QB's Over the years

[almo89]

It seems like all of the QB's in Wally's era can't escape having a big injury. Dickenson, Printers, Pierce, Jackson and Lulay have all had their fair share of injuries. Maybe it's not Dickenson being too small or Pierce made out of glass. Is it our o line? Our system? Coaching? Whatever it is, it sucks to see all these guys going down one after another. What is the solution?

[TheLionKing]

Good question. It's probably not a singular factor but a combination of the above.

[sj-roc]

I don't think you can put it all on WB though. He didn't have QBs dropping like flies when he was in Cgy. It's true Dickenson's injury woes had their roots there but with his playing style his injury arc would have unfolded that way almost regardless of where he played.

[Toppy Vann]

I think to be fair we'd have to do the same look at other teams.

Calgary had Tate injuries. Esks had Nicholls when he looked very good. Now Esks got Reilly hurt.

There has been some major protection issues some seasons in BC where the QBs mid 2000s were taking a beating and getting hurt.

Lulay's initial injury was his own decision that he affirms was the right one and instead of going out and living to play another play with his big back Harris carrying the load he did a Matt Dunigan and was done. Now it seems Lulay's done again.

As much as I loved how Buck played I wanted him to take the longer view and protect himself. These players fail to understand that if their performance falls or they become injury suspect these teams cut them loose in a heart beat. Why get killed for your team when your job as QB is to actually play and win. Not try to win and be injured.

[aklawitter]

How quickly people forget the Moe Elowinibi and Cory Mantyka days...

[Toppy Vann]

How quickly people forget the Moe Elowinibi and Cory Mantyka days...

That's an excellent point. Very well stated and I mean this very sincerely.

I'm taking a different look than you are at your point .. .haha.

Fans might very much like certain players but overall fans are usually more loyal to their team than the player.

If a fan fav moves on - he's like a forgotten girl friend who just dumped you. Fans move on as we all do.

For me as I have had university buddies move on to pro football and pro soccer I am usually able to understand a player's perspective. I also know from my friends who were in those locker rooms that it is not always love and kisses in a team. Some are very together and others not so much.

Each team as a player like Lui Passaglia could tell you has its own culture. The 94 GC winning team as fans know was not together but when they got in the playoffs and beat the Stamps in the ice and snow that year in the WDF then had to face Baltimore they rose above their differences and won. Unlike when Joe Theismann comes back to Canada and talks about the 1971 GC winning (EDIT OOPS LOSING) Argos he QB'ed - for the season and first half of that game. Those guys even now are tight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59th_Grey_Cup Theismann can practically name every guy on that roster. Esks were together during the Hugh Campbell years and I recall Matt Dunigan saying how they all went camping and fishing together.

The Van. Whitecaps who won the NASL Soccer bowl in NY vs. the Cosmos and Pele were according to friends the most together team on the planet. My kid was in youth soccer in Burnaby and if you didn't see a Whitecap or 5 on a major weekend of soccer down at Burnaby Lake you weren't looking!

I get it that fans are more in love with their team than even the players as the most beloved player IF he moves to an opponent like Geroy is considered like a cheating wife or g/f to be personna non grata or like they never existed.

I grew up in the 50s and 60s loving football - CFL and NFL. For some reason I focused more on the game than the Lions despite going to as many games from '56 on as I could. The Star Weekly had a full page player picture per week and we didn't care if Jackie Parker was with the Esks or that Hal Patterso was MTL or Russ Jackson was with Ottawa or Faloney the Cats or Kenny Ploen or Leo Lewis - the Bombers. We cut and put their photo on our walls and my friends and I just cheered them all on . We didn't much care if our team won or lost - mostly Lions lost in those days - it was the chance to see these stars in action. It is far more team focused these days.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/story ... e227f66b29

These two guys -Cory and Moe - noted here.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

Well said, Toppy. Except the Argos LOST the 1971 GC game. The infamous moment when Leon McQuay slipped and fumbled is burned into the psyche of all Argo fans (even though they still got one more chance which was blown when Harry Abofs booted a kick return out of bounds).

[Robbie]

It seems like all of the QB's in Wally's era can't escape having a big injury. Dickenson, Printers, Pierce, Jackson and Lulay have all had their fair share of injuries. Maybe it's not Dickenson being too small or Pierce made out of glass.

There has been some major protection issues some seasons in BC where the QBs mid 2000s were taking a beating and getting hurt.

It's been said before the Wally Buono has a good reputation in developing good quarterbacks. But it looks like the tradeoff is that they all get injured eventually. When was the last the last time the Lions had an essentially injury-free starting quarterback? You'll have to go back to the era of the years of the under-appreciated years when Damon Allen was at the helm. In his 7 seasons as the starting QB, Allen was essentially injury free despite his relatively old age in his late 30's. And checking out his stats he only missed two games in 2001 but other than that was never injured. Now that's amazing.

But by the time WB started his era, Allen was traded off. One would wonder whether Allen would have been injured soon if Buono was the coach. I guess legendary coaches and legendary players may not necessarily work very well together.

[Toppy Vann]

Well said, Toppy. Except the Argos LOST the 1971 GC game. The infamous moment when Leon McQuay slipped and fumbled is burned into the psyche of all Argo fans (even though they still got one more chance which was blown when Harry Abofs booted a kick return out of bounds).

Oops. You are right. I was at that game sitting in the north end of Empire in the horrible cold rain. Went home and was sick for 10 days- flu.