Any time you have a talented quarterback and a great defensive back going head-to-head it is well worth watching.
The mind games those two positions get to play with each other are as good as any you’ll find in professional sports.
The quarterback looks off the defender, the defender slow plays the quarterback knowing he could bait the passer into a bad decision and put the ball in a vulnerable position. Back and forth the x’s and o’s go until at the end of the game through roughly 75 offensive snaps and thirty or so odd pass plays we get to sit here and declare a winner, not just on the score sheet but in the one-on-one matchup.
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Tre (left) and Tyrell (right) share a laugh as they attended the Invitational Combine in Waterloo earlier this year in March (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
NOW, take all those elements, all that talent, all the mind games and trickery, game planning and deception and apply it to twin brothers. WILD.
Yes, it’s easy to hype up Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Tyrell Ford and his twin brother, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford for their basic playmaking ability. But add in the flashy style of both games, the sheer speed and athleticism both play the game with and now a head-to-head matchup on the calendar and you get a truly unique game on tap for everyone to enjoy from coast to coast.
When I think about playing quarterback in the CFL and the very real chance that Tre might offer up a pick to brother Tyrell or that Tyrell might get beat for a touchdown by Tre, I imagine the little moments of boyhood magic that will strike both in the middle of heated competition.
That leads me to the five plays you need to fix your eyes on the Fords and only the Fords coming up on Saturday night.
QUICK SCREEN
If the Elks offence want to go after the ‘wide’ side early, I could see a quick smoke or bubble screen headed in Tyrell’s direction. The Rubik’s Cube equation here becomes would you rather give Tyrell a chance to get physical and into the flow of the game or take a shot at him while still feeling out the Bombers’ defence? That leads us to the second potential play worth locking in on these two for.
DOUBLE MOVE
I can see it now.. Tre takes the snap, quick one step drop, looks down the middle of the field to hold the free safety, uses the pump fake he crafted so many touchdowns with at Waterloo while playing alongside his brother, and throws an absolute bomb down the sideline.
In and up? Stutter and go? Post-wheel? Let your imagination run wild, but I’d love to see Edmonton take a shot at Tyrell on a designed play like this. The only result more fun than Tre sprinting down the field to celebrate might be Tyrell using his elite recovery skills to knock it away before popping to his feet, turning around and waging a finger at Tre.
SCRAMBLE
MAD SCRAMBLE 🤯
Tre Ford (@treford_1) makes ’em miss and then airs one out to Javon Leake (@ny_king20).#CFLGameDay on TSN & CBSSN
📲: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/KLPp1aWJV9— CFL (@CFL) July 29, 2024
This one feels inevitable based on Tre’s incredible wheels, but factor in Tyrell at field corner and essentially any run breaking between the guard and tackle, outrunning linebackers could lead to some brotherly ‘love’ in the open field.
OPTION?
Tyrell Ford with his sixth interception of the season and second of the day to seal the deal late for Winnipeg! #CFLGameDay
📺: @ctv
📱: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/s3edhsWx0Z— CFL (@CFL) September 7, 2024
Okay, this one might be a bit of a stretch BUT never count out the Elks mixing and matching systems to maximize Tre’s legs. IF Edmonton were to call some kind of stretch option, there’s the potential for Tre to get near the numbers and have to make a decision on his brother to pitch or keep the rock.
The much more likely scenario is a Tre scramble where he realizes organically that a teammate is running alongside or behind him and decides to whip up some pitch magic. The problem is that Tyrell knows Tre’s line of thinking and could be just as likely to pick the pitch and have a 50+ yard cake walk to the end zone.
HIGH-LOW READS
Alright, the option, the double moves, all of it might be a bit far fetched, but I promise you this will be worth the price of admission.
For those that don’t know, high-low reads are simply a quarterback going the opposite way a corner does. If the corner goes ‘high’ or drops back, the quarterback throws to the low route. If the corner stays low the quarterback goes to the higher route. These simple one read plays use the corner as the key and that puts Tyrell and Tre directly in each others cross hairs.
The beauty of this dynamic is high-low reads on a corner become a true game of chicken. Corners ‘double play’ the quarterback pretending to go one direction before coming back the other way, quarterbacks look low to hold corners before ripping a corner route off the corners ear. The entertainment value in a great QB-CB battle is almost endless. Having brothers being the foes at war in these mind games is next level.
ENJOY! I know I will.