Some excerpts from the article in the Edmonton Journal ...
"The comfort level is good," Lulay said on Thursday. "I've been here a little over a year and got some decent opportunities to play ... I'm comfortable in the huddle and I think the guys are comfortable with me in the huddle, which is important, too."
Comfortable. Amazing. With D Linemen, Linebackers and DBs trying to knock him out. The pressure of the position. Media attention.
"There is value when you lose a game," the 26-year-old said. "There's value in finding what you did well and what you need to get better at."
True. Learn from your mistakes.
"We didn't play purrfect in the first half but we were making plays, moving the sticks, putting points on the board," said Lulay, who got his first start when veteran quarterback Casey Printers went down with a knee injury that is still hampering him.
Yep. 2nd half. Not so much. Was it adjustments that made the difference? Adjustments the Argos made, and we didn't make?
"When you're playing well, you kind of make up for each other's mistakes. Little things happen, but you find ways to overcome them. It's not a huge magical thing for us. It's a matter of discipline and taking care of the little things."
Also true.
"The quarterback must stay within the discipline of the offence," Buono said. "If he deviates for whatever reason, it's going to cost him. The first interception (in Toronto), he deviated slightly and it cost him."
Head Coach as controller. Stay within the system. Although some athletes are at their best outside of the system, playing by instinct.
"The thing that's encouraging, in that Toronto game, Travis Lulay put us in position to win," said Buono.
Good comment. Lulay gave them a chance to win. And Lulay was not alone in making a mistake on the TD pick. Chapdelaine and Arceneaux did not do well either.
Buono has seen enough of the six-foot-two, 216-pounder out of Montana State that he can make comparisons to a couple of pretty good former CFL quarterbacks.
"You want to compare him to two quarterbacks. He's got the leadership, the savvy, the presence of a Dave Dickenson. He's got the leadership, the toughness of a Jeff Garcia. He's one of those guys who takes his job seriously, has the presence both in and out of the huddle. He prepares very well. But he's human like the rest of us and, in time, he will get better. In time, he probably won't make the mistakes he made in Toronto.
"His eyes will be better, his hands will be better, his feet will be better, because he's done something 50 times at the speed of the game."
High praise comparing him to Dickenson and Garcia, but not unwarranted IMO.
"We know what type of player he is," Eskimos linebacker Rod Davis said. "He can run the ball, he can throw the ball accurately, so we know we have a challenge on our hands. Our No. 1 goal is to stop the run and get after the quarterback. We know what we need to do."
Yes he can run. And he can throw. And we must protect him as the QB. And give him a good game plan and play calls. How about adjustments at the half? And audibles? And hot reads?
"He's a young quarterback, but he has a lot of fire, he takes charge of the huddle. We have a lot of confidence that he can get the job done."
Simon Says. And Simon knows.
"That's part of playing the position, having the guys around you respond," he said. "In the huddle, you're the guy talking, calling the play, and you need to know when you look them in the eye that they believe in you.
"I think I have that with the guys. Now we have to find ways to win some ball games."
Yep. Win some games.
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