Buono not sure who will start vs Riders - Mike Beamish

[WestCoastJoe]

Printers not ready to play

By Mike Beamish, Canwest News ServiceSeptember 28, 2009 5:39 AM

Wally Buono is not ready to shake things up just yet.

The B.C. Lions head coach and general manager will likely give Buck Pierce the start Friday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, not newly acquired pivot Casey Printers.

"That would be exciting, wouldn't it?" Buono said, chuckling at the suggestion that Printers should get the starting call next game. "I don't believe in 21/2 days of work (51/2 if you count this week's preparation) that Casey's ready. He wasn't brought in to save this team.

"Right now, he's still trying to learn the offence," Buono added. "It would not be fair to Casey to put him in a situation where he really doesn't have much chance to succeed. That's probably what happened to him in his past. And it was a tremendous detriment to his team. We're not in the business of doing that. It's not fair to him, it's not fair to the players, it's not even fair to the fans."

The Lions added Printers for insurance after Jarious Jackson was injured and with Pierce dealing with nagging hurts.

In July, after the Lions were humiliated in a 48-10 home loss to the Calgary Stampeders, Lions owner David Braley suggested the team could bring in Printers as a quick fix, then backtracked on that thought in an interview with Team 1040 radio.

"That would be a terrible mistake at this point," Braley told the radio station. "Casey Printers selling tickets? He did that very well in Hamilton, I guess, for no games. He didn't perform very well. I don't think he has a big enough upside, quite frankly."

Buono, however, said that the Lions owner has faith in his decisions and Braley's personal opinions aren't necessarily reflective of the football operations department.

"If there were no injuries to the quarterbacks, we probably wouldn't have made a change (signing Printers), period," Buono said. "It made us do something we had to do -- protect ourselves. For some reason, we seem to be the only team that gets nicked up (at quarterback). Right now, I don't know if there's any other team (with two ailing QBs)."

Buono implied he was satisfied with Pierce's performance in Friday's 27-18 loss to Calgary. Despite painfully sore ribs, Pierce threw for 230 yards and a touchdown, although one throw ended up in the hands of Stampeders defender Keon Raymond at a key juncture. Overall, Pierce showed "progress," Buono said. "He moved well and he had some good throws."

Those don't sound like the words of a coach contemplating a change. If fact, if anybody displaces Pierce as the Lions starter, it could be Jackson, Buono suggested. Jackson has missed the past two games with a bruised or slightly torn supraspinatus tendon (one of four rotator cuff tendons that enclose the shoulder), although he did accompany the team to Calgary in an advisory role.

Jackson was supposed to be out from three to five weeks, but Buono suggested his progress is ahead of schedule.

"Who will start [against Saskatchewan]?" Buono said. "I don't know. It all depends on Jarious's status. He could be much improved, or he may need another week. The reports have been positive. Prior to his injury, he's played some of the finest football since he's been here. Everybody was disappointed when he did get nicked. I'm hoping to see him throw [at Monday's practice]."

"The way my arm is operating and the whole nine yards, it's nothing major," Jackson said. "Any time you can avoid having to go under the knife, it's always something positive. My goal is to get back soon and help this team down the stretch."

[Belize City Lion]

"Who will start (against Saskatchewan)?" Buono said. "I don't know. It all depends on Jarious's status. He could be much improved, or he may need another week."

that's the most interesting comment of the story to me... first WB says he's happy with BP (who in my opinion has played well in the last two games) but he leaves the door open that if JJ is healthy enough he might get the start. To me that says the JJ has won the starting job from BP and will play when he is healthy. I'm also starting to wonder if JJ's injury was not as bad as the Lions wanted everyone to think, and WB used the situation as an excuse to bring in CP?

[WestCoastJoe]

The B.C. Lions head coach and general manager will likely give Buck Pierce the start Friday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, not newly acquired pivot Casey Printers.

I expect Buck will get the start.

"That would be exciting, wouldn't it?" Buono said, chuckling at the suggestion that Printers should get the starting call next game. "I don't believe in 21/2 days of work (51/2 if you count this week's preparation) that Casey's ready. He wasn't brought in to save this team.

"Right now, he's still trying to learn the offence," Buono added. "It would not be fair to Casey to put him in a situation where he really doesn't have much chance to succeed. That's probably what happened to him in his past. And it was a tremendous detriment to his team. We're not in the business of doing that. It's not fair to him, it's not fair to the players, it's not even fair to the fans."

Exciting? Dunno about that. Interesting? yes. Buono sounds happy enough to have Printers signed for depth.

Buono implied he was satisfied with Pierce's performance in Friday's 27-18 loss to Calgary. Despite painfully sore ribs, Pierce threw for 230 yards and a touchdown, although one throw ended up in the hands of Stampeders defender Keon Raymond at a key juncture. Overall, Pierce showed "progress," Buono said. "He moved well and he had some good throws."

IMO Buck played well enough. Not great.

Those don't sound like the words of a coach contemplating a change. If fact, if anybody displaces Pierce as the Lions starter, it could be Jackson, Buono suggested.

Jackson was supposed to be out from three to five weeks, but Buono suggested his progress is ahead of schedule.

So if Jackson heals, does he move back ahead of Pierce? Then it gets complicated. I think if Buck plays well and/or wins, he stays as starter. Otherwise Jackson is back in (assuming he is healed).

"Who will start (against Saskatchewan)?" Buono said. "I don't know. It all depends on Jarious's status. He could be much improved, or he may need another week."

That is a confusing statement. If accurate, it suggests that if Jarious made a miraculous recovery this week, he would start against the Riders.

He (Jackson) could be much improved, or he may need another week. The reports have been positive. Prior to his injury, he's played some of the finest football since he's been here. Everybody was disappointed when he did get nicked. I'm hoping to see him throw [at Monday's practice]."

Wally is keeping his options open. Too many options now. And none of them per-fect.

Well we have had Quarterback controversies involving 2 players. Are we ready for a controversy involving 3 of them? Ughhhh

Buck's health status did not worsen vs the Stampeders. (But can one count on his continued availability?) It seems Jarious is making a near-miraculous recovery. (If he is declared able to play, how much can one count on his shoulder to hold up?) And despite saying all the right things, how happy will Casey be if he stays on the Practice Roster? (He might have to wait until next year.)

Oh yeah. We also have Lulay and Champion. Wow. I don't envy Wally. How many quarterbacks can a coach juggle?

My guess: if Buck and Jarious are healthy enough to dress, Casey stays on the PR. If either Buck or Jarious cannot dress, Casey draws in to the 42 man squad (possibly this week, but more likely at a later time). If Travis Lulay gets to play because of injuries to Buck and Jarious, Casey is the next QB in. And Travis will have a fairly short leash, compared to Buck and Jarious. It do get complicated, don't it?

Simplest scenario at this time: Buck plays great. We win. Buck stays healthy.

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

[Rammer]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

How good was the OL in the second half? I also suspect that the pain killer may have worn off by the second half as well. If you can make it to practice this week it will be easy to figure out if BP is done or not, as his reps with the first team will determine that. Plus if JJ isn't in the mix, he won't be starting, and that is really our only other alternative at this point.

[SammyGreene]

According to NW ... JJ was not in pads at practice today — same goes for Jiminez.

In other words, Zach Champion's job is safe for at least one more week until Wally has 5 healthy QBs to deal with.

[Spud387]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

How good was the OL in the second half? I also suspect that the pain killer may have worn off by the second half as well. If you can make it to practice this week it will be easy to figure out if BP is done or not, as his reps with the first team will determine that. Plus if JJ isn't in the mix, he won't be starting, and that is really our only other alternative at this point.

Bingo!
Buck readily admitted before the game (or was it the practice before) that his ribs were still sore. After taking all of those hits during the Calgary game with the painkillers wearing off, I can bet you that would do something to anyone's game no matter the sport.

No way is JJ rdy, We'll see Buck start again. He still needs to step up his game but he is far from *done*

[LFITQ]

Let's stop trying to fool anyone. Buck is the only choice to start on Friday.

The only question at QB is if JJ is healthy enough to make it #2 or #3 or if CP bumps Champion out of the #3 seat.

But if the Riders play like I expect them to play and the refs call like they did last week (or any other week for the Lions in that regards) for roughing the passer, then I predict Buck won't finish the game nor will he be starting in Edmonton on the 9th.

But as for this week, I'll be surprised if anyone other than Buck comes out to start against the Riders.

[Toppy Vann]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

Is that you Tony?

Wakes... you must have fallen asleep and missed the entire 4th Q as the offence didn't play much in the 4th now did it? Pierce never missed a tackle.

Both the story headline and the coach not knowing who is starter is on Friday are ridiculous. Why Buono makes these bonehead statements to give the headline writers their eye grabber and a few fans who might have got hit on the head too many times without a football helmet more opportunity to question his product that he should be trying to sell to ticket buying fans is confusing. WB is not the most articulate coach in the CFL but that is just plain stupid with a capital W.

[Tighthead]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

Is that you Tony?

Wakes... you must have fallen asleep and missed the entire 4th Q as the offence didn't play much in the 4th now did it? Pierce never missed a tackle.

Both the story headline and the coach not knowing who is starter is on Friday are ridiculous. Why Buono makes these bonehead statements to give the headline writers their eye grabber and a few fans who might have got hit on the head too many times without a football helmet more opportunity to question his product that he should be trying to sell to ticket buying fans is confusing. WB is not the most articulate coach in the CFL but that is just plain stupid with a capital W.

Toppy, perhaps one reason why the offence wasn't on the field much was that Buck brutally telegraphed a pass which was picked off. A second reason might be his weak throw on third down.

Of course, you will try to blame those on the o line and the defence, and continue to call BP a great ball control QB despite his propensity for the pick.

Pierce never missed a tackle, but he never looked off a DB either.

[Solar Max]

But if the Riders play like I expect them to play and the refs call like they did last week (or any other week for the Lions in that regards) for roughing the passer, then I predict Buck won't finish the game nor will he be starting in Edmonton on the 9th.

You have to know that the Riders will be out to take Buck out of the game for the season, if not longer. There's no penalty for hitting the guy, so why wouldn't you?

[Belize City Lion]

But if the Riders play like I expect them to play and the refs call like they did last week (or any other week for the Lions in that regards) for roughing the passer, then I predict Buck won't finish the game nor will he be starting in Edmonton on the 9th.

You have to know that the Riders will be out to take Buck out of the game for the season, if not longer. There's no penalty for hitting the guy, so why wouldn't you?

and then on riderfans.com they will claim that the player who cheap shot BP couldn't hear the whistle because of all the piped in crowd noise.

[Toppy Vann]

Buck was good in the first half and abysmal in the second half. I hope JJ is ready. Buck is done in Vancouver.

Is that you Tony?

Wakes... you must have fallen asleep and missed the entire 4th Q as the offence didn't play much in the 4th now did it? Pierce never missed a tackle.

Both the story headline and the coach not knowing who is starter is on Friday are ridiculous. Why Buono makes these bonehead statements to give the headline writers their eye grabber and a few fans who might have got hit on the head too many times without a football helmet more opportunity to question his product that he should be trying to sell to ticket buying fans is confusing. WB is not the most articulate coach in the CFL but that is just plain stupid with a capital W.

Toppy, perhaps one reason why the offence wasn't on the field much was that Buck brutally telegraphed a pass which was picked off. A second reason might be his weak throw on third down.

Of course, you will try to blame those on the o line and the defence, and continue to call BP a great ball control QB despite his propensity for the pick.

If you the D was doing its job, their offence would have seen the field more in the 4th Q and maybe more 2 and outs or at least give Buck a chance to get his INT stats up to where some fans think they are. It is like Pierce said on 1040. 5 or 6 plays differently overall and that game would be one. You cannot put all the focus on just one player and one position.

Same will blame Jojuan Armour for not stopping the run by putting himself out of position. Others see that they called something a bit different and wrong which put him out. Some blamed Glatt for all the defensive woes and the took him out and it still made no difference.

I have yet to see a case for the Lions offence - O line, receivers, etc all going great but their QBs aren't. I still don't think the receiving corps are the equal of others in the CFL but some of that is their vanilla/predictable play calling.

As to hiding Buck the starter, that would have to make the Riders coaches laugh. They aren't dumb and other than Jarious who might go bombs away, the offence is the offence. It isn't much different regardless of who the QB is. Some minor variation on length of pass but Jarious looked like a Buck prototype his last outing and did a superb job of protecting the ball.

Pierce never missed a tackle, but he never looked off a DB either.

[Blitz]

The quarterback position has always been a priority focus on Lionbackers. Perhaps for two reasons...the most obvious one is that the quarterback position is the most important position on the football field and commands the highest CFL salary. Secondly, in B.C. since 2003 we seem to have been snake bitten in terms of injury at this position, in comparison with other CFL teams, going back to the 2003 playoff with Dickenson's knee injury. Dickenson could only start the first three games of 2004 and couldn't finish any.

From that point on we've had four starting quarterbacks dealing with injuries and that lack of consistency, combined with Wally's decision making at times has created a lot of headaches. Dickenson (concussion problems, etc), Printers (turf toe, shoulder), Buck Pierce (concussions, shoulder, ribs, etc) and Jarious Jackson (finger, rotator cuff) have all resulted in our inability to have a starter who we could rely upon.

Jarious has been the healthiest of our quarterbacks but the quarterback injury bug has also hit him again after a long period of being mostly injury free.

Toppy is right. The problem is much more complex than just the quarterback postition. The fact is that Geroy is no longer the league's best receiver, even though he can still play at a high leve. Paris Jackson is an excellent Canadian slotback. After that, we really don't have great talent at receiver. In terms of our offensive line, our offensive line was much worse in 2004 and 2005 and we won the West both years.

Overall our offensive line has not been fantastic this season but it also has not been a major problem. They have also done a good job overall in our run blocking. Play calling and offensive scheme have been an issue here since the second half of 2004, under Chapdelaine. Our best offensive scheme and play calling was in 2007, under Kruck/Dorazio and we were able to win a lot of games with a green Jarious Jackson at quarterback. We've always given up a lot of sacks working within the Chap offensive philosophy.

When it comes to Buck I admire Toppy's loyalty. He's always had a high opinion of Buck, both in terms of ability and character. However, while restricted by receiver talent and offensive scheme, Buck has not progressed to the necessary next level. His injury problems are a factor, for sure, but even when healthy this season he hasn't takent the starting quarterback position he was given and taken the reins in the way we needed him to. Buck just hasn't made those second down completions to move the sticks in the way we've needed him to and his conservatism in thowing a five yard pass when we need 10 yards has been a downfall, along with his interception to touchdown ratio.

Could Buck turn into an Anthony Cavillo. Possibly but right now that looks like a long shot. He doesn't have the arm strength of accuracy on deeper throws and his injury problems make that scenario even more unlikely. Buck just plain gets hurt a lot, unfortunately and the concussion history makes that even more risky.

Should Wally have announced he hasn't made a decision on his starter for this week? No!! That's how we got ourselves into the whole Dickenson/Printers saga that Printers ended up wearing, for the most part. Buck began his career showing great potential with a very high quarterback efficiency. However, in the end, it's offensive points on the board and more importantly getting the offence into the end zone that counts.

It's much more complex that just Buck's play but Buck has also not been up to standard and it's obvious now that both his coaches and numerous fans are losing confidence in Buck as our quarterback for the future. Buck has to be able to find a way to stay healthy, improve his decision making, throw more accurately over 10 yards, and find ways to get the ball into the end zone. If he can't do that over his next few starts, I believe our Leos will go in a new direction at quarterback next season.

However, I'm happy that Toppy still has the faith....and I hope he turns out to be right because right now Buck is our only active experienced starter that is healthy for this upcoming game.

[Tighthead]

Toppy,

Pierce had the ball twice in the fourth quarter and turned it over both times. Maybe the defence wouldn't have been so tired and ineffectual if the offence had managed to stay on the field.

The QB may get too much attention, bit Buck had a dreadful fourth quarter in a winnable road game. Regardless of what the defence did, Buck made two critical unforced errors when all the money was on the table.