since March 5 [the day of his trade from Saskatchewan], strange things have happened. You won't see me hang my head. Is it easy? No. But I'll be here to support my teammates.”
