Buono continues search for the right quarterback

Wally Buono finds himself in an unusual position, but the same old questions persist about the B.C. Lions' quarterbacking.
For the first time in his career, the Canadian Football League's all-time winningest coach finds his team 1-5 after Saturday's 27-22 loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders at Empire Field.
All but one of the losses have been close, but late breakdowns and inconsistent quarterbacking continue to cause difficulties.
“If you were getting blown out every week and you weren’t even in the game every week, I guess it would maybe be not so confusing,” said Buono. “But when you look at what goes on at times, you’re very encouraged. At other times, you just shake your head.”
Especially with the quarterbacks.
Starter Travis Lulay looked strong at times and weak at others, notably when he threw a third-quarter interception that Dwight Anderson returned to the B.C. 10-yard line, setting up Ryan Thelwell's game-winning touchdown.
"Obviously, it's disappointing," said Lulay, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 159 yards. "You're trying to win the football game. It seems we had a little bit of momentum there after a defensive turnover and, obviously, that kind of died and we gave them a short field."
Lulay's interception spelled the end of his night.
Jarious Jackson took over and struggled while impressing at times. He completed eight of 17 passes for 99 yards in his first serious game action since last September. He spent training camp, the preseason and the early part of the regular season recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery to repair rotator cuff damage.
“When the balls are high, you can tell right away that he’s struggling,” said Buono, explaining his decision to pull Lulay. “Jarious had a good week … His quick release was good, but other times you can see why he’s still not 100 per cent.”
Now, with a short week before a game in Regina against the powerhouse Saskatchewan Roughriders, Buono has to decide whether to go back to the sophomore Lulay or gamble on Jarious Jackson or nominal starter Casey Printers, who has dressed as the third-stringer the past three games due to a sore knee.
“If the medical staff clears (Printers) to play, then we’ll have to consider it,” said Buono. “But if they don’t, I think there’s way too much at stake. Between Jarious (Jackson) and Travis (Lulay), we should find one that’s ready to go.”
"We're not going to quit," said Lulay. "It's still early in the season. Obviously, we're in a little bit of a whole ... All we can do is fight and give ourselves a chance to win."
After Buono suffered his eighth straight loss to his former Calgary understudy John Hufnagel, questions arose about the Lions' mental toughness. Receiver Paris Jackson said the Lions have to change their mentality and make sure that losing does not become contagious, although with five straight losses, it might already be.
But, noting that the Leos kept fighting back, Buono insisted his players are mentally tough. He does not plan to make major changes as the changes as he rebuilding club tries to get in position for a playoff spot.
“It’s gonna test our character,” said Buono. “It’s gonna test my character. This is not something I’m enjoying. But I don’t believe that there’s a divine right for winning. I’ve always felt that each week, each win, is tough, and I think my experience and my past are going to keep the waters calm and keep the ship going in the right direction."
That task will be easier if he can find the right quarterback to take the helm.

Printers approaching expiry date

Let's hope Casey Printers gets it this time.
"It" is the understanding that pro sports careers are fleeting at the best of times. "It" is the understanding that the opportunity to compete or just hang out with the team is priceless and time-limited.
If you talk to any athlete, he or she will tell you that the opportunity to compete at the highest level and go after a Stanley Cup, Grey Cup or even a Mann Cup makes up for any fame, or fortune, or risk. Theoren Fleury gets it. That's why he tried to resurrect his hockey career after six years away from the NHL because of substance abuse issues.
Dave Scatchard gets it. That's why he was trying out with the Vancouver Canucks after more than a season away from the NHL because of concussion problems, and was still saying all the right things as the club cut him without giving him another chance after he suffered a groin injury or whatever it was. (He wasn't saying exactly.)
Dave Dickenson got it. That's why he signed with the Calgary Stampeders after B.C. Lions general manager and coach Wally Buono chose to release him out of concern that he would suffer another concussion. That's also why Dickenson returned to the Canadian Football League when he probably could have carried a clipboard in the NFL for another season or two and made more money.
Alas, Buono's fears were realized and Dickenson's career did end prematurely, but it much longer than many other CFL quarterback hopefuls.
Printers didn't get it in his first go-round with the Lions, so he chose to bolt to the NFL, after he was offered a deal that likely would have landed him the No. 1 quarterback spot ahead of Dickenson. And, that's why he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after initially agreeing to terms with the Montreal Alouettes.
But maybe he gets it now, after Hamilton cut him and no other team wanted him until Buono three him a life line after Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson came down with injury problems. Tonight, Printers will dress as the third-string quarterback as the Lions visit the Edmonton Eskimos.
Reports suggest that he has been a model teammate while biding his time on the practice roster and showing a good grasp of the playbook. He has told reporters that "it" is all about the team now. Well, Casey, cliche or no cliche, most sports always have been about the team.
Let's hope he finally realizes that athletes have short shelf lives. Sometimes that shelf life can last 20 seasons. Sometimes the expiry date comes after 20 days.
Why do you think Brett Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings?
For those who play the games at the highest level, careers never last long enough. If Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn had his way, he would still be playing, even after almost three decades behind the bench.
The same likely goes for Buono.
I have seen "it" a lot over the past month or so while covering the Mann Cup lacrosse championship series, NHL preseason and the CFL. I saw it when Chris Gill of the New Westminster Salmonbellies saw his chance at a home-floor slip title away, after he had waited and hoped for 16 years, and he knew that the series would likely be his last at the senior A level.
The series showed what athletes are willing to do just to have a chance to compete and excel.
Brampton Excelsiors goaltender Anthony Cosmo flew across the country three times in the span of a week to help his team and preserve his teaching job back home in Ontario. Dan Dawson also went back and forth while trying to meet the requirements of being a rookie firefighter.
I saw "it" with Fleury in a pre-season game against the Vancouver Canucks, and I saw it with a desperate Scatchard in another exhibition tilt against Quinn's Oilers. Scatchard was one of the best players on the ice that night.
And, I saw it with Tanner Glass, a longshot to make the team, who actually beat out highly-touted rookie Cody Hodgson. And, I saw "it" when disgruntled veteran Lions kicker Paul McCallum watched on the sidelines in street clothes as rookie Sean Whyte booted the winning field goal in a victory over Saskatchewan.
Whyte got his chance to play regularly this season only after McCallum was injured while making a tackle on a return. (His desire to compete was evident there, too. As a rule, kickers do not tackle.)
Buono, somewhat surprisingly is giving McCallum another chance tonight as he replaces Whyte. McCallum, 39, will play like it is the final game of his career because, no matter what happens, he knows that the time to hang up his kicking shoe will soon come.
In theory, Printers, about a decade younger and a former CFL Most Outstanding Player award winner, should have much more time left. But he has clearly worn out his welcome.
Buono is only giving him a chance because the club lacks quarterbacking depth. Travis Lulay, tonight's backup, and Zac Champion, relegated to the practice roster, show great promise but lack pro experience. Printers should view tonight's game as one of his last.
If he does, he'll finally get "it".

Printers not the answer to Lions' QB woes

The B.C. Lions need another quarterback.
They don't need Casey Printers to come back.
Jarious Jackson's torn rotator cuff put Lions general manager and head coach Wally Buono in a bind. With Jackson out for three to five weeks and Buck Pierce susceptible to more concussions, the Lions need another veteran quarterback. Pierce will start Saturday against the Toronto Argonauts at BC Place Stadium, but whether he will finish the game is anybody's guess.
Rookie Travis Lulay, who will serve as the backup, and sophomore Zac Champion, who moves off the taxi squad to become the third stringer, are clearly not ready for prime. The Lions (4-6) need a veteran QB who can help them have a strong finish to a troubled season -- not just a game -- as they battle for a playoff spot.
But Printers is not the answer. He has not played enough since attempting to return to the CFL from the NFL, and his poutiness makes him poison in the dressing room.
Another option could be former Winnipeg pivot Ryan Dinwiddie, who is now an assistant coach with an Idaho high school team after vowing that his playing days were done. Dinwiddie, 28, is no superstar, but he fared reasonably well as a Grey Cup fill-in starter a couple of years ago.
He would be insurance in case Pierce goes down, and there is a good chance that he will.
The trouble is, proven veteran backups, who can step in as starters, are hard to come by in the CFL. Edmonton's Jason Maas has cornered the market on the reliever role, but struggles as a starter.
It's time for player personnel director Roy Shivers to work his magic again and find a diamond in the rough -- who can start right away, if necessary.