Peterson out, Jackson in ... Mike Beamish

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Vete ... story.html

Veteran Lions Peterson, Jackson wary of the chopping block

Pass catchers face uncertain future with 1-6 team

By Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun August 17, 2011

Kamau Peterson, who is not making the trip to Edmonton for Friday's CFL game against the Eskimos, knows he's on a very short leash with the B.C. Lions.

“When you’re 6-1, you’re not making mistakes like that,” Buono said, referring to Peterson’s muff. “That wasn’t a big play. That was a normal . . . it should have been a very routine play. If you’re asking me, about a guy with his background and stuff, have we been happy? I think I’d be lying to you if I said, ‘Yes, we are.’ ”

It doesn’t get more direct than that.

I was wondering what player would get thrown under the bus this week. Kamau Peterson.

“I’ve had one ball thrown to me — high (over his head) when I was in the flat,” Jackson confirmed. “ I’m trying to be patient as long as I can. But, at the same time, how patient can you be? I’ve been an all-star (West Division, 2008), twice reached 1,000 yards, played hurt. If they cut me before the deadline, I’ll be really ticked off, simply because I haven’t had any opportunity.”

Jackson is referring to Article 15 in the collective bargaining agreement, which states than any player with six or more years of CFL experience is entitled to 100 per cent of his salary, if he’s released after the ninth game. Game No. 9 for the Lions is Sept. 2, in Toronto.

“To be as loyal as I’ve been to this team, to not have gone to the media, to come here and do my work without complaining, for him (Buono) to cut me would be a slap in the face,” Jackson said. “I’ve taken a pay cut just to stay with this team. I could have gone to another team and made more money, but I believed in this team winning the Grey Cup. But, at the end of the day, it is a business. And you’ve got to be prepared that they’re making a business decision.”

Jackson won’t put a number on the haircut he took to stay with the Lions, but it’s believed to be significant enough to pay for the salary of the young receivers playing ahead of him.

“To be as loyal as I’ve been to this team, to not have gone to the media, to come here and do my work without complaining, for him (Buono) to cut me would be a slap in the face,” Jackson said.

The good soldier. Didn't go to the media. I hope Paris has a great game against the Eskimos. Paris is one of my all time favourite Lions players. So good with the fans.

There’s no question that Buono is enamoured with slotback Shawn Gore and wide receiver Akeem Foster, second-year players who went into their first year as starters in 2011 without having recorded an official catch.

Gore now has 34, for 434 yards, placing him eighth among CFL receptions leaders. Foster has caught only 11 passes, but four have been taken to the end zone. Buono also likes the explosiveness of wide receiver/returner Kierrie Johnson, who made his CFL debut six days ago against Winnipeg.

And first round draftee Marco Iannuzzi looks to be a smart pick, and not just because he has a degree from Harvard.

“Don’t forget Marco’s development,” Buono said. “I think, if it continues, I believe he’ll be an accomplished player. If he had to play this week, potentially as a fifth receiver, it wouldn’t be all that bad. He is an athlete, he showed it in pre-season. And, hopefully, he’s going to get more opportunities.”

IMO Gore and Foster should have gotten live reps last year.

And IMO Iannuzzi should get live reps this year. Why the heck not?

And IMO James Yurichuk should get way more reps at linebacker.

But more opportunities for the 25-and-under set means less for Peterson.

“The positions that we have for featured receivers are occupied by bigger fish (Geroy Simon, Arland Bruce, Gore) than I,” Peterson said. “There may just not be enough room for a guy like me. Whatever chances I’ve been given, it just wasn’t enough. That’s why I’ve been pulled off the (42-man game) roster.

“When you’re 1-6, everybody’s a part of it,” Peterson added. “But some people are going to bear the brunt of it. If I end up being one of those guys, I can live with it. If my play (drop against Winnipeg) ends up being the deciding factor, I can understand it. I know the nine-game is coming up. But whether I’m here in September — that’s a decision beyond my pay grade. Ultimately, this game is about perceptions. And perceptions enhance or limit your opportunities.”

Kamau Peterson is also being a good soldier. Wally might not be able to motivate the players. And his coaching staff might not have been able to get the players to deliver better than a 1 and 6 record so far, but Wally can certainly control the message coming from the team to the media.

Bring in Peterson. Keep Jackson on the bench. Go with Moore. Put him on the bench. Go with Collins. Cut him. While we are at it, cut Black. Bring in Johnson. Bring in Arland Bruce (short term desperation). Farm out Peterson. Around and around it goes.

I recall in Apocalypse Now, Colonel Kurtz asking Captain Willard if he disagreed with his methods. Willard answered that he didn't ... see ... any ... method ... at all.

[Blitz]

Well, of course, there is a new scapegoat to distract the heat away from Wally and his merry men coaching staff.

At the same time, I like the personell changes we are finally making. Harris and Lee in the backfield pleases me immensely. Paris Jackson getting back into the lineup would be great..he took a significant pay cut this season to stay with our Leos and he is a two time 1000 yard receiver and considering how hurt he was last season, he played well. Jackson is a tall, rangy receiver with excellent hands. He may not be a great YAK receiver but he is a sure handed receiver who can make big catches. Having Innanuzi backing him up also makes me encouraged to watch our Leos against Edmonton.

[B.C.FAN]

Peterson was brought in as insurance for Jackson so the Lions would have a veteran non-import receiver. From, training camp, he was the third or fourth non-import on the depth chart. With the apparent progress of Jackson, the development of Gore and Foster, the arrival of Arland Bruce as a third featured receiver and the potential of Iannuzzi, there is no need to keep both Peterson and Jackson as depth guys on the roster.

The only question is whether the Esks would welcome Peterson back if he were released (since they seem to be signing anyone who has ever worn a CFL uniform) and whether Wally would be willing to eat his salary for the rest of the year to keep him out of Edmonton's grasp.

[Blitz]

Totally agree with you about Paris Jackson ...West Coast Joe

Yarichuk should be staring over McKenzie..Gore and Foster should have started last season...I agree...and its good to see Innanuzi given a chance.

I would love to see a healthy Lee given an opportunity as I hope Harris is also given the kind of chance to prove himself as some imports have.

[WestCoastJoe]

The only question is whether the Esks would welcome Peterson back if he were released (since they seem to be signing anyone who has ever worn a CFL uniform) and whether Wally would be willing to eat his salary for the rest of the year to keep him out of Edmonton's grasp.

LOL

This is amusing.

Whether to eat the salary. Hmmmmm

or turn him loose to the Eskimos, who are desperate for receivers. Hmmmmmm

Between a rock and a hard place for Wally. But that is why Braley pays him the big bucks.

[WestCoastJoe]

Totally agree with you about Paris Jackson ...West Coast Joe

Yarichuk should be staring over McKenzie..Gore and Foster should have started last season...I agree...and its good to see Innanuzi given a chance.

I would love to see a healthy Lee given an opportunity as I hope Harris is also given the kind of chance to prove himself as some imports have.

Well, we do have some talent here and there. Sometimes hidden in amongst the strange personnel decisions.

[Toppy Vann]

Definition of an optimist on the BC Lions:

A player who brings his lunch to training after another Lions loss.

Wally is losing it big time. 1 and 6 and he is calling out players in the media and making threats to cut before contracts are locked in? Not the smartest strategy but then the Wally we have come to appreciate in recent years has less than smart in personnel decisions for quite some time now.

You have to wonder if these coaches are losing their team.

It is one thing to demand and expect performance - it is another to keep picking sacrificial scape goats all the while not looking at how you are coaching. I guess this week there was no non-performing, bench sitting super star to deflect criticism by signing.

We should be setting up a poll as to who goes next.

[TheLionKing]

Paris Jackson has been a loyal soldier for the Lions. Too bad the way he's been treated by Buono.

[Blitz]

Paris Jackson has been a loyal soldier for the Lions. Too bad the way he's been treated by Buono.

Totally agreeTheLionKIng

Wally may think he's sending a message to his players with his sacrificial lamb each week..and he may distract the media with another player selected publically to be in his doghouse each week or another new aquisition..but the real message he is sending is not one that builds any team spirit.

When I moved into my first leadership position at a young age, an older mentor said to me that how I treated with my worst employee would send a message to all my staff...and if I didn't deal with that employee in a classful way..then the rest of the employees would realize that I could treat them that way too.

Fear can be an effective short term motivator if it is used very infrequently. However, in the longer run, fear creates anger and resentment, especially when it is used too often or used unfairly. Peterson can drop a football and he is singled out for the doghouse. However, Angus Reid can miss a ton of blocks and he is still one of Wally's 'boys'. Dante Marsh gets beaten by a great throw and a great catch, even though he is in excellent position and he is called out publically on TSN but Brent Johnson can play a bad game and he is still a favored boy. The unfairness, combined with the constant revolving doghouse door and loses its effect. Its very obvious that our Leos are not a happy crew and its not just the losses but also the way players are treated that becomes a slow insidious desease that effects the entire team.

We may win in Edmonton but there is no question that this has to be the last season of Wally and Chap Ball. I was never enamored with the personality of Wally Buono before he arrived in B.C. and felt hesitant about our decision to hire him. He had been on his last legs in Calgary.

However, with a fresh opportunity often comes new vigour and focus and Wally came to B.C. with the strength of being able to run a tight ship. Surrounded by great football people in Ackles and O'Billovich, getting a jump start by Ackles being willing to open the pocket book for Dave Dickenson, having a lot of talent, and thriving on a defense led by Dave Ritchie, we had some good years. Wally was making a lot of mistakes in the 2005 season but our talent was so good that Wally's mistakes were not very evident to most, except in the playoffs for a few seasons more.

However, Wally's arrogance, stubborness, and lack of sharpness is more than evident now. Practices have almost been a joke for years now. Personell decisions at times feel like a constantly changing experiment as if the Mad Hatter has left Alice in Wonderland to become our Leos head football coach.

Wally's tactics of singling out players, blaming players, putting another player in the doghouse each week, and a ouji board mentallity of making player personnell decisions has finally become old and threadbare as well as not working. If Wally was a horse, he would have been put out to pasture. If Wally was a player he would have been released long ago. If this team was run by anyone else, he would have seen the door last season. We have a HC who doesn't motivate except by the fear of releasing players or blaming players and his team, who doesn't know the x and o's and who relies on assistants who can't get it done, and we have a HC who doesn't teach but instead just yells at players or even assistant coaches during games when things aren't going well. This often reminds me of the movie the Caine Mutiny, where someone needs to take over the leadership of an operation that is headed for oblivion.

Our Leos players deserve better, the Leos organization deserves better, and as loyal fans, we deserve better!!!!!!

[cromartie]

You have to wonder if these coaches are losing their team.

Nah, I don't think you have to wonder anymore.

[B.C.FAN]

Wally is loyal to the players who have won for him in the past. Perhaps to a fault, but he may have done P. Jackson a favour by re-structuring his contract and keeping him on the roster. Paris said he could have signed for more money with another team...but he did sign the Lions offer. Not sure many teams would carry an injured player all season with his lack of production. Obviously Paris should be given the opportunity to contribute, but we should also be getting Foster and Iannuzzi more involved.

I agree the situation has been handled with class and respect by all parties. Jackson and Peterson can see the writing on the wall and know there's likely room for only one of them in the second half of the season. The fact that Peterson was working scout team in practice and will be scratched for Jackson makes it easy for anyone to read who has the inside track. Wally is just being honest with the players, media and fans when he answers questions about the situation.

The role that is expected of Jackson/Peterson is to be a second-down possession receiver who can run hooks, curls and other short routes and make the critical catches to keep drives alive. I didn't think Peterson had performed badly in that role but his red-zone drop in the second quarter against Winnipeg was the turning point in the game.

[Blitz]

I can't disagree with what you're saying, Blitz...but Buono is the winningist coach in history and might be entitled to being a bit arrogant. Stubborn? I don't see that as a huge failing for a successful HC either. Wally does listen to the players, to the point of appointing a "player's council"...who recommended the Lions have an "easy" training camp this year so the team wouldn't repeat last year's poor start (after a gruelling TC). The sacrificial lamb is perhaps an old-school motivational tool, but other teams do it too. (Jimmy Pattison has sold a few cars and had a company rule of firing the lowest performing salesman every month.)

Wally is loyal to the players who have won for him in the past. Perhaps to a fault, but he may have done P. Jackson a favour by re-structuring his contract and keeping him on the roster. Paris said he could have signed for more money with another team...but he did sign the Lions offer. Not sure many teams would carry an injured player all season with his lack of production. Obviously Paris should be given the opportunity to contribute, but we should also be getting Foster and Iannuzzi more involved.

Buono is the winningest coach in CFL history and the losingest and the longerst serving. There is no question that Buono had success in Calgary and also in his first number of seasons here in B.C. There are a lot of factors which contributed to his success. Certainly having two very innovative and highly competent offensive coordinators in Calgary played a huge role as did an excellent budet and Roy Shivers at the top of his game. Here in B.C. Wally thrived overall, when he was surrounded by Ackles, O'Billovich and had Ritchie coaching a defense that led the league in sacks and turnovers season after season. Wally's lack of success overall in the playoffs, when he often had the most talented and successful team going into the playoffs, is another question.

What I believe made Wally successful was that he was surrounded by good football people, had good football people working for him, and he also had some excellent quarterbacks in Flutie, Garcia, and Dickenson and whom he could pay big salaries to.

In the salary cap era, without the same quality of football people surrounding him and without quality assistants, its now evident that he does not have the ability to get it done.

Wally also ran a tight ship in Calgary for most of his time there and he also ran a tight and focused ship here in B.C. for his first few years. He made a lot of mistakes that one wouldn't have expected from a coach of his experience during our seasons in which we won the West during the regular season but we also had the ability to overcome those mistakes.

However, I have lost confidence in Wally Buono. I never liked his style but I respected the fact that he brought stability, experience, and ran a tight ship. I don't see that stability in his decision making, his experience is not an asset right now, and he doesn't run a tight ship anymore, in terms of focused practices and preparation.

I think overall success got to Wally's head to the point that he thought he could do anything, release any player, hire any coach, make any decision and because he was Wally Buono, it would turn out fine. I don't believe that he really understands what is happening and he is grasping at straws, instead of looking back at what made him successful..having knowledgeable football people around him, having a great personell guy, hiring excellent assistants, and running a tight ship. Wally wasn't necessarily liked but he was respected. Constantly laying all the blame on players, humiliating them publically, manipulating the media, making poor game decisions, and rarely taking responsibility does not make one look up to a head coach.

Wally is the guy who has created this mess of the past 3 seasons. He needs to stop laying it all on his players, be a standup guy, and roll up his sleeves and get this thing turned around as best he can while he is still our HC/GM. Even if we were losing I would respect him if he would just start behaving like a true leader. Its how people behave when the going gets touch that shows character. Right now, Wally's character is not admirable. He's really hurting himself when he could be taking a higher road.

[LFITQ]

So at the beginning of Training Camp we sign Peterson on a "trial" basis as a potential back up for Paris Jackson who came into camp with a sore knee/ankle.

The few times I have seen Paris take reps, even my brother-in-law who doesn't watch much football noticed that Paris was labouring and not giving it 100%. My brother-in-law even uses a few of Paris' blocks in that time as examples of "look-out" blocks. Thus Paris sat for a few more games. It was obvious even to the non-initiated (we'll say) that Paris was not 100% and even a raw rookie functioning at 100% was capable of more than what Paris was giving at that time.

Now comes the time for 9 game veterans rule to take affect. Paris hasn't been given the opportunity because when he has been given the opportunity he hasn't performed. And that lack of performance is not marked against his character or anything, but against his actual performance and known ability. It is that history of performance in the past that has kept him on the team this long. Wally and the coaches know he can perform better and are just hoping it is the injury. But now we are getting down to the nitty gritty and the Team cannot keep a player who cannot perform. So it is time for Paris to show that he has come out of the injury and can contribute positively to the Team. Here's the ball Mr. Jackson, now run with it.

As for Kamau. The sooner Paris got better, the sooner Kamau was going to be riding the pine. I think Kamau has played longer than anyone thought he would simply because it has taken Paris longer than expected to come back from injury.

Is it a case of scapegoat? I don't think so. I think this is just getting close to the time where Wally and the coaches have to make a decision on Paris' future with the team. Hopefully Paris can show his stuff this week and get back to his old form. I for one will be routing for Paris "Light'em Up" Jackson and his comeback this week. Otherwise, it might be time to start looking at Iannuzzi and see what he brings to the table for next year.

[West Coast Blue Fan]

Wally is loyal to the players who have won for him in the past.

Totally agree

Signed
Jason Clermont and Buck Pierce