Toronto Argonauts quarterback Cleo Lemon launches a pass during first half CFL Eastern Conference Semi-Final action against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday November 14, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank GunnFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press
From injuries to a lack of experience with the Canadian game, the three top candidates battling for this year's Toronto Argonauts starting quarterback job had different struggles last season.
But each will arrive at this week's training camp with good reason to believe he will have a stronger year.
From surgeries to rehabilitation exercises, new workouts and a better understanding of the CFL game, Cleo Lemon, Dalton Bell and newly acquired Steven Jyles have worked to correct the things that ailed them in 2010.
Lemon didn't know much about the Canadian game when he arrived in Toronto last year. Aside from a quick visit to Niagara Falls many years ago, he had never even been to Canada. Learning was tough after six years in the National Football League with Baltimore, San Diego, Miami and Jacksonville.
Leaving his home in Jacksonville, Fla., wasn't easy either. His mother had just had brain surgery. Wife Cherese had just delivered a baby girl, Madison, and both stayed behind in Florida, making a few trips to Toronto when possible.
"I loved the city of Toronto and the team, but being away from family, especially with a newborn and sick mother, was very hard," Lemon said by phone from Florida. "Travelling with an infant through customs was a first for us too. We'll be better prepared for all of that this year."
Struggling to make quick decisions as the starter in 16 games and two playoff contests, Lemon ranked sixth in passing in the CFL, had 13 fumbles and more interceptions (19) than touchdowns (15). He played the last two months with an injured pinky finger on his throwing hand.
"I didn't know what defences were trying to do, and once I had played a team a few times, they were figuring out how to attack me," Lemon said. "My execution will definitely be crisper this year because of all that I learned."
Lemon has spent the off-season in Florida training hard with former NFL teammates and had surgery to repair the finger.
Jyles also had off-season surgery, to fix ligaments in his throwing shoulder, which he injured in the second last game of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' season before his March trade to Toronto.
Jyles spent part of the off-season in Louisiana before moving to Dallas so his wife Ashley could prepare for the Texas state bar exam. All the while, Jyles has spent long days rehabbing his arm.
"I didn't realize it when the injury happened, but it was pretty serious," Jyles said by phone from Texas. "I didn't feel pain, but it was totally messing up my mechanics and I was losing all the strength in my arm. After all the work I have done this off-season, it's pretty close to 100 per cent strength-wise, but it still gets fatigued, so now I'm conditioning it."
Getting serious about conditioning was a top priority for Bell in the off-season. Near his home in Canyon, Tex., Bell has trained with former college teammates from West Texas A&M, including Keith Null, now a quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.
"The last couple of off-seasons, I hadn't trained as hard," Bell said. "I found it tough to adjust to a CFL off-season where you are totally responsible for all of your own training. But this off-season, I really got it and worked very hard with some great players."
With Lemon and Jyles still healing, Bell got most of the reps at the Argos' mini-camp in Paisley, Fla., in April, which he says helped him after not playing many games last season.
After two seasons learning in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' organization and one in Toronto, Bell says he feels he has finally transitioned from the NFL, where he tried to make the Packers, Panthers and Seahawks in 2007 and 2008.
"There is so much going on before the snap in the CFL, and I have had to learn to make quicker decisions and get the ball off fast," Bell said. "I see the game so much better now. Guys were so worried about messing up plays last year. Now we all know them."
Toronto will also have B.J. Hall and Danny Brannagan when quarterbacks report to Mississauga on Wednesday.