3DOWN: FAJARDO WANTS TO BE ELITE CFL QB
Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo believes he can be elite with Jason Maas as his offensive coordinator.
“He understands what it takes to be an elite CFL quarterback. I’m going to be more comfortable going in there understanding his offence,” Fajardo told The Rod Pedersen Show.
“His track record of what he’s got out of his quarterbacks is really exciting for me. There’s a lot of room for my growth as a quarterback.”
Maas was hired by the Riders in December. It’s a multi-year agreement between Saskatchewan and Maas which runs through the end of the 2021 season. That times up with Fajardo’s contract.
“We’ve had several conversations and just the passion he brings as well. We see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. He wants to do a lot of things that fit my strengths,” Fajardo said.
“The No. 1 thing I’m going to benefit from is going into a training camp as the No. 1 guy. I’ve always been the two or the three where I don’t get reps with the number ones. That hindered us last year.”
Fajardo and Maas join forces in Saskatchewan after the star QB led the Riders to a 12-4 record throwing for 4,302 yards while completing over 71 per cent of his passes with 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions in his first season as a No. 1 QB. The dual-threat pivot used his legs for 611 yards and 10 touchdowns on 107 rushing attempts, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
“Going into the off-season the No. 1 thing is I want to be elite. And the way you be elite in this league or in any professional sport is you gotta be consistent,” Fajardo said.
“The No. 1 thing I’m going to benefit from is going into a training camp as the No. 1 guy. I’ve always been the two or the three where I don’t get reps with the number ones. That hindered us last year.”
Fajardo and Maas join forces in Saskatchewan after the star QB led the Riders to a 12-4 record throwing for 4,302 yards while completing over 71 per cent of his passes with 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions in his first season as a No. 1 QB. The dual-threat pivot used his legs for 611 yards and 10 touchdowns on 107 rushing attempts, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
“Going into the off-season the No. 1 thing is I want to be elite. And the way you be elite in this league or in any professional sport is you gotta be consistent,” Fajardo said.
3DownNation.com
Both Maas & Fajardo will be under the microscope. Maas likely tells Fajardo what he told Reilly when he became HC there – cut down on the running,. Pick your spots. This you should know about Maas & QB’s. They all love him. In CFL history only 4 QB’s have had more than 1 year of passing for over 5500 yards – Flutie, Calvillo, Ray & Reilly. Only 2 of them had 3 consecutive years of passing over 5500 yards – Flutie & Reilly. As an OC & HC Mass saw Burris go over 5500 & Reilly 3 consecutive times… Read more »
Cody Fajardo is not even in the same conversation as Casey Printers or Jennings. Those guys were prototypical “athletes” with 10 cent brains. There is a reason a guy like Wally Buono would park Printers on the bench regardless of his productivity when the playoffs arrived. Simply put you could not at all count on Casey Printers or a Jennings when it matters. – when Free Agency hits you’ll usually get a desperate management group willing to overspend and do something stupid rather than stick to a plan. As for who wins MOP I pay no attention to it. That… Read more »
Until the league gives an award for Offensive MOP a defensive player should not win MOP. An offensive player can’t get the Defensive MOP EVER. The defensive players have their own MOP. And that’s slanted as well. The award almost always goes to a DE or LB &, even then, a MLB. How many outside LB’s or DB’s have a shot at the award – Exactly. As for the comparison to Printers or Jennings, both of them, regardless of what you think of their knowledge, had outstanding seasons only to fade away so the comparison is apt. Dickenson has already… Read more »
Current Cody Farjardo is too reckless to climb the ladder to elite qb status on a consistent year after year basis. Coach Maas is going to have to retrain Cody’s mindset for this to happen, not impossible, can happen.