5 Quarterbacks for Thanksgiving ... Lowell Ullrich's blog

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I really think Printers will be staying with our Leos. If Wally can't keep all three of Buck, Jarious, Printers (which is the best scenario) or thinks it wouldn't work out then I think he'll trade/drop Buck or Jarious. If I was guessing it would be Buck, based upon his injuries/salary over Jarious. Jarious' age is a factor in the decision but I believe Jarious would be more content at #2 than Buck and costs less.

My best guess is Printers/Jackson/Lulay if we can't keep all threee experienced quarterbacks or Wally chooses not to. Buck will have to play excellent the rest of the season and stay healthy in order to retain his status as our #1. Based upon the last two games...he's making it more difficult to be unseated.

Buck, Jarious, Printers might be the most experienced group of the five, but in no way is the best scenario. Buck wants to be the starter badly, and by next year so will Casey. Let's not assume JJ is happy to be a backup just because he is such a pro and keeps quiet on such matters (he knows he deserves a shot with guys like Bishop playing). That scenario doesn't account for role, pecking order and development, which are desirable for a group of QBs to work well together. So yes, one of the veterans is likely to go.

The other problem here is that you're assuming CP plays well enough to be the starter, and that does go against the evidence of the past few years. Based on performance, I would say it's unlikely CP regains top form (unlikely but still very possible). That said, I do suspect it will truly be an open audition for the job in training camp.

I agree that it's still too early to tell what will happen and all we're doing is speculating. I'm not assuming that Casey will be the starter but I'm not basing my views just on what Printers has done or not done in the past. I'm basing it on Wally's comment recently that if Casey played we'd still see the 'magic'..which means he feels confident in Casey.

Of course a lot will depend on how Buck or possbily Jarious play for the remainder of the season along with their health. Training camp next year could also determine the outcome but a decision could also be made before training camp next year....

[bclions16]

I agree that it's still too early to tell what will happen and all we're doing is speculating. I'm not assuming that Casey will be the starter but I'm not basing my views just on what Printers has done or not done in the past. I'm basing it on Wally's comment recently that if Casey played we'd still see the 'magic'..which means he feels confident in Casey.

Of course a lot will depend on how Buck or possbily Jarious play for the remainder of the season along with their health. Training camp next year could also determine the outcome but a decision could also be made before training camp next year....

Fair enough, I assumed you had them in depth order.
I do wonder about the magic comment though. Is this Wally just motivating and boosting CP's confidence? Wally appeared to have dome some good motivating with BP recently too.
After so much criticism of Wally this year maybe the old dog still has some effective tricks up his sleeve!

[Toppy Vann]

I agree that it's still too early to tell what will happen and all we're doing is speculating. I'm not assuming that Casey will be the starter but I'm not basing my views just on what Printers has done or not done in the past. I'm basing it on Wally's comment recently that if Casey played we'd still see the 'magic'..which means he feels confident in Casey.

Of course a lot will depend on how Buck or possbily Jarious play for the remainder of the season along with their health. Training camp next year could also determine the outcome but a decision could also be made before training camp next year....

Fair enough, I assumed you had them in depth order.
I do wonder about the magic comment though. Is this Wally just motivating and boosting CP's confidence? Wally appeared to have dome some good motivating with BP recently too.
After so much criticism of Wally this year maybe the old dog still has some effective tricks up his sleeve!

I don't see his comments on Printers' progress as a trick. What coaches say doesn't improve performance in an athlete. That is all in the movies. If an athlete doesn't come to the team with the right drive, ambitions, aspirations, attitudes, aptitudes and skills, then nothing the coach says is going to change that.

I had a meeting this week with a VP of Aididas who said when we were talking about his career moves from the US to Germany, Asia, and next to Germany that when he came out of college he had a decision to make. Did he have the drive and aspirations to try out for the NFL for what they were paying for tackles at US$43,000 or would he best move on to a career in business where he has been very, very successful? He chose the latter. He also spoke of John Wooten's philosophy and how important character was to success. As Wooten said, sports don't build character, they reveal it. Wooten is the guy who said that the coach's job is to correct without causing resentment.

I truly believe that Printers is best under a Buono coached QB system as no QB gets left behind in the Wally thinking. I just heard Dunigan talking about lack of reps for backups which leads me to believe he is old school and hasn't learned from Wally how to bring along QBs and keep a steady flow coming. I even think Matt would be a good HC again but he should be learning from Buono.

Looking at Casey from the views of Wooten, there have been some times when the game has revealed that Casey might not be the best QB and leader on a developing team like Hamilton was. He failed brutally there. “Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out” might be how Casey is looking to this chance with the Lions so maybe he has been reading some Wooten quotes and philosophy instead of his own which is too much about how to be number 1. If Casey can find redemption in football, it is best to be done in BC as I don't see other teams and coaches who have the patience of Wally when it comes to QBs where QBs are like wine - get better through age (but like wine not always).