Wally and his QB Factory!

[Rammer]

QB talent show about to begin
The Vancouver Province
Mon 26 May 2008
Page: A47
Section: Sports
Byline: Kent Gilchrist
Column: Kent Gilchrist
Source: The Province

For fans who view the glass as half-empty, the Achilles heel for the powerful B.C. Lions is at the most important player position.

With the safety net of veteran quarterback Dave Dickenson gone, the task of following a 14-win season is at least being shared by the inexperienced duo of Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce.

The pair has demonstrated the ability to come off the bench and take control, but neither has been the designated go-to guy for more than a few games.

Coach/GM Wally Buono has an incredible record of discovering and developing quarterbacks, but seldom has he been in his present position with two guys who have a total of one 18-game season between them heading to camp in a week.

The Gold Dust Twins arrived pretty much together four years ago and, to each player's credit, responded to Dickenson's many and varied injuries.

Pierce, of course, has had some of those inconveniences of his own, which allowed the older Jackson to establish himself last year by winning nine of 11 and starting the team's final 10.

Buono wasted no time after the upset in the Western final by the eventual Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders in releasing Dickenson, who he signed out of Montana in '97 to back up Doug Flutie and Henry Burris for the Calgary Stampeders.

"I want to say," said Buono on Sunday, "I'm committed to both Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce. Before it's all over I believe both are going to be a success. I hope I can say June 27 [eve of the regular season] that one or the other was a clear winner.

"When you remove a veteran [like Dickenson] from the competition, coaches have no alternative but to find the next guy."

In essence, that's what separates Buono from the rest of CFL coaches and, more than likely, most of his NFL brethren, too.

As uncomfortable as it might be without the seen-everything CFL security of a Dickenson, Buono is willing to allow the younger, bigger, stronger competition to flourish.

That mentality has produced such stalwarts as Dickenson, Jeff Garcia, Burris, Marcus Crandell, Danny Barrett, Casey Printers and, if he's right, Jackson and Pierce.

"It's not mine, it's ours. It's a process of scouting and a process of growing," Buono understated.

Don't forget, it's his hide if he's wrong.

"I'm not concerned with the lack of experience. They're guys who have been with us for years. People realize we can win with them. What is exciting and unknown is which guy is going to take the next big step.

"When Dave Dickenson was here it was a non-issue. Not to take anything away from Dave, there was a protocol based on past performance."

Five quarterbacks -- Jackson, Pierce, Gino Guidugli and rookies Zac Champion and Omar Haugabook --begin a new chapter.

Buono's giving them all the chance to improve. That's all you can expect in pro sports where your contract isn't guaranteed.

COOKIE JAR: Isn't it great to see former B.C. coach and quarterback Joe Paopao back in the league as a consultant to the grass-green Montreal Alouettes rookie coach Marc Trestman?

Paopao has been around since 1978 as a player and coach and can only help.

I only brought this up due to the glaring error on the highlighted portion, but DD never followed in HB's footsteps......oops! I think that he should have written in Jeff Garcia and it is not like he didn't know it either, as he lists him later on in the article.

[Honour Dewalt]

Ya, i hate when this happens. It makes me want to e-mail him to correct his obvious error.

[KnowItAll]

as long as he got Doug Flutie right, nothing else matters

[B.C.FAN]

Dickenson and Burris both joined the Stamps in 1997. Dickenson saw some action that year as a backup to Jeff Garcia. Burris spend most of the season on the practice roster. Flutie was long gone by 1997, and was on his way to winning his second of back-to-back Grey Cups in Toronto.

[TheLionKing]

Team 1040 had Steve Kruk quarterback coach on last night. Says the Lions are planning to take only one quarterback from the rookie camp to Abbotsford. They will have a limited time to impress the coaching staff to get an invite to the main training camp.

[jagger13]

Just hope Buck can stay healthy all year. He's starting to look like he may have a very fragile body and career.

[Toppy Vann]

Just hope Buck can stay healthy all year. He's starting to look like he may have a very fragile body and career.

While I agree that we all hope Buck can stay healthy all year, there are very few pro QBs who don't get knocked out of a game or two. I am not sure you know much of Buck Pierce's football history which is not about having a "very fragile body and career". This is a very tough player who is hardly fragile. While that is your opinion which I respect, it doesn't appear you have looked at his career over any period of time. By this standard, Jarius Jackson who got injured on the first play of the the pre-season vs Sask would have been judged fragile as it virtually cost him an entire season. No one last year was saying he was fragile nor before IIRC. They put it down to bad luck and how these things happen in a tough game played by tough guys.

[Blitz]

Well, first of all I sure hope we don't have an overfocus on the quarterback position this season. Quarterback is obviously the most important player position on a football team but there are a whole lot of other guys out there you need to win football games.

I'm happy the Dickenson era is over. I appreciate what he brought to the playing field most of the time, when he was healthy and not rusty. While Jarious and Buck only have about one season of experience collectively they are more mobile, bigger, stronger, and we've proven we can win with them as we won with Printers...at least in the regular season. Dickenson was not able to lead us in taking a team that was the best in the West and the best in the league for most of the past four seasons and bring the dynasty that was most certainly possible during that time. It's time for Jarious or Buck to have that chance.

I also hope we don't have a quarterback controversy. Both are very good quarterbacks. There are a number of scenarios I see determining which one will become the starter, assuming that both have good training camps. Lots of ways of looking at it but whomever is not the starter will certainly have chances to play. They both support each other while wanting the starters position, they don't want a quarterback controversy, and sometimes I wish sports reporters could write less about the quarterback position and more about other aspects of our Leos...most of them seem to have one track minds.

However, since the topic is here and it's never a dull one with our Leos here are some thoughts on who will become the starter (assuming both have a good camp and exhibition season.

1. The Chap Factor. Chapdelaine saw Buck play and win in 2006. He didn't coach Jarious last season. Chap prefers the intermediate passing game and that's Buck's strength. Buck is a higher percentage passer than Jarious. If it's up to Chapdelaine...it will likely be Buck as the starter.

2. The Buono Factor: Wally will go with whomever he feels gives him the best chance to win. However, Wally had a lot of confidence in Jarious last season once he started to roll. Wally likes the fact that Jarious is at his best at crunch time, in the fourth quarter, when often games are won or lost and Jarious proved he could pull a rabbit out of a hat in those situations last season. Dorazio and Kruck were also there when our Leos won a record 14 wins last season with Jarious mostly at the helm.

3. The First Half/Second Half Factor

Jarious was a slow starter in a lot of games last season. Buck has proven he's a faster starter. However, Jarious proved that he is an outstanding second half quarterback last season. If you were going with both as starters, past performance says you start Buck for the first half and Jarious for the second half. That's where both have excelled most. However, that likely won't happen. This area is a plus for Buck, in terms of becoming the starter and Jackson is very aware that he needs to start games better if he hopes to win the competition.

4. The Injury Factor

Buck has sustained a number of injuries from his early days as a Leo. Last year was especially difficult for Buck as he was injured almost everywhere. Starting Buck means that if he gets hurt.....after Jarious our Leos will have an unproven third string quarterback. It might be wiser to start Jarious, who has proven he can take a hit, is a big touch body at 232 pounds, and keep Buck in reserve.

5. The Continuity Factor

Jarious was the starter for most of 2007 and therefore the starters job may be his to lose. If it's close Jarious will continue to start and the only way Buck will become the starter is if he really outshines Jarious at training camp and the exhibition season.

6. The Popularity Factor

It likely won't mean much in a Wally led organization but Buck is more popular with Lionbackers and the fans although Jarious earned respect last season. If Jarious falters even a little (if he does begin the season as the starter) the chorus for Buck will become loud and strong.

7. The Style Factor

This year's offensive structure will also play a role in determining who the starter will be. It won't just be the difference between the intermediate pass (Buck's strength) vs the vertical game (Jarious' strength). Both can throw out of the pocket and on the run, both are mobile, and both can run the football. However, the style of offence we want to play may also play to one or the other's strengths.

8. The Age Factor

Jarious is the older of the two and it could be an intangible..although not much of a difference maker. A question, if it's close, could be whether it would be wiser to have a quarterback who is a bit older lead the team vs the younger guy.

9. The Practice Factor

Buck is a quarterback who elevates his game on game day. However, he's not been known as a great practice quarterback. His focus and intensity are really there on game day. Buck's ability to really shine at practice sessions will be more important this season as he competes, realistically for the first time, for the starters position. However, with Buck knowing what's on the line I don't anticipate this to be a factor this time around.

10. The Lionbackers Factor

Everyone knows that Lionbackers is the place to get the real insight on who should be the starting quarterback. Lionbackers can make or break a quarterback! Expect the Leos brain trust to be tuning in regularly for more input than they want on this consuming passion on the Lionbackers website!

[TheLionKing]

Good post Blitz