Buck Pierce or Jarious Jackson?

[David]

I would hate to see him go to another team but these are the tough decisions Wally is paid to make. With two very capable and younger QBs behind him, the time is now to do it.

Make that three. Don't forget that we also have Gino Guidugli in the Wally Buono quarterback factory whom I understand the coaches are high on. We have to let him develop into a legitimate #3 QB.

I agree with you SammyGreene. I think now is the time to thank Dave very much for his services and move in a different direction at the quarterback position to free up some cap space for other hot spots. I really want to see Jarious back here next year.

DH 8)

[FINELION77]

Dave would be a great coach! as a reliable starter! sorry Dave but done! JJ has proved himself! Buck may exceed JJ but needs to play and show he can take a hard hit and bounce back! so far Nope! my money is on JJ he has won showed he is progressing! he's bound 4 greatness given a chance! Dave you still have so much 2 offer but only as a mentor! not a player!

[FINELION77]

I truely believe these two are both good QB's however if I had to base my opinion on "the right now" I'd say JJ! why? he has proven he can win games start to finish, is developing( learning & getting better) and can take a hit! I believe Buck is close behing, and with more game time would develop! however facing surgury and being hurt is questionable, as well as Buck's willingness and ability to work through such an injury. and ability to not become reinjured! Sometimes players don't hold the key to thier own destiny it can be decided by how much damage our body can endour and the ability to heal and try to be just as good or better with the resulting damage! After all we are only human, although a strong heart and will, and desire to overcome may be limited to our physical abilities! Time will tell today I answer Jarious! Wishes for Bucky to make it back stronger than ever!

[Rammer]

Guidugli would be my choice....

I am not sure that the O could rest on JJ's shoulders if Joe Smith wasn't back there and our D and ST's weren't as good as they currently are, whereas Buck can run that O consistently.

[Rick James]

I think its time to let DD go and re-sign JJ so that BP and JJ can see who emerges as the starter next summer, and have GG run the scout team and develope.

[Soundy]

Only one problem with that... Buck is the only one whose initials don't fit the scheme: DD, JJ, GG...

Heck, we've got three JJs as it is...

[Belize City Lion]

DD is going to find him self in a postition of weakness all of a sudden. The only CFL team that may be looking for a new starting QB would be Montreal. But even they will probabaly give Brady a good look before they go shopping for a new number one, if Calvillo decides to retire.

Hufnagel may consider getting Dickenson and then executing a trade that sends Burris to Montreal, but then he is putting his neck out as a new coach in the hopes that DD will stay healthy. Is Sankey the insurance they need in Cowtown in case DD got hurt again? Or could Brady be part of the package Calgary would get for Burris? Considering that Burris did show more than a few flashes of greatness this year, and the fact that the team could not win without him, should make the Stamps think long and hard before going in a different direction at QB.

I can see the Calgary scenario being the only good fit for DD, who would probably be happy to end his playing days in Calgary. So what does Wally do? Does he simply release DD and let him become a free agent, or does he try to make a trade for him. It's a weird sort of stand-off... nobody is going to bend over backwards to get DD if they have to trade for him, yet if he was a free agent he'd probably be snapped up in a heartbeat.

It's poker game that is about to be played out. Will anyone call Wally's bluff, or will he stand pat and wait until someone decides to raise?

[Rammer]

I don't see Hufnagel endearing himself to the Calgary folks by going out of his way to acquire DD. DD will have to have his contract restructured to represent his playing time with the Lions in order to end up staying here. I also only see him having an advantage here as opposed to going to another CFL team as well. Why bother to learn a new system with new receivers at this stage of his career in a back up role, BC is also a good step towards an eventual coaching job.

[Disturber]

I've mentioned this in another post, but it seems fitting to say it again here:

In the book we all received from Bobby Ackles, he states that a coach/GM has to know when a star player is no longer effective and therefore when to move him. I'm fairly certain that's where we are right now with DD. If Bobby is true to what he's written in his book, I think we've seen the last of Dave in a Lions uniform.

As for who should start, Buck or Jarious:

I like Buck's athletic ability and his decision making. He is very much like a young DD. The knock thus far against Buck is that he gets hurt too easily (I guess that also makes him kind of like Dave)

Jarious has one of the strongest arms I've ever seen in a quarterback. He's also built solid and has yet to sustain a serious injury, even though he took a few beatings this year. With each game he plays, he gets better. It's taken him a while, but he finally seems to be able to throw the ball with that "touch" that the great QBs seem to be able to put on a ball that makes it catchable.

I think they'll both have to fight it out in training camp.

I really hope we keep Gino as our #3. The way we saw him play in the last regular season game, he looks like a potential superstar in the making...

[Belize City Lion]

I agree that nobody will go out of their way to get DD, and I also agree that DD best option may very be to show up at Lions training camp healthy and compete for the starting job. Most likely he would still be the best QB in camp, but being the best may not be enough to earn the job considering his record of fragile health.

But as for DD fiting in with the Stamps, I don't think it would be that much of an adjustment. Huffnagel would be comfortable with DD (wasn't he on Wally's staff when DD played in Calgary?), Calgary has a similar set of offensive tools, and likely DD wold have major input into the offensive game plan especially if he was with the Stamps prior to training camp.

The major advantage DD would offer a rookie head coach would be consistancy. When healthy, DD is a very consistant QB. Over his career the only times I can think of DD not playing well was when he was suffering from injuries or concussions. Burris on the other hand has not proved himself to be consistant game in and game out. That's the sort of thing that drives a HC nuts and can utimately cost them their job.

[Blitz]

I don't see Hufnagel endearing himself to the Calgary folks by going out of his way to acquire DD. DD will have to have his contract restructured to represent his playing time with the Lions in order to end up staying here. I also only see him having an advantage here as opposed to going to another CFL team as well. Why bother to learn a new system with new receivers at this stage of his career in a back up role, BC is also a good step towards an eventual coaching job.

Dickenson will still see his best chance to play the most here in B.C. There is no other team that is going to bank on Dickenson as their starting quarterback at the age of 35, with his background of missed games over the past four seasons plus his concussion history.

Any other CFL team would be looking for Dickenson as a backup quarterback who brings a lot of experience. The three places where that is a possibility are Calary, who desparately need a backup quarterback, Toronto, and Montreal. However, they will only offer Dickenson backup money.

I think, if it's up to Dickenson he would only want to play in B.C. or Calgary at this stage of his career and B.C. would be his first choice, in that he is familiar with his teamates and would believe he would still have a better chance to displace Jarious and Buck than Henry Burris.

However, the second thing the Leos will need to consider would be if they want Dickenson as a backup, even if he was willing to sign for backup money. They would have to consider whether Jarious or Buck or both can truly develop with a vet like Dickenson on the roster.

Dickenson's shadow is too large to be a backup. The Leos either have to decide they want Dickenson for our starting quarterback for next season or say goodbye.

I believe we would be better off to say goodbye. We've won with Printers, Pierce, and Jarious in the regular season and we haven't won in the playoffs with Dickenson except for last season when he was healthy for a number of games before the playoffs began. We could also use the money to sign other players because Gino would be cheaper as the third string quarterback.

Dickenson brought credibility to our Leos in 2003, when we really needed to make the move away from Damon Allen. However, it's been a quarterback shuffle ever since and we need consistency at that position if we are ever going to take our offence to the next level.

[No Ordinary Joe]

IMO, Buck should be our #1 guy. 2007 was an aberration for him, he's a much more accurate passer than we saw this year and is smart with the decisions he makes. He's mobile and can spread the ball around and isn't afraid to pick up yards with his feet. The only knock on him is that his injury problems may start to become too big of a concern for the team to anoint him as the starter.

Jarious is built like a tank, he can take a hit like nobody's business and be no worse for wear. He may not be the most accurate passer but he throws the deep ball the best of any QB currently on our roster and has the ability to be a real threat with his feet, though I still feel he could improve more in that area.

In a purrfect world, Buck Pierce would be our starter if health wasn't an issue, but I personally feel that it will end up being Jarious' team full-time next year.

[kidder]

My vote is let JJ & BP slug it out in camp, and let the best man win. As far as Dave goes, Im hopeing they can convince him to stay on in some kind of coaching capacity .................. . Regardless, I hope any decisions are made before Wally sips his first Mai Tai .............

[Belize City Lion]

Im not sure how JJ and the rest of the team would react coming out of training camp with JJ designated as the starter. I think this year the team really rallied around JJ and most of those 9 wins JJ tallied were "team wins". JJ played solid, looked quite good at times, but he also struggled a lot. However, I think the team spirit and unity was so strong that they collectively decided they would win regardless of who was at pivot.

It's much different when you are the number one QB and the team expects you to be "the guy" who leads them to victory. No one could question why JJ was playing because he was the only option we had for much of the season, and at times he played as well as just about any starting QB in the league. But even at his best I don't feel he played as good as DD or BP can when they are at their best.

In 2008 if JJ wins the starting job and continues to suffer from his slow starts, will the team rally to help him overcome or will they bail on him wondering how long it will take for BP (or DD) to take over?

I think this could be part of the reason JJ was on such a short leash in the WDF. I think Wally was afraid that if he gave JJ more time to hopefully find his groove, the rest of the team might have quit on him before they had a chance to get rolling.

[hwgill]

I don't understand the talk about BP's fragility. He got his shoulder hurt this year (and last year his ribs IIRC), and took a long time to heal, but to extend that to saying he is injury prone...I don't know. Players can take amazing hits, and get up from them (Claremont), at other times, what seems to be a minor hit can end a season. Hell, just look at Glenn's broken arm. That hit was not a big deal at all, but Glenn's arm happened to be in the wrong position, and got broken. If his arm had been an inch or two to the right, he would have been fine. When it comes to BP, I think he just got unlucky.